A person suffering an asbestos related disease sought compensation from the manufacturer of products to which he was exposed. We were asked by a boiler manufacturer to determine if there was a potential that this person had been exposed to asbestos associated with their product. As is generally the case with package boilers the manufacturer had produced boilers with both asbestos and non-asbestos-containing insulation.
We visited the buildings where exposures may have occurred to determine the manufacturer and age of involved boilers. We were able to tell by inspection of the boilers, both the manufacturer of the boilers, and, based upon specifics of the boiler and its installation, the relative date of installation, for both the original boiler installation and for any later replacements. Where possible, the date of installation and manufacturer were verified by review of drawings, specifications and equipment submissions from original construction and replacement equipment. This information, correlated with the employment history of the individual, allowed us to determine if there had been a potential for exposure to the individual due to asbestos associated with boilers produced by the manufacturer in question.
Our investigation found that the individual had never worked in the vicinity of boilers which had been produced by the manufacturer during the period of time that their boilers had asbestos-containing components. During our field investigation we were able to identify a number of alternative exposures to asbestos, including thermal system insulation on piping and other equipment in the building. This inspection was also able to determine the manufacturer of other equipment located in the boiler rooms.