Articles Posted in Asbestos Exposure

Boston Mesothelioma Lawyers are hopeful that this ongoing series on asbestos exposure throughout the United States can be informative and eye-opening for those who may have been exposed to asbestos, which can cause the deadly and incurable cancer mesothelioma.

Exposure to asbestos can come from many places. In fact, all of us have been exposed at some point in time. It is the length, duration and severity of exposure that is important. In these cases, workers across the country were exposed by vermiculite, which is used in insulation and other construction products. In other cases, someone who lived with a miner, can be exposed to deadly levels. Even people who live near a mine or are exposed to miners can inhale the microscopic asbestos particles, which can cling to the walls of a person’s organs.

The particles typically sit inside a person for 30 to 40 years before symptoms are present and a diagnosis can be made. The link between asbestos and mesothelioma has resulted in more than 800,000 court cases. The U.S. military was one of the largest consumers of asbestos and federal court cases have topped 700,000.

As previously reported on Mesothelioma Lawyers Blog, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did years of research on 28 sites across the country that mined vermiculite containing asbestos. Between 1919 and 1990, a site in Libby, Montana, was responsible for producing more than 70 percent of all vermiculite sold in the United States in that time, the Environmental Protection Agency reports. That mine shipped vermiculite to plants across the country, where miners exfoliated it to produce insulation and other products.

Asbestos has never officially been banned in the United States, but companies have curtailed its use over the years. Previously, it was used in thousands of products, including drywall material, gaskets, packing, automotive brakes, ceilings and floor tiles.

Mesothelioma in Brutus, NY: This plant, which was owned by the former Zonolite Company and W.R. Grace, operated from1963 to 1989.

It processed 148,485 tons of vermiculite mined in Libby used in insulation, building products, agricultural products and fireproofing material. After the vermiculite plant closed, a cocoa husk mulch company operated until 2001. It is unoccupied today.

According to researchers, the area near the plant is a mix of agricultural, undeveloped and residential properties. The Village of Weedsport is less than 1/4 mile from the site and in 1990, 1,267 people lived within one mile.

The agency recommends that former workers or those who lived with workers see a doctor who specializes in asbestos-related diseases and illnesses due to likely exposure.

Mesothelioma in Beltsville, MD: This W.R. Grace & Company/Zonolite Company site operated from 1966 to the early 1990s and processed vermiculite mined in Libby.

During a 22-year span, 93,000 tons of vermiculite were processed at the Maryland site. The facility exfoliated vermiculite to manufacture insulation, building products, agricultural products and fireproofing material.

Mesothelioma in Tampa, FL: The southernmost site in the nation researched for exposure to asbestos, this site has processed vermiculite since the 1950s.

Before 1991, the plant, which was owned by Zonolite and W.R. Grace & Company, processed at least 49,000 tons of vermiculite that came from the Libby mine. Houses sit 1/10 of a mile from the site and in 1990, 4,645 people lived within a mile.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently came out with an analysis of 28 sites nationwide that received asbestos-containing vermiculite from a mine in Libby, Montana, where hundreds died and thousands went ill because of heavy exposure to asbestos.

Over the next few weeks, Mesothelioma Lawyers Blog will write a series of reports detailing these sites, information gathered by federal authorities and tips for people who may have been exposed to asbestos. As previously written in our blogs, researchers continue searching for treatment options, but mesothelioma in Massachusetts is classified as terminal and has no known cure. But Boston Personal Injury Lawyers can help ensure that justice is done if you have been exposed to asbestos.

Unfortunately, a mesothelioma diagnosis is usually not made until between 30 and 40 years after initial exposure, which makes it difficult for a victim to link the cancer to the asbestos exposure. Tiny asbestos particles can be inhaled and cling to the walls of organs and over time create the deadly cancer.

But it’s not just be people who worked in vermiculite mines who are affected. Someone who washed the clothes of miners can be affected or someone who lives near the mine itself can years later come down with this horrible cancer.

According to a 2009 CNN article, the mine in Libby started in 1919 and produced vermiculite, which is a mineral often used in insulation, until 1990. Dust from the plant covered grass, the tops of cars and drifted through the air and became part of residents’ daily lives, though they didn’t know the dangers. Even some 20 years after the plant closed, the federal government provided $130 million in cleanup and medical assistance.

The Libby mine shipped vermiculite to plants throughout the country, where other workers would exfoliate asbestos-containing vermiculite.

Mesothelioma in Massachusetts: The Zonolite Company operated a plant in Easthampton, Mass. and received asbestos-contaminated vermiculite from Libby, Montana from 1963 to 1984.

The facility continued producing vermiculite from other sources until 1992. The site, which includes a former rail line, is in a mixed residential and commercial area. An analysis by federal agents determined that workers, people who lived with workers and others who passed near the site could have had heavy exposure to asbestos.

Even in 2006, asbestos samples were found in thick vegetation on the site. According to 2001 data, about 1,400 people live within a half mile of the site and they, too, could be affected.

Mesothelioma in Edgewater, NJ: While reports don’t specifically indicate, it appears this facility in northern New Jersey began receiving vermiculite from the Libby mine in the 1960s and processed vermiculite there until the 1990s.

From 1967 to 1969, the plant processed about 300 tons of vermiculite from Libby. This plant used the vermiculite to manufacture gypsum wallboard.

Mesothelioma in Trenton, NJ: This Zonolite Company/W.R. Grace facility operated between 1948 and 1994.

In that time, the facility exfoliated about 350,000 tons of vermiculite from the Libby site. It is an 8.44-acre site in a zoned industrial area. A residential area is only 1/4 mile to the west. A company now on site shreds and recycles paper.

The study concluded that former employees were exposed to hazardous levels of Libby asbestos, and some have developed asbestos-related diseases and died. Workers’ family members and others in the community may also have been exposed.
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