Former Cleveland, Ohio workers at the Monarch Aluminum plant may have been exposed to asbestos, and have an increased risk to develop lung diseases and aggressive cancers such as lung cancer and mesothelioma. Recent medical studies have concluded casting processes and aluminum smelting increases the risk of occupational lung and bladder cancer.
Monarch specialized in aluminum and zinc alloy casting products. Like similar companies in the aluminum and metals industry, the Monarch plant commonly used asbestos as an insulator in the buildings themselves. For decades, up until the 1980s, this toxic material went unregulated as it posed terrible health risks for those who handled it.
The Monarch Aluminum company is now defunct but the factory was once a mainstay on Cleveland’s west side. The two massive buildings that housed the company were massive and likely had a great deal of toxic material within the roofing, flooring and paneling.
Asbestos was widely used and in many instances remained safe until the material was disturbed years after installation. When workers repaired or renovated workspaces with the toxin around, they may have ingested or inhaled the substance. Asbestos can rest in the lung tissue for up to 40 years until finally causing cancers including mesothelioma.
Joe Lyon is a toxic exposure lawyer representing injured plaintiffs nationwide in a wide variety of occupational lung disease and mesothelioma claims.
Asbestos in the Cleveland Monarch Aluminum Plant
Workers at Cleveland’s Monarch Aluminum factory were possibly exposed to asbestos in several areas of the industrial site. And even if workers did not handle the toxic products at all, the material could have been floating around the factory floor and increasing the risk of developing cancers.
In metal processing plants, asbestos was commonly used on equipment that included:
• Ovens
• Hot blast stoves
• Generators
• Furnaces
• Rolling mills
• Tanks
• Boilers
• Cranes
• Steam pipes
There were some jobs in the metal and steel industries that were more risky as far as toxic exposure hazards go. The positions at Monarch most commonly exposed to asbestos included:
- Pipefitter
- Electrician
- Machinist
- Boilermaker
- Smelter
- Welder
- Insulator
- Maintenance Crews
