Law • Personal Injury

The Dangers of Maritime Shipbuilding, Ship Repair and Ship Breaking

Oct 18, 2010 • By Stacey E. Burke • 236 Views

Shipbuilding is the construction of vessels which often occurs in shipyards or other marine equipment manufacturing facilities.  Those who build ships are called shipwrights, shipbuilders, naval engineers, or boat builders.  Ship breaking is the tearing down of a previously-used vessel.  Globally the shipbuilding industry's largest country is South Korea, which in 2008 produced more vessels than the rest of the world combined.

Before seamen can work offshore and before dock workers have cargo to load and unload, vessels must be put together.  Today's modern ships are built almost exclusively of welded steel.  A trained naval architect will assist in designing and building merchant ships, such as oil tankers, cargo ships, and container ships, offshore drilling platforms, barges, fishing boats, tug boats, and other offshore structures.

Dangers of Shipbuilding:

Asbestos Diseases: Asbestos has been used in shipbuilding for decades. Many shipbuilding facilities were built years before the dangerous of asbestos exposure were known.  Therefore, many shipbuilders, ship breakers and even ship repairmen do not realize they have been exposed to the dangerous material.  Furthermore, asbestos related diseases, such as asbestosis and mesothelioma, may not show up for decades after exposure.

Back Injuries: Shipbuilders often work in cramped spaces which can cause musculoskeletal problems, and lead to back injuries.  Maritime workers are at a higher risk for back injuries due to the nature of their jobs.  There are many ergonomically related risk factors for shipyard employees such as force, repetition, contact stress, vibration and cold temperatures.  OSHA recommends better training of employees, setting a proper maximum lifting weight, encouraging the use of mechanical devices to assist workers, using better lighting in work areas, and proper posture.

Welding Injuries: Welders make up a huge percentage of those who work in ship construction and injuries associated with welding are common.  The burning of metal is dangerous, and the injuries can be serious.  Burns, eye injuries, and exposure to various gases and fumes.  Safety equipment and protective clothing are crucial to the safety of workers who weld and those who work near them.

If you are an injured ship builder, ship breaker, or work in vessel repair, maritimeaccident lawyers may be able to help you recover damages for your injuries.

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Stacey E. Burke

Stacey E. Burke is an experienced personal injury lawyer. She is a partner of Watts Guerra Craft LLP, and practices in the firm's Houston... (show bio)

Health • Cancer

Upper Lobe Tumors and Asbestos Exposure

Aug 21, 2010 • By Montwrobleski77 •

Over 2,000 new cases of Mesothelioma are diagnosed each year in the United States (making up about 3 % of all cancer diagnoses).  The more research that is dedicated to finding a cure for this disease, the better.  One interesting study is called, "A Meta-Analysis of Colorectal Cancer and Asbestos Exposure" by David M. Horna, David H. Garabrant, and Brenda W. Gillespie -  American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 139, No. 12: 1210-1222.  Here is an excerpt: "A meta-analysis of the relation between asbestos exposure and colorectal cancer mortality was conducted, using published reports of 20 asbestos-exposed cohorts. Summarystandardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for colorectal cancer were examined in relation to asbestos type and estimates of dust exposure (as direct estimators of asbestos exposure) and in relation to lung cancer SMR and the proportion of all deaths due to mesothelioma (as proxy estimators of asbestos exposure). An elevated summary SMR was observed in cohorts exposed to amphibole asbestos (summary SMR = 1.47; 95% confidence interval (Cl) 1.09–2.00), but not in cohorts exposed to serpentine asbestos (summary SMR = 1.04; 95% Cl 0.81–1.33) or in cohorts exposed to both serpentine and amphibole asbestos (summary SMR = 1.03; 95% Cl 0.74–1.42). Cohorts having a lung cancer SMR greater than 2.00 had a summary SMR of 1.51 (95% Cl 1.29–1.76), and cohorts in which more than 1 % of all deaths were attributed to mesothelioma had asummary SMR of 1.24 (95% Cl 0.94–1.64), After stratifying the cohorts based on mortality due to all cancers excluding those known or suspected to be associated with asbestos exposure, lung cancer mortality was not clearly associated with colorectal cancer mortality, suggesting that the crude association between these factors may be due to misdiagnosis of lung cancer as other types of cancer in the reported causes of death. These results suggest that exposure to amphibole asbestos may be associated with colorectal cancer, but these findings may reflect an artifact of miscertification of cause of death. The results also suggest that serpentine asbestos is not associated with colorectal cancer."

