Mesothelioma and asbestos exposure in Birmingham

The Birmingham district produced iron and steel from the late 1800s onward, drawing on nearby coal, iron ore and limestone. The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company, later part of U.S. Steel, operated the Fairfield Works and other plants, and Sloss Furnaces made pig iron for about a century. Furnace work, ladle lining and protective clothing involved asbestos-containing materials, and millwrights and bricklayers disturbed them during repairs. Workers near the furnaces wore asbestos gloves and aprons for protection, not knowing that the gear itself shed fibers as it wore out.

Birmingham's cast iron pipe industry, including the American Cast Iron Pipe Company, employed large workforces in hot, dusty foundries. Power plants, railroads and chemical operations served the district, each with boilers and steam systems insulated with asbestos. Many workers spent entire careers moving through these plants, often following family members into the same jobs. Their families were exposed to dust carried home on clothing. Because so much of the city's economy was built on heavy industry, Birmingham exposure histories frequently involve several employers and span thirty or forty years of work.