Short Answer: 

Second-hand asbestos exposure happens when someone comes into contact with asbestos and then carries that asbestos on their body, clothes, tools or vehicles, exposing someone else. 

And yes, it is dangerous. In fact any asbestos exposure is considered unsafe by the National Cancer Institute.1

“The overall evidence suggests there is no safe level of asbestos exposure.”

Source: National Cancer Institute (NIH) 2





People who once worked with asbestos are at the highest risk of developing debilitating asbestos-related diseases. However, other people-people who have never worked in construction, the automotive industry, or mining-could still face danger if they lived with or spent significant time around someone who did.

A Brief History of Asbestos

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that comes in six different forms. Once considered a “miracle mineral,” asbestos was renowned for its strength, resilience, and heat-resistant properties. For over 100 years, American industry thrived off asbestos, incorporating the mineral into everything from automobile brakes to wall paint. 

Scientists began to realize the dangers of asbestos in the 1920s. However, asbestos companies spent millions of dollars trying to convince the public that its products were safe, even when they knew otherwise. 

The asbestos industry’s negligence and lies cost countless Americans their health, wealth, and livelihoods. 

However, not all asbestos exposures are the same. 

Second-hand Asbestos Exposure

Scientists usually categorize asbestos exposures as:

  • Primary Exposure, or occupational exposure, which affects people who worked directly with asbestos or asbestos-contaminated products. Primary asbestos exposure was common among blue-collar workers employed in many different labor positions. 
  • Secondary Exposure, sometimes referred to as “take-home exposure” or “second-hand asbestos exposure,” which affects people who lived with asbestos workers. 

Since gender roles once precluded most women from performing manual or heavy labor, asbestos workers were usually men, while the people most likely to be exposed to second-hand asbestos were their wives and children. 

How Second-Hand Asbestos Exposure Happens 

Asbestos fibers are microscopic and can be smaller in width than a human hair. However, they have a rough texture and jagged composition. If asbestos goes airborne, it can easily stick to skin and clothing. 

Today, asbestos is highly regulated by both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. When a business instructs its employees to work with asbestos-based materials, they must also provide protective equipment and clothing. Oftentimes, the federal government will even require companies to provide on-site decontamination facilities and employee showers

But before the dangers of asbestos became public knowledge, people who worked with asbestos-contaminated products did not know they needed to be cautious when they came home from work. They would often track asbestos dust into their vehicle and into their homes, putting entire families at risk. 

Asbestos, after all, does not discriminate: it can transfer from a car seat onto a child’s clothing, or scatter into the crevices of a washing machine, contaminating multiple loads of laundry. 

Over the course of days, months, and years, people subjected to second-hand asbestos exposure could inhale massive amounts of fiber. 

Unfortunately, asbestos’s resilience is not only industrial. When people inhale asbestos, the fibers can get trapped inside the lungs and accumulate, causing severe respiratory problems up to and including cancer. 

The Dangers of Secondary Asbestos Exposure 

Second-hand asbestos exposure is not as common today as it was throughout much of the 20th century. However, take-home asbestos exposure still presents a serious health hazard – one that could affect millions of Americans. In fact, studies of asbestos-related diseases have found that 1 in 5 diagnoses can be traced back to household exposure

Common conditions attributed to second-hand asbestos exposure include but are not limited to: 

  • Asbestosis, a scarring of the lungs caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibers. 
  • Pleural disease, a non-cancerous lung condition that affects the membranes of the lung and chest, making it more difficult to breathe. 
  • Mesothelioma, a set of cancers that affects the tissue surrounding most of the body’s major internal organs. People who inhale asbestos are most likely to be diagnosed with mesothelioma of the lung, or pleural mesothelioma
  • Different cancers, including lung cancer. People who have both a history of cigarette smoking and exposure to asbestos are one of the highest-risk groups for lung cancer. 

Since mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses have latency periods that can exceed 50 years from the first asbestos exposure, many people who encountered asbestos never realize they were exposed until they develop respiratory problems later in life. 

