Working in oil production facilities presented serious health safety risks, which included exposure to toxic fumes and asbestos fibers, leading to deadly illnesses like lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma. Chevron Oil refinery asbestos exposure occurred in numerous nationwide facilities, including in the Richmond and El Segundo, California Chevron facility.
The management at some of Chevron’s oil refineries took no precaution to protect workers from the dangers of toxic materials which resulted hundreds of cancer cases diagnosed years after employment.
Joe Lyon is a highly-rated personal injury lawyer representing plaintiffs nationwide in a wide variety of toxic tort and mesothelioma cancer claims.
Chevron Oil Refinery Asbestos & Risk of Exposure
Chevron Oil Refinery workers in California and other states regularly came into contact with toxic materials, and not only the fumes from the products at hand. Asbestos was once a common insulator for various products at refineries and other large industrial plants.
The buildings themselves and machinery found at Chevron refineries contained asbestos, and refineries handed out safety gear to workers that actually contained asbestos.
Because petroleum is highly flammable, asbestos and other insulators were used is they were resistant to heat and corrosion. Oil refinery positions put workers at risk of occupational asbestos exposure, leading to various cancers and related illnesses years later.
Chevron Oil refinery workers may have worked in a capacity to operate processing equipment, maintain and repair toxic equipment, control pumping systems, use gauges in storage tanks and regulate the flow of oil in pipelines. All this related equipment may have contained asbestos parts or insulation. As the material broke down over time, it became more and more hazardous for refinery employees.
Well into the 1970s, it was common for oil refineries like Chevron to contain fire resistant materials such as asbestos. The risk of fires and explosions in refineries is naturally high, which justified the use of asbestos before it was known to directly cause mesothelioma, lung cancer, colorectal cancer and other cancers.
One study concludes that exposure to asbestos in oil refineries may cause pleural mesothelioma. The researchers determined mesothelioma should be considered an “occupational disease among oil refinery workers.”
Symptoms of Asbestos-Related Disease
There have been reports of asbestos-related cancer cases at the Richmond and El Segundo, CA Chevron oil refinery.
If symptoms appear years after exposure, they may include:
- Pain in the chest
- Trouble swallowing
- Trouble breathing
- Heavy coughing
- Severe fatigue
- Weight loss
