Throughout the 1960s and 70s, manufacturers commonly used asbestos in several different kinds of fire-rated wood doors — doors you could typically find in offices, schools, hospitals, and even apartment buildings.
For instance, both B-Class (60-90-minute fire rating) and C-Class (45-minute fire rating) fire doors often contained large amounts of asbestos in their white/gray mineral cores.
If The Asbestos Is On The Inside Of Fire Doors, How Are People Exposed?
Sadly, exposure to asbestos was possible any time the interior mineral cores of these fire doors were disturbed in some way. This could occur any time you machined the mineral core or performed any type of installation of hardware on the door.
For instance, installing items such as louvers, lock sets, panic bars, exit hardware, hinges, windows, and access panels would require one to drill into the mineral core, thereby releasing potentially dangerous amounts of asbestos.
Over the years, countless unsuspecting victims may have been exposed to asbestos in fire doors and not even realized it. In fact, asbestos-filled doors may be a danger to anyone involved in their installation, drilling, machining, and destruction, including:
- Construction workers
- Carpenters
- Locksmiths
- Building engineers and other maintenance personnel
- Custodians
- Trash/refuse collectors
Fire Door Installers/Workers Might Have a Workplace Asbestos Exposure Case
One of the most frightening aspects of asbestos is that a victim may not even show signs of a medical condition — including mesothelioma and lung cancer — until years or decades after exposure. This means there may be many more victims of old fire doors in the years to come.
If you believe you may have worked with one of these doors or were around others who did, you need an experienced and successful law firm by your side — you need Brayton Purcell LLP. Simply put, our mesothelioma attorneys have an unparalleled level of expertise when it comes to individuals who worked around these fire doors.
Contact us today for a free consultation. Our mesothelioma lawyers can explain your legal rights and help determine if you may have been exposed to asbestos. You can reach us online or by phone at 800-598-0314. With multiple locations in California and beyond, including offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles, we represent clients throughout the United States.
