Asbestos

Mount Storm Power Station

Situated on an artificial lake of the same name, the Mount Storm Power Station is one of many coal-fired power stations in the state of West Virginia. This one is located near the town of Bismarck, just along West Virginia Route 93, a largely rural, mountainous area consisting of many residents who have worked for the gigantic power station, where the first unit was commissioned in 1965 with additional units going on line in 1966 and 1973.

Mount Storm Power Station

Dominion Resources operates the Mount Storm Power Station, and it’s their largest plant, generating in excess of 1,600 megawatts of electricity.

The accompanying lake serves as a cooling pond for the power plant but it also functions as a recreation area for those who live in or visit this area in the rugged Allegheny Mountains. The warm temperatures in the lake make it ideal for swimming and diving, some say, though others suggest concern due to its proximity to the coal-fired plant.

Mount Storm Power Station a Torrent of Asbestos Exposure

In actuality, there’s been plenty of concern about the Mount Storm Power Station over the years. Like all coal-fired stations, Mount Storm produces particulates known as fly ash, which circulate through the air around the plant.

The ash has always been a worry though Dominion has worked harder in the last few decades to reduce the amount of ash and sulfur dioxide that makes its way out of the plant’s boilers.

However, the hazard that wasn’t addressed for the first few decades of the plant’s existence was exposure to asbestos. Indeed, the employees of Mount Storm Power Station faced a much more ominous foe than fly ash.

They were consistently exposed to products made from dangerous asbestos and no one ever told them their health was at stake if they didn’t protect themselves from this toxic mineral.

Tradesmen who may have encountered asbestos products at Mount Storm include:

• Pipefitters
• Insulators
• Electricians
• Welders
• Machinists
• Technicians
• And many others

Asbestos materials may have included:

• Insulation
• Gaskets
• Rope
• Packing material
• Asbestos clothing like aprons, gloves, booties, and even masks

Asbestos exposure was nearly unavoidable for those who worked at Mount Storm Power Station prior to about 1980, and even though there were warnings about asbestos issued as early as the 1930s, often by doctors who monitored the health of plant and factory workers, the practice of using the mineral continued until rules were passed in the late 1970s. As a result, generations of workers would eventually be diagnosed with asbestos-related illnesses, including asbestosis and the much more deadly mesothelioma.

Today, those who worked at Mount Storm Power Station throughout the 1970s are now being diagnosed with asbestos-caused cancer, which can lay dormant in the body for as much as 50 years. These individuals are being struck with the illness during the prime of their life, when they were set to enjoy a leisurely retirement with family and friends. Instead, they are fighting to simply hang on.

Former Mount Storm Power Station employees who are now sick with mesothelioma should know that they have a right to compensation for their suffering. Hiring a local attorney who has had experience with previous Mount Storm-related suits is your best bet for a successful case. Take the time to schedule an appointment with someone who knows the particulars of Mount Storm’s history of asbestos use and you’ll find that your odds of a successful outcome will be largely in your favor.

 

Asbestos Lining In Surprising Places

The beer industry is huge in the United States and has been for well over a century. These days, craft breweries are “in” and lovers of the foamy stuff can often choose from dozens of types of beer in a single restaurant.

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Shippingport Atomic Power Station

When the world’s first full-scale atomic electric power plant devoted exclusively to peacetime uses appeared in December 1957 on a plot of land just 25 miles from downtown Pittsburgh, there was a lot of trepidation.

The word “nuclear” naturally instilled fear in the hearts of most American citizens, particularly those who had lived through World War II, and the thought of something nuclear in one’s own backyard had families running for the hills…and for what they considered to be safer places to raise their families.

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Bruce Mansfield Coal-fired Power Station

Located near Shippingport, Pennsylvania, the Bruce Mansfield coal-fired power station, now owned by FirstEnergy, has long been not only an eyesore – marring the bucolic landscape of that area, but has also been the cause of a variety of health problems, the site of many accidents, and an overall concern to those who have worked there or lived near the plant.

