Asbestos Exposure
With the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 and the subsequent rapid growth of railroads, manufacturing was a leading provider of jobs and economic growth in New York well into the 20th century, including the Finger Lakes region. Corning, located in the south central area of the Finger Lakes region, is the home and namesake of Corning, Inc., the well-known maker of glass and ceramic products for industrial, scientific and technical uses. Corning, Inc., and numerous other notable manufacturers like Ingersoll Rand, General Electric, IBM, Lockheed Martin and Whirlpool, employed many residents of the Finger Lakes region over the years.
An unfortunate legacy of New York’s industrial past is the lingering fallout of asbestos exposure. Asbestos was used extensively in heavy manufacturing facilities in the 20th century until it was eventually banned for commercial use in the 1980s. Asbestos, an inexpensive and extremely durable, pliable and fire resistant material, was also widely used in a variety of construction materials, such as roofing shingles, and tiles used for ceilings and floors. It could also be found in paper products; cement products; friction products, such as automobile clutch, brake, and transmission parts; machinery parts like gaskets; heat-resistant fabrics; packaging; and coatings.
While asbestos safeguarded against fire damage and protected lives from extreme heat, it regrettably exposed factory workers and tradesmen to serious health risks, such as mesothelioma. Malignant mesothelioma very often will take decades to manifest, and by the time a diagnosis is made, the cancer is almost always at an advanced stage.
Corning is one of several New York cities that show up in databases that track asbestos use and identify subsequent hotspots that have higher-than-average rates for the occurrence of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
