No, we’re not talking about professional wrestling, but rather the scheduled seasonal shutdowns common in manufacturing facilities such as paper mills, foundries, automotive plants, and even schools and universities. Known informally as “Summer Slams,” these short windows, typically in July and August, are used for preventive maintenance, critical repairs, and renovation projects while regular operations are paused or students are on break.
With a compressed timeline and high stakes, Summer Slams bring a flurry of activity with dozens of projects happening all at once, often around the clock. Unfortunately, this rush to get everything done before the fall has been associated with an increased risk of asbestos exposure for many workers, some of whom would develop mesothelioma later in life.
All Hands on Deck
During a Summer Slam, companies often took an “all hands on deck” approach. That meant calling in not only full-time employees, but also outside contractors. Many workers jumped at the opportunity to earn overtime, working 12- to 18-hour shifts. However, the pressure to complete tasks quickly often resulted in people being assigned to jobs outside their normal responsibilities, such as painting, cleaning, and repairing, or working in unfamiliar areas of the facility. Workers who may have avoided asbestos exposure in their regular day-to-day roles faced an increased risk of exposure during the intense period of a Summer Slam. In the sweltering summer months, plants and facilities typically kept doors and windows closed to maintain a cooler working environment, allowing airborne asbestos fibers to linger and circulate, thereby compounding the danger.
Whether as regular employees or temporary contractors, here’s how various trades could have been exposed to asbestos during a Summer Slam:
Boilermakers: School powerhouses and industrial boiler rooms were common Summer Slam targets. Boilermakers worked in tight, poorly ventilated spaces to clean, repair, or replace furnaces, tanks, and boilers. Older systems were often insulated with asbestos, and the gaskets, rope, and cement used to seal boiler doors, manways, and handholes were frequently made of asbestos-containing materials. Every time these seals were removed, replaced, or disturbed, asbestos fibers could be released into the air. Boilermakers and anyone assisting them risked inhaling dangerous dust as they handled contaminated equipment.
Pipefitters: Commercial buildings contain many miles of piping connecting critical equipment and, especially in buildings constructed before 1980, much of it was insulated with asbestos. In addition to the pipes themselves, asbestos has been found in a number of different component parts, as well as the equipment attached to the pipes, including gaskets, valves, ducts, steam traps, heat exchangers, and more. During a Summer Slam, pipefitters tasked with overhauling building systems could easily disturb the fine asbestos fibers and send them into the air. Even those not directly working on pipes could have been at risk if they were nearby during these activities. Many workers were never warned that the materials they were handling contained asbestos, nor that asbestos exposure could lead to life-threatening illness.
Mill Workers: Millwrights, machine operators, technicians, laborers, and maintenance mechanics working in Massachusetts paper mills during the 1960s–1980s faced especially high risk. During Summer Slams, workers performed intensive overhauls of machinery, including replacing dryer felts, repairing steam traps, and cleaning or swapping out pumps, valves, and gaskets. When equipment was offline, every minute counted. Workers and outside contractors alike were called upon to get the mill back online as quickly as possible, exposing many to airborne asbestos fibers without protective equipment, or even knowledge of the risks. Read more about how paper mills in Massachusetts regularly exposed workers to asbestos.
Electricians, Carpenters, and Welders: Summer Slams brought in a wide range of skilled trades, many of whom worked in close contact with asbestos-containing materials. Electricians risked exposure when handling wiring, panels, light fixtures, breakers, and insulating materials. Carpenters encountered asbestos in insulation, ceiling and floor tiles, drywall, joint compound, and roofing materials, particularly when cutting, sanding, or drilling. Welders disturbed asbestos while repairing or modifying boilers, machinery, or pipe systems that had been insulated decades earlier. These materials often looked no different from safe modern substitutes, and many workers were unaware of the danger they posed.
Maintenance Workers: Even routine tasks like sweeping, dusting, or prepping surfaces for painting were hazardous. Spray-applied asbestos was once common in ceilings and structural beams, and asbestos could be present in floor tiles, adhesives, caulks, and joint compound. Sweeping up in a work area where asbestos-containing materials or insulation had just been handled meant stirring up residual fibers and releasing them into the air, without any visible warning signs.
A Legacy of Exposure
Many workers who participated in Summer Slams never realized they were putting their health at risk. With so many trades on-site, so much activity compressed into a few weeks, and a lack of adequate safety training or equipment, the likelihood of unintentional asbestos exposure was high. For some, those few weeks of work had lifelong consequences.
Call an Experienced Mesothelioma Attorney
If you or someone you love worked in a manufacturing facility, paper mill, or school maintenance crew during a Summer Slam—or at any time before the 1980s—and later developed mesothelioma, you may be entitled to financial compensation. Please reach out to the mesothelioma lawyers at Shepard O’Donnell for a free case evaluation, and we will tell you if we think you have a viable claim. Shepard O’Donnell’s extensive experience with mesothelioma cases originating in a wide variety of workplace settings has resulted in life-changing verdicts or settlements for those suffering from this terrible disease and their families. Our results speak for themselves.
