Asbestos Brake Shoes Killed My Father

Clanton, ABFrank was a self-employed mechanic, with his own diesel truck repair business. He was exposed to asbestos all his working life, and in the end it killed him. He died in 2000 from mesothelioma lung cancer, just a month after being diagnosed.

"My father was short of breath and had a congestive cough, but there was no apparent reason for the cough," his daughter Regina said. "It was not a productive cough, there was no phlegm or anything like that. And he had chest pains."

When Frank finally did go the doctor it was May 2000; he was 73. He was diagnosed with lung cancer. "My father underwent a lung biopsy in the hospital, and I have a copy of his scans as well as his results from his chest X-rays, and it was diagnosed as mesothelioma from asbestos," she said. "He was scheduled to start chemotherapy in July, but he died June 15."

Frank worked around automobiles from the age of 15 to his retirement at age 70. Brake shoes during that time contained asbestos and Frank would certainly have been exposed to asbestos residue. "The doctors said that's where it came from," Regina said. "Large trucks especially. My father worked on diesel trucks as well as regular cars and trucks."

It wasn't until the 1980s that the dangers of asbestos became widely known, and the health risks associated with exposure to it were beginning to be understood. However, as the facts became known, the Environmental Protection Agency banned several asbestos products, and manufacturers of these products have subsequently halted production.

According to information on the US Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration page, "Many brakes and clutches used in new and recent model automobiles do not contain asbestos. However, it has not been totally eliminated. Some reports have indicated that many mechanics and employees in the automotive repair shops as well as do-it-yourselfers are unaware that asbestos may be present in both old and replacement brakes and clutches."

And the risk for exposure to asbestos is not present only in the auto industry. Approximately 1.3 million construction workers still face significant exposure to asbestos during renovations, demolitions, and asbestos removal. Employees working in areas of manufacturing of asbestos such as textiles, friction products, insulation, and other building materials, are also likely to be exposed. It is estimated that more than 27 million workers were exposed to asbestos between 1940 and 1980. And there's an indirect effect as well, as workers' families can be put at risk by asbestos dust that gets into clothes, hair and furniture. It is easily spread, very fine, and very hard to get rid of.

For Frank, all this knowledge came too late. But he may have had an inkling that something wasn't right. "He didn't want to go the doctor – he put it off for ages. But in the end, his shortness of breath forced him to seek medical help," his daughter said.
Regina is going to see an attorney during the coming weeks. And her words of warning to others are "Anyone who has been exposed to asbestos, whether they have symptoms or not, needs to be checked for mesothelioma. And they need to be checked on an on-going basis, because my father's symptoms showed up all of a sudden. Had he had regular check-ups they would have caught the disease sooner, and the doctors probably be have been able to help him."