Power Generation
Large amounts of asbestos were often used in power stations in industrialized countries during the 20th century. Despite the fact that the hazards of occupational asbestos exposure were known, there was no attempt to inform the workforce [Power Info]. In England, an employee from the Belvedere Power Station (1959-1984) commented that: “Some of the lads actually played football with asbestos as we were all ignorant of the possible dangers.” According to a trade unionist who worked at Northfleet Power Station, Dartford, as late as the 1970s the presence of asbestos in the power station went unrecognized. As the group unit operator, his job involved crawling under machinery and getting completely covered by asbestos dust which, he said, was regarded by the workers as more of a nuisance than a danger.
Former power station workers have reported the use of the following asbestos products in thermal or nuclear power stations:
- asbestos lagging for thermal insulation applied to boiler room turbines;
- moulded asbestos for fireproofing of steel work and the protection of electric cables;
- pre-formed asbestos lagging for trunking and pipework – sections were cut to size on-site;
- Newall's Magnesium Asbestos, a powder which was mixed with water on-site, was applied to pipework which was unsuitable for covering with pre-formed asbestos sections;
- blanket asbestos;
- blocked lagging;
- asbestos blocks which were cut to size by saw wherever was convenient;
- asbestos boards with 7”-8” bolts (studding & washers) set into them by welders.1
Some asbestos came in bags made of sacking material such as hessian, some came in big cardboard boxes. In the 1960s, workmen, such as welder JS from the Isle of Grain Oil Refinery, were paid extra for working near asbestos laggers. It was not unusual for different trades to work in close proximity in the power stations so the handling of asbestos by one group of tradesmen i.e. insulators/laggers, put others at risk. According to an employee of John Brown Land Boilers who worked at the Belvedere Power Station:
“Construction at the power station was months behind in the early 1960s because of wildcat strikes. Consequently there was great pressure to complete the work; men were working seven days a week and extra shifts. We were all working in close proximity so there were tubers (pipefitters), laggers, electricians, flooring contractors all vying for space and pushing to complete.”
The experiences of workers from the power industries in Wales, India, Australia and elsewhere have been similar to those in England; the results of hazardous occupational exposures they received have been all too predictable. An elevated incidence of asbestos-related deaths has been documented in Wales due to exposures received at the former Carmarthen Bay Power Station [Asbestos Developments in Wales and Ireland].
In the State of Victoria, Australia former workers from thermal power stations in the Latrobe Valley are succumbing to asbestos-related diseases in increasing numbers [Asbestos Issues in Australia and Southeast Asia].
In the Summer of 2009, a scandal blew up over hazardous asbestos exposures experienced by workers employed to strip asbestos from the redundant Manila Thermal Power Plant in Isla de Provisor in Paco; the workers had no training and no health and safety protection [Mobilization in the Philippines].
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the level of asbestosis amongst power station workers throughout India is also high. Despite an order by the Supreme Court that the Government must check all power plants, no action has been taken by the Labor Ministry [Chrysotile in India: Truth Held Hostage].
In Kazakhstan there has been no quantification of the occupational fallout from the widespread and unregulated use of asbestos in power stations. In 2002, one observer from Northern Ireland who visited a huge power station in Almaty reported seeing: the manual opening of asbestos sacks, the storage of asbestos in open bins, no controls of any sort on asbestos use, disintegrating asbestos insulation, contamination of workers' clothes and shoes and the constant vibration of old equipment causing continuous liberation of fibers [see conference report: Latin American Asbestos Meeting].
Updated February, 2010
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1 This is not a comprehensive list of asbestos products used in power stations. It is a list compiled from discussions with former power station workers.
