BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – We like to think of asbestos as a problem of the past, something that has been “done away with” back in the '80s and '90s. But sadly, for hundreds of thousands of Americans, it is still very much at the front of the mind.
The many debilitating conditions that may occur as a result of exposure to asbestos can take years, often decades to reach their full effect. Someone who inhaled the toxic fibers 10 or 30 years ago, may just now begin to suffer the consequences. Asbestosis and lung cancer are the asbestos diseases affecting the greatest number of Americans, but the condition most closely associated with the toxic mineral is mesothelioma.
A cancer affecting the linings which cover the lungs and stomach; this disease is highly lethal and exclusively caused by asbestos. Looking at mesothelioma statistics gives a good indication of the damage this mineral has wrought.
Pyles
According to a 2015 CDC report, things are looking worse than anyone anticipated. Following the dramatic reduction in the use of asbestos beginning in the '70s and '80s, scientist predicted a corresponding decrease in mesothelioma deaths starting 1999. However, the figures seem to follow an opposite trend, registering an increase from 2,479 cases in 1999, to 2,597 in 2015. This accounts for nearly 10 percent of the worldwide total, as estimated by the WHO.
West Virginia does her fair share to add to this grim tally. According to the CDC, the statewide mesothelioma mortality stands at 14 per million per year, above the national average of 11. Two of the state’s counties are in the national top 50 for mesothelioma mortality, Hancock with 39/million and Wood with 25/million.
West Virginians likely were exposed to asbestos while working in power plants, oil refineries and manufacturing, but coal mining takes the king’s share, given the prevalence of this industry in the past.
While there are no asbestos deposits in West Virginia, coal can be contaminated with traces of the mineral, and it takes very small quantities of it to make one sick. Protective equipment used to contain asbestos until no long ago (some of it still does today.) As the gear gets warn out, it releases fibers into the air or on the miner’s skin. Cases of mesothelioma have been recorded in former or current employees of the Consolidated Coal Company in Fairmont and Ben Franklin in Moundsville. A full list of the worksites where someone might have encountered asbestos in West Virginia can be found here.
Power plants are notorious fire hazards, and needless to say, electrocution hazards. This justified the ample use of asbestos for lining or coating machinery around the plant, or the protective gear electrical workers were using. Electrician’s gloves that contain asbestos still can be purchased today.
Because of the high heat and obvious fire hazards involved, oil refineries were also asbestos hot spots. The industry never took off in West Virginia, although Ergon has been operating a refinery out of Newell for decades. Workers could have been exposed when maintaining machinery, or like everywhere else, through their protective gear.
Clarksburg used to be a thriving manufacturing center, especially for glass making. Centurial Products and Fourco Glass were both located here. Glass production requires a lot of heat. And until a couple of decades ago, where there was heat, there was lots and lots of asbestos.
Historical exposure is not the only source of new mesothelioma cases. As the NPR reports we are facing a third wave of asbestos disease. People who are currently affected are mostly builders hired to work on old structures that are effectively littered with the dangerous mineral. Approaching any job like this without adequate protection may very well rend one in the hospital 10 or 20 years down the line.
Given West Virginia’s many dilapidated industrial facilities, random trespassers might also get more than they bargain for. Consider this another reason to watch where your kids are playing.
Pyles is the administrative director of the Environmental Litigation Group, a law firm specializing in toxic exposure cases. ELG is based in Birmingham, Alabama.
