Take-home asbestos exposure — also called secondhand, secondary, or household exposure — happens when a worker unknowingly carries asbestos fibers home from the job on their clothing, hair, skin, shoes, and tools. Family members who never set foot on a jobsite were exposed inside their own homes, and decades later some are diagnosed with mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.

This is one of the most heartbreaking — and legally recognized — forms of asbestos exposure, because the people harmed often had no idea they were being exposed at all.

How Take-Home Exposure Happened

A worker in a dusty asbestos trade would finish a shift covered in fibers, then:

  • Carry fibers home on work clothes, releasing them when the clothes were handled, shaken out, or laundered (see asbestos in work clothes)
  • Bring fibers into the family car and onto furniture
  • Hug spouses and children and hold kids on their lap while still in work clothes
  • Track fibers through the house on shoes and tools

The family members most exposed were usually the spouse who did the laundry and the children who greeted a parent home from work.

Who Is at Risk

  • Women — especially wives and daughters who washed a worker’s clothes; take-home exposure and talc are leading causes of mesothelioma in women.
  • Children — exposed young through a parent’s clothing and affection, and diagnosed decades later as adults.
  • Anyone who lived with a worker in a high-exposure trade.

Which Workers Brought It Home

The families of workers in the dustiest asbestos trades faced the greatest take-home risk — insulators, shipyard and Navy workers, construction trades, auto mechanics, boilermakers, and pipefitters, among others.

It Is a Recognized Basis for a Claim

Courts have long recognized that manufacturers and premises owners could foresee that asbestos fibers would be carried home. Family members diagnosed with mesothelioma from take-home exposure have pursued and recovered compensation — even though they never personally worked with asbestos.

If you were diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease and were exposed to asbestos brought home on a family member’s work clothes, you may be entitled to compensation through asbestos trust funds and civil litigation.

This information is educational and does not constitute legal or medical advice.