A former tile worker who asked for $11.5 million in an industrial talc asbestos lawsuit has reached a confidential settlement with his former employer.

Defendant Vanderbilt Minerals LLC and plaintiff Robert Lord say they have reached a settlement while a jury was deliberating the case in Florida on March 16, 2018.

According to the lawsuit, Lord worked for Florida Tile Company in the 1970s and developed mesothelioma. He alleged he inhaled asbestos-laced talc while working with ceramic tiles. His lawyer claimed that a majority of the company’s talc products originated at one mine, which had been proven to contain asbestos.

The industrial talc asbestos case differs from many recent cosmetic talc lawsuits. The latter hinge on exposure through inhaling or powdering oneself with retail products, such as baby powder. Industrial talc lawsuits pertain to workers exposed to the substance during the manufacturing of an end-use product such as ceramic tiles and plastics.

Industrial Talc Asbestos Caused Mesothelioma

In 1993, the U.S. National Toxicology Program deemed talc a carcinogen. Even though talc often is mined in areas where asbestos is present as well, researchers say they have detected evidence of cancer-causing activity in talc that was untainted by asbestos.

Industrial talc asbestos exposure was not taken into account as a serious problem in the 1970s. Vanderbilt allegedly provided little or no safety training to employees working with the minerals at the plant.

Lord’s lawyer said that for years manufacturing companies denied their products contained any asbestos.

Any time asbestos-laced products are disturbed, tiny fibers are released into the air where nearby workers can inhale them. These fibers can take 20 to 50 years before they manifest as mesothelioma cancer, which affects the lining of an organ. Most of the time, the lining of the lungs become damaged by mesothelioma, a progressive lung disease that eventually is deadly.

Asbestos became popular during the Industrial Revolution because the mineral exhibited unsurpassed insulating and fire-retardant properties. Home building materials such as drywall, ceramic tile, roofing, insulation and more took advantage of the wonders of asbestos. End users who installed these products were exposed to the carcinogen if the materials were cut, sawed, drilled, chipped or removed during renovations.

Employees who manufactured these products were exposed to airborne industrial talc asbestos at much higher levels.

Employers allegedly knew that in the process of working with industrial talc asbestos materials, the employees would suffer damage from the airborne asbestos fibers in the workplace.

Still, both education and protective equipment were lacking, allowing employees to suffer exposure to asbestos and talc for years without knowing the damage the carcinogens were doing to their bodies.

More than 75 different types of workers are exposed to asbestos, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) began regulating asbestos exposure in 1971, but crumbling asbestos in buildings, roads, homes, schools and cars continue to allow the fibers to enter the air.

The Industrial Talc Asbestos Lawsuit is Case no. 2017CA000783000000 in the Polk County Circuit Court.