In the past, the construction industry accounted for an estimated 70–80 per cent of total United States consumption of asbestos fibre, and an enormous number of workersin various construction trades have been exposed to varying amounts of asbestos. From 1958 to 1973, until the Environmental Protection Agency abolished the practice, asbestos fire proofing material was sprayed in more than half the multistoried buildings constructed in the United States. About 25 per cent of the sprayed material would fail to adhere, and was released into the air. All workers on the site during and after the spraying were exposed.
Thirty per cent of the water distribution pipe sold in the United States in 1974 was asbestos cement. A mortality study of the members of the union of plumbers and pipefitters in the United States found significant excesses in proportional mortality ratios for malignancies, including 7 deaths due to mesothelioma. Two studies of sheet-metal workers in New York City found significantly increased mortality, and mesothelioma was recorded on death certificates in 9 out of 716 total deaths (1.3 per cent).
Studies in construction workers are difficult since specific exposures often are not known, and workers change jobs frequently. Epidemiological studies, however, consistently show that construction workers are one of the groups most at risk for asbestos-related disease and mesothelioma.