Industrial construction and plant maintenance projects across Florida put boilermakers to work assembling or repairing large machinery. A Florida boilermaker’s mesothelioma lawyer looks for evidence that job duties required working with asbestos-containing insulation or industrial sealing products that were common in previous decades.
Boilers, pressure vessels, and steam systems were often insulated with high-heat-resistant materials. Asbestos exposure was possible for those who installed or worked on the systems as part of industrial jobs. A Florida mesothelioma lawyer with Wallace & Graham, P.A., researches employment and facility records, as well as equipment histories.

Occupations can have complicated employment histories. Industrial trades are a common area of focus during our firm’s asbestos exposure investigations.
Wallace & Graham, P.A., focuses on mesothelioma claims across the country, with nearly 40 years of combined experience advocating for those diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases. Investigations typically look into the job responsibilities and industrial settings where asbestos materials were used.
Florida’s power generation facilities, shipyards, and other industrial plants are places where boilermakers install and repair steam systems and pressure vessels. In the present day, Tampa Electric’s Big Bend Power Station and other coastal power plants are major energy facilities that use large boilers to generate electricity.
These facilities contain piping, turbines, and other high-temperature mechanical equipment that require insulation and sealing materials. Many facilities were in operation for decades prior to more recent asbestos regulations, and maintenance and repair work may have disturbed older insulation products.
Mesothelioma is still closely linked to work-related exposure to asbestos fibers. In 2022, the CDC documented 2,669 malignant mesothelioma diagnoses across the country. Epidemiological studies have also found that about 80% of mesothelioma cases are pleural, or when the cancer affects the lining of the lungs.
As boilermakers have historically worked in close proximity to insulated boilers and steam systems, workers diagnosed many years later may look back at previous industrial work sites to assess whether they had exposure to asbestos-containing products.
In Florida, the time allowed to file an asbestos-related injury claim is limited by law. Under Fla. Stat. § 95.11(4)(a), the general statute of limitations for filing a personal injury claim is two years. In mesothelioma claims, the period usually runs from the time of diagnosis or the point at which a person reasonably should have known that his or her exposure to asbestos may have been the cause of the disease.
Due to the long latency period between exposure in the workplace and development of the disease, the time limit is often triggered by the discovery of the illness.
Florida’s industrial plants contained boilers and pressure vessels needing regular maintenance and repair. Boilermakers who worked in those settings came in contact with insulation and sealing products that could resist high temperatures.
When a mesothelioma diagnosis emerges many years later, it can be important to look back at those work settings to evaluate whether asbestos exposure happened in that job. Examining the details of their work and the plant’s operational background can provide crucial information. Schedule a consultation today to hire a boilermaker’s mesothelioma lawyer.