A second study is called, "Association of Cigarette Smoking and Asbestos Exposure with Location and Histology of Lung Cancer" by BURTON W. LEE, JOHN C. WAIN, KARL T. KELSEY, JOHN K. WIENCKE, and DAVID C. CHRISTIANI - Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Volume 157, Number 3, March 1998, 748-755.  Here is an excerpt: "Prior studies have suggested that lung cancers that arise in association with cigarette smoking favor an upper-lobe location while those associated with asbestos exposure favor a lower-lobe location. An excess of adenocarcinomas has also been reported among cases not exposed to cigarette smoke as well as among those exposed to asbestos. However, these studies typically have not adjusted adequately for potential confounders such as the patient's age, sex, race, or family history of cancer. To better examine the effects of cigarette smoking and asbestos exposure on location and histology of lung cancer, we analyzed data from a large case-control study that included 456 patients with stage I or II lung cancer. Patients with upper-lobe tumors tended to have had more exposure to tobacco as assessed by pack-years smoked (54.7 versus 46.2, p = 0.07) and less time since quitting smoking (3.0 versus 5.5 yr, p = 0.05). In contrast to some prior reports, asbestos exposure was also associated with an upper-lobe location of tumor. Among those with upper-lobe tumors, 14.6% had a history of significant asbestos exposure compared with 5.4% of those with lower-lobe tumors (p < 0.01). The relationship between asbestos exposure and upper-lobe location of tumor was also statistically significant whether stratified by smoking or analyzed by multivariable logistic regression modeling. Adenocarcinomas were more likely among those with less exposure to cigarette smoke based on fewer pack-years smoked (41.5 versus 61.8, p = 0.0001) and more time since quitting smoking (5.0 versus 3.0 yr, p = 0.02). The proportion of patients with significant exposure to asbestos was lower among those with adenocarcinomas but was not statistically significant (9.5 versus 15.3%, p = 0.09). In multivariable logistic regression analysis, longer time since smoking exposure remained a significant predictor of adenocarcinomas (p < 0.02), but history of asbestos exposure did not predict tumor histology. Thus, in patients with lung cancer, both cigarette smoking and asbestos exposure histories favor an upper-lobe location of tumor. Longer time since smoking exposure favors adenocarcinomas, but the history of asbestos exposure does not appear to influence the tumor histology."

If you found any of these studies interesting, please read them in their entirety.  We all owe a great deal of thanks to the people who are researching these important issues.

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Montwrobleski77

Monty Wrobleski is the author of this article, for more information please visit the following links Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis... (show bio)

Health • Cancer

What Effects Can Asbestos Have on the Body?

Jun 24, 2008 • By Patricia Woloch • 23,127 Views

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that was found to have great heat and fire resistant qualities to it. Unfortunately, studies have shown that long-term exposure to asbestos can lead to serious, if not deadly, health problems.

Generally, exposure to asbestos will affect the lungs and abdominal areas. Here is a breakdown of the more common illness associated with asbestos exposure.

Asbestosis

Asbestosis is not a cancer. Rather, it is a long-term illness that causes the lungs to develop scar tissue. This scar tissue can reduce your breathing capacity, making it difficult for oxygen and carbon monoxide to enter and exit the lungs properly. Asbestosis is a slow progressing disease and can take 10 to 20 years to develop after the initial exposure to asbestos. This disease can range from showing little or no symptoms to being potentially fatal. Symptoms include:

• Shortness of breath


• Persistent cough producing mucus


• Tightness in the chest


• Chest pain


• Loss of appetite


• Dry, crackling sound in the lungs while inhaling

Pleural Plaques

The pleura is the thin lining surrounding the lungs. Pleural plaques are changes that occur in that thin lining due to low or intermittent exposure to asbestos. While pleural plaques are not concerned pre-cancerous, or a symptom of a more dangerous ailment to come, they may slightly affect some lung functions.

Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the most commonasbestos-related cancer and accounts for 1 of every 5 deaths among asbestos workers. It may take as much as 40 or 50 years for lung cancer to develop after the initial long-term exposure to asbestos. Asbestos workers who also smoke increase their risk of lung cancer by 50 to 90 times. While it can be very difficult to detect initially, symptoms of lung cancer include:

• Cough producing blood or heavy amounts of phlegm


• Shortness of breath


• Hoarseness when speaking


• Significant weight loss


• Swelling in face or arms


• Severe headaches or migraines


• Vision problems


• Chest, back, neck, stomach or bone pain

Mesothelioma

The mesothelioma is a thin membrane that protects most internal organs (heart, lungs) and lines the body cavity (chest, abdomen). Malignant (cancerous)mesothelioma is commonly associated with long-term exposure to asbestos. As with other health issues relating to asbestos exposure, mesothelioma symptoms may not appear for years or decades. While all asbestos exposure symptoms are similar, a diagnosis of mesothelioma is generally found to be fatal, with death occurring within months.

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Patricia Woloch

If you or a loved one worked in an industry where you were exposed to heavy levels of asbestos, you could be at risk for contracting one of...(show bio)