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Ormet Aluminum Plant a Toxic Disaster Area

Ormet Aluminum Plant a Toxic Disaster Area

Though aluminum maker Ormet Corporation closed the doors of its Hannibal, Ohio plant in 2013, the company left a lasting mark on the small town. Once the fourth-largest aluminum producer in the U.S., taking its proud place behind giants like Alcoa, Ormet owned “dozens of football field-sized buildings”, according to the Wall Street Journal, but closed after disputes between power providers and state regulators. At closing about 1,000 employees worked there. In years past, the number was much higher.

Ohio s Former Ormet Aluminum Plant a Toxic Hazard

As a matter of fact, Ormet’s property was declared an EPA Superfund site in 1987. According to the EPA, “moderate levels of cyanide and fluoride, both mobile and in the groundwater, were identified, and soils in the area were identified as a primary ongoing contributor of cyanide and fluoride contamination to groundwater.” About 47 acres of the site were of major concern.

In addition, the employees at Ormet Aluminum were regularly exposed to asbestos. When the plant began operations in 1958, asbestos materials were popular because they were the cheapest and most efficient way to avoid fires inside plants where high temperatures were commonplace.

Asbestos was known for centuries as a top-notch fire resistant material, so it was often used as insulation for pipes, wiring, generators, boilers, and other equipment. Workers handled the material with their bare hands and rarely wore masks to avoid inhaling asbestos fibers.

Usually, employees such as those at Ormet Aluminum knew little or nothing about the dangers of the material, and plant executives were unlikely to spread the word, even when it was becoming evident that asbestos inhalation was causing major respiratory problems among workers.

In aluminum plants, furnaces included asbestos material. Pots were lined with asbestos-containing refractories. Asbestos pipe covering was found throughout the reduction plant as well as in the South Plant at Ormet and in the rolling mill as well.

“Dough balls” used to stop molten aluminum from escaping the furnaces were made of raw asbestos fibers. Workers were even provided with protective clothing made of asbestos! Clearly, for many Ormet Aluminum employees, exposure was unavoidable.

Today, former workers are suffering the ravages of mesothelioma, a form of cancer that often takes decades to appear and is relentless once symptoms begin. Mesothelioma is historically one of the most difficult cancers to treat and one that responds least to conventional treatments like chemotherapy or radiation.

Sadly, it was clear that many Ormet employees (and exposed family members) would wind up treading the mesothelioma path, yet executives seemed not to care.

Don’t let Ormet and the companies that manufactured the asbestos products they used get away with murder…literally. If you have been sickened with mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure at Hannibal’s Ormet Aluminum plant, contact an experienced asbestos attorney for a list of your options. A successful lawsuit could help you and your family move forward during this difficult ordeal.

Mobay Chemical Asbestos Contamination

Pittsburgh Asbestos Exposure

If you made a journey to Pittsburgh any time during the first three-quarters of the 20th century, you would have been greeted with a skyline of smoke stacks and other industrial towers, all indicative of the vast number of steel plants that operated within the city and in the towns that bordered it. All of those mills employed hundreds of area workers, each fiercely loyal to the mill they called their home-away-from-home.

One of the oldest and busiest mills in the city – the one industry professionals say provided the most competition for giant Carnegie Steel Corporation – was Jones and Laughlin Steel, better known as simply “J & L”.

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Asbestos Exposure In Steubenville, OH

Decades ago, when industries arrived in a particular U.S. town, the people of that town rejoiced. They looked forward to the jobs those industries would bring and the prosperity their families would enjoy when steady, full-time employment came into the picture. Throughout the generations, industries of many kinds promised a better life for those they employed.

Steubenville, Ohio is one of those towns that boasts a long history of heavy industry. Way back to the 1840s, about the same time it received its charter, this city on the Ohio River was already teeming with mills of all sorts, Early plants made textiles, pottery, and glass, but it wasn’t long until there were coal mines and foundries in place as well.

As a matter of fact, the history of steel production in Steubenville dates back to the 1870s, with the expansion of the LaBelle Iron Foundry.

Today, there isn’t a lot of evidence of a prosperous Steubenville. For the most part, the foundries, mills, and plants have closed or, like Weirton Steel, have been forced to severely reduce their work forces. The community has suffered economically and younger generations have moved away.

