Mesothelioma and Asbestos Exposure

Home Contamination
Fatal lung diseases including mesothelioma have also occurred among family members of workers exposed to asbestos on the job. Families have also been exposed to asbestos when workers were engaged in asbestos removal operations.

In 1992 the U.S. Congress passed the Workers' Family Protection Act, which requested that the CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conduct a study to "evaluate the potential for, prevalence of, and issues related to, the contamination of workers' homes with hazardous chemicals and substances... transported from the workplaces of such workers."

Dangers included workers inadvertently carrying hazardous materials such as asbestos home from work on their clothes, skin, hair, tools and in their vehicles.

As a result, families of these workers have been exposed to hazardous substances and have developed various health problems, including malignant mesothelioma.

Preventative Measures in the Workplace

• Reducing asbestos exposure in the workplace
• Changing clothes before going home and leaving the asbestos-soiled clothing at work to be laundered by employers
• Storing street clothes in separate areas of the workplace to prevent their asbestos contamination
• Showering before leaving work
• Prohibiting removal of toxic substances or contaminated items from the workplace

Preventative Measures at Home

• Separating work areas of cottage industries from living areas
• Properly storing and disposing of toxic substances on farms and in cottage industries
• Preventing family members from visiting the workplace
• Laundering asbestos contaminated clothing separately from family laundry when necessary to wash contaminated clothing at home
• Informing workers of the risks to family members and educating as to preventative measures

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