Chlor-Alkali Industry

The chlor-alkali industry produces chlorine and caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) by passing electricity through salt water. For much of the twentieth century, many plants used large electrolytic cells fitted with asbestos "diaphragms" that separated parts of the cell. Making, installing, and replacing these asbestos diaphragms exposed workers to fibers.

Origin

The chlor-alkali process was industrialized in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The diaphragm cell, which commonly relied on asbestos, became a dominant production method and kept asbestos in use in these plants long after its hazards were known.

Significance in Asbestos Context

For patients, the chlor-alkali industry is important because it was one of the settings where workers handled raw asbestos directly, often chrysotile used to build and maintain diaphragm cells. Job tasks like mixing asbestos slurry, coating cathodes, and tearing out old diaphragms could release high fiber levels. Chemical plant workers, maintenance crews, and contractors at these facilities may have exposure histories that are less obvious than shipyard or construction work, so this industry is worth flagging to your legal team. Because some diaphragm cells stayed in use into recent decades, exposure wasn't limited to the distant past.

Example Sentence

His years maintaining diaphragm cells at a chlor-alkali plant explained an asbestos exposure that his family had never connected to his mesothelioma.

Related Terms

Chrysotile, Diaphragm Cell, Occupational Exposure, Product Identification, Work History, Duty to Warn

Notes

• If you worked at a chemical plant, note whether you handled or worked near diaphragm cells, and record the specific plant and years.
• Ask coworkers or unions to help identify the cell manufacturers and asbestos suppliers used at your facility.
• Preserve employment records and any plant maintenance logs that document asbestos diaphragm work.