Household Exposure

Wives and children of asbestos workers were also frequently exposed to asbestos dust from the asbestos-contaminated clothing that the worker brought home every day.  Typically, shipyard workers and other heavily exposed trades would bring asbestos-covered overalls into the home, where they would be shaken and washed by the worker's wife.  Numerous cases of mesothelioma and lung cancer have resulted from this exposure. These cases illustrate the deadly potential of low dose asbestos exposure.