Declining Population

As a matter of fact, census figures around the turn of the millennium showed that the Weirton–Steubenville population decreased faster than in any other urban area in the United States.

In addition from suffering from a lack of employment and severely decreased incomes, many of Steubenville’s many hard-working individuals have succumbed to mesothelioma or are currently suffering from the disease, which was caused by the rampant use of asbestos in many of the town’s plants and mills of yesteryear.

Up until the 1970s, these industries used asbestos materials for fire-proofing purposes and because of their durable nature. Unfortunately, the workers that regularly encountered asbestos-containing materials were adversely affected.

Asbestos Exposure In Steubenville

Asbestos exposure in Steubenville has affected individuals in a number of different trades. These have included steel workers, pipefitters, steamfitters, welders, millwrights, machinists, electricians, and a score of other individuals. Some of the places these mesothelioma victims worked include locations both in and around Steubenville, such as:

• Weirton Steel
• Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel
• LaBelle Iron Works
• Jefferson Iron Works
• Federal Paper Board
• Wayne Coal Company
• Pope Tin Plate Co.
• Hartje Brothers Paper
• Keagler Brick Co.
• Steubenville Traction and Light Co.
• And many others

Most of the employees now being diagnosed with the disease probably encountered asbestos in the 60s and 70s, when there was already sufficient evidence that the mineral was causing severe respiratory problems in individuals who were exposed to it on a regular basis.

Over the years, evidence has been shown in courts of law stating that owners, managers, and other executives often knew about asbestos’ dangers yet refused to use a substitute material, usually because safer materials were more expensive. The result has been generations of Steubenville workers touched by asbestos cancer.

Asbestos Negligence Cases

asbestos negligence casesOpen a newspaper or browse through the latest news on Yahoo or any other internet search engine and you’re likely to dig up at least a few current stories about asbestos negligence cases in the United States. Sadly, most of the time, the stories involve a negligent employer/owner/executive and an unsuspecting employee who now has to face life with the threat of asbestos disease hanging over his/her head.

Recently, media outlets profiled the story of a maintenance worker at a large veterans’ hospital in south Texas who brought suit against the facility for the unsafe handling of toxic asbestos, including actions (or non-actions) that put him and others at risk for exposure.

The plaintiff claimed that hospital administrators forced him and other employees to perform daily tasks in an area that was known to contain asbestos. He also saw other maintenance workers cutting through drywall that clearly contained asbestos. In no instance were the workers provided with protective gear while on the job.

In addition, the employee who filed suit claimed that all asbestos-containing refuse was discarded in regular trash bins where other unsuspecting individuals could come in contact with the toxin.

Asbestos Negligence Cases Are Common

Unfortunately, stories like this aren’t rare. It’s a common disbelief that because asbestos-containing materials are no longer manufactured or sold that the danger has dissipated. That couldn’t be further from the truth. While many owners/supervisors of old facilities have been proactive in removing or encapsulating any potentially dangerous asbestos, the material in its hazardous state remains in countless buildings throughout the United States.

Sadly, it’s often up to workers to be diligent about protecting themselves. If you are employed in a profession that often encounters asbestos-containing materials, you MUST remain on the lookout for asbestos. Remember, you have a right to say “no” when asked to work in an environment that might compromise your health. You also have a right to ask for protective masks, respirators, or other items that can prevent the inhalation of asbestos fibers.

Asbestos lawsuits have grown in number because of such negligence, a problem that has existed for decades. For much of the 20th century, workers were led to believe that asbestos – used in abundance from the 1940s through the 1970s – was safe, yet proof of the mineral’s hazards have been noted for literally centuries. Now, as workers from that era reach their later years, many now know that they were deceived by their employers. Mesothelioma is a part of that reality. It might be part of yours, too.

If you believe you were negligently exposed to asbestos during your work as a tradesman, including plumbers, pipefitters, electricians, mill workers, shipyard workers, power plant employees, and others, take time to examine your options as you begin the tough journey through the struggle that is asbestos-related cancer. Mesothelioma victims can often obtain compensation for their suffering.

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