Mesothelioma and asbestos exposure in Houston

Oil refining and petrochemical production turned the Houston Ship Channel into one of the densest industrial corridors in the country. Refinery units, furnaces, boilers and miles of steam piping were insulated with asbestos pipe covering and block, and pumps and valves were sealed with asbestos gaskets and packing. Routine maintenance and plant turnarounds meant cutting away old insulation and installing new material, often with no respiratory protection. Contract workers moved from plant to plant, so a single career could include exposure at many different sites along the channel. Cleanup was often done by dry sweeping or with compressed air, methods that put settled fibers back into the air where others could breathe them.

During World War II, Houston shipyards built cargo ships at a fast pace, and shipbuilding crews worked with asbestos insulation in engine rooms and on steam lines. After the war, the petrochemical boom kept demand high for insulators, boilermakers and electricians. Much of this work happened before asbestos was tightly regulated in the 1970s and early 1980s. Because mesothelioma appears decades after exposure, many people who worked these jobs in the 1950s through the 1970s are only now being diagnosed. Today, many of those former workers are retirees across Harris County and the surrounding suburbs. Their work histories often include several employers, union halls and contractor names, all of which can help show where exposure happened.