The Costs of Take-Home Asbestos Exposure

Asbestos-related illnesses can impair breathing, cause work loss or disability, and even result in malignant diseases like mesothelioma and other cancers. Apart from the pain, suffering and enormous human costs, by some informed estimates, the average cost of mesothelioma treatment is between $11,000 and $12,000 per month.3

Even if someone has high-quality private health care, they may still be responsible for out-of-pocket expenses, including co-pays and deductibles, for common treatments like: 

  • Chemotherapy, which can cost up to $40,000 for a first-time course. 
  • Surgery, which can cost more than $26,000 per procedure. 
  • Radiation therapy, which can cost more than $9,000. 

The Journal of Rare Tumors suggests that the median “per episode costs for mesothelioma for the inpatient setting” are $25,566. Phrased differently, this means that, every time a mesothelioma patient must be hospitalized as part of a routine treatment, they and their health insurance are liable to be billed tens of thousands of dollars.4

Mesothelioma and other asbestos disease patients could face other losses, too. Aside from medical bills, they might have to: 

  • Pay for expensive prescription drugs, including painkillers and chemotherapy components pills.
  • Attend physical therapy sessions, which are often mandatory for patients diagnosed with certain cancers, including malignant mesothelioma;
  • Take time away from work, costing them the same money they need to use to fund their treatment and keep a roof over their head 

You Could Receive Money for Your Asbestos Injuries  

Legal and Financial Liability By The Asbestos Industry for Asbestos-Related Illnesses

If you, or a loved one, have been injured by asbestos at home or at work, you could be entitled to significant compensation

Under U.S. law, every person and every company has a legal duty to avoid unnecessarily harming anyone else. This is called the “duty of care.” When someone has a duty of care, they must warn people about the possible dangers inherent to a place or product.

When someone violates the duty of care by putting employees and their families at risk, they could be considered negligent. 

If a company is negligent, it could be held accountable for any resulting damages in a civil court.

But compensation is available for second-hand asbestos exposure without even having to file a lawsuit.

The asbestos industry knew for decades that its products were associated with deadly diseases like mesothelioma. But they did not tell workers, families, and the American public that asbestos can kill.

Asbestos Industry Cover Up

Instead of warning people, the asbestos industry shut down scientific studies and then hid the results

In the past several decades, people have filed civil lawsuits against the asbestos company, winning hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation – money that can be used to pay off their medical bills, replace lost income, or cover the costs of a loved one’s funeral. 

Asbestos Trust Compensation – Money For People Injured by First or Second-Hand Asbestos Exposure

In fact, the asbestos industry was ordered by courts to preserve their assets and insurance money in trusts. The money can only be used to compensate people hurt by asbestos illnesses. 

Asbestos trust compensation is available to people with asbestos-related injuries caused by second-hand asbestos exposure. 

Thousands of people have received money for their illness, even though they never worked around asbestos. 

Instead they lived with someone who did, and often washed the asbestos-contaminated work clothes of their spouse or family member.

People who had to inhale asbestos fibers because a loved one strove to make an honest living are victims, too, and entitled to relief for their damages and losses. 

What to Do If You Suspect You Were Exposed To Asbestos

Asbestos symptoms can take decades to develop. However, some asbestos-related problems, such as asbestos rash symptoms, could appear quickly. 

If you suspect you have been exposed to asbestos, you should discuss it with your healthcare provider. A physician can perform additional medical procedures, such as a chest x-ray, to see whether you have significant and potentially dangerous accumulations of asbestos in your lungs.

AsbestosClaims.law is your comprehensive resource for all things asbestos. We hope this information helps you. If you have any additional questions or concerns related to asbestos, including testing for exposure or how to file a claim, please get in touch by email at [email protected], or call or text us at (833) 4-ASBESTOS (427-2378) or (206) 455-9190.

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1 National Cancer Institute (NIH), Asbestos Fact Sheet.
2 National Cancer Institute (NIH), Asbestos Fact Sheet.
3 Grace Hambuchen, Missouri Workers’ Compensation Enhanced Benefits for Mesothelioma Victims: Too Crispy or Too Chewy ?, 86 MO. L. REV. ()
4 Borrelli, E., Babcock, Z. and Kogut, S., 2019.Costs of medical care for mesothelioma. Rare Tumors, 11, p.2036361319863498.