Disaster relief workers are at risk of asbestos exposure when the disaster — e.g., a tornado, hurricane, tsunami, earthquake, fire, bombing by terrorists — damages or destroys buildings and other structures that contain asbestos. Disaster relief workers are "on the scene" very soon after the damage has been done, or even while the damage is still ongoing. If asbestos is in the air, the disaster relief workers are likely to be subjected to toxic asbestos exposure .

Many Disasters, Thousands of Relief Workers

In recent years, the United States has had an unfortunate number of major disasters that caused thousands of people to suffer dangerous asbestos exposure:

• the Northridge earthquake in 1994; 57 people were killed, 10,000 were injured
• the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995
• the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001
• Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the fall of 2005

Asbestos in the Buildings

These are only the most well-known disasters; there are many more that have occurred on a smaller scale, but the danger of asbestos exposure is the same for any disaster that disturbs buildings that were erected before the late 1970s. Those are the years in which stricter asbestos regulations were beginning to be implemented, but the buildings erected before then are not required to be retroactively cleared of asbestos. The homes damaged in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina are an example.

Airborne Asbestos

When a fire, earthquake, or other disaster brings a building down, the asbestos fibers may be released into the air, where they're able to hang suspended for hours or even days. Disaster relief workers may inhale the asbestos fibers without even being aware that they're doing so. The fibers are too small to be seen with the naked eye. In addition, the asbestos dust may be carried by winds induced by landslides or weather conditions that are part of the disaster's aftermath.

Asbestos fibers in one's lungs or elsewhere inside the body can cause asbestosis (a respiratory illness), lung cancer, and mesothelioma. The rates of these diseases among disaster relief workers may well be higher than that among the general population, but there hasn't been an accurate assessment of this yet. However, the rate of respiratory diseases among the emergency responders at the World Trade Center has caused alarm and controversy.

Ask about Asbestos Exposure and Disaster Relief

If you're concerned about asbestos exposure after a disaster, contact us for more information about the risks and what you can do.