Product Description

Multiple major U.S. consumer appliance manufacturers — including General Electric consumer appliances, Westinghouse consumer appliances, Sunbeam, Toastmaster (McGraw-Edison division), Proctor-Silex, Hamilton Beach, Conair, Norelco / North American Philips, and various other historic consumer appliance brands — allegedly manufactured through the asbestos era hand-held hair dryers, curling irons, home space heaters, portable heaters, toasters, popcorn poppers, coffee makers, and small kitchen appliances with asbestos heating elements, asbestos electrical wire insulation, and asbestos thermal insulation.

The consumer-hair-dryer asbestos exposure pathway is one of the most publicly-documented consumer product asbestos exposures. Following the 1979 CPSC investigation and industry-wide phase-out of asbestos in consumer hair dryers, U.S. consumer appliance manufacturers reformulated to remove asbestos from hair dryers, curling irons, and small electric appliances.

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that consumer electric appliances of the asbestos era contained asbestos in heating elements and internal insulation and that consumers, beauty salon workers, and appliance repair technicians who used and serviced these products were exposed to airborne asbestos.

The consumer appliance manufacturers have been named as Manufacturer Defendants in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation.

Workers and Consumers Exposed

  • Consumer users of hair dryers, curling irons, space heaters, toasters, and small appliances during the asbestos era
  • Beauty salon workers using professional-grade hair dryers over multi-decade careers
  • Appliance repair technicians servicing consumer appliances
  • Second-hand household exposures to family members and children of routine appliance users

If You Used Asbestos-Insulated Consumer Appliances Before 1979

If you routinely used consumer hair dryers, curling irons, space heaters, or small electric appliances during the pre-1979 asbestos era — particularly if you worked as a beauty salon operator over multi-decade career or used a household hair dryer daily for many years — and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or another asbestos-related illness, you may have legal rights.

Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 936-2956