Before becoming a football “hero” in the United Kingdom, Stuart Pearce worked for four years as an electrician. He re-wired homes, schools, and factories before choosing a full-time football career. Today, after years on the field, Pearce is worried he might be diagnosed with asbestos-related lung cancer due to his previous line of work.
And Pearce is not alone. Millions of employees in blue-collar trades have reason to fear asbestos exposure on the job. Asbestos has been used extensively throughout the world, and is still not banned in first-world countries like the United States, the UK, and Australia. In fact, Canada and Russia still exports asbestos to developing nations all over the globe, to be used in materials and products of all kinds.
Today, many workers are exposed to deteriorating asbestos products that have been left behind after installation many years ago. “Many people think it’s a thing of the past. It’s not – it’s still here. There’s no excuse for that,” says Pearson.
Take a look at our informational website, AsbestosNetwork.com, to learn more about the dangers of asbestos at work.