Asbestos in Alabama

At-Risk Occupations in Alabama

Workers in Alabama have been exposed to this dangerous industrial substance at an alarming rate. The use of asbestos was once prevalent in shipyards, power plants, mills and many other industrial facilities. Government buildings in Mobile and NASA facilities in Huntsville were constructed with asbestos, exposing unprotected workers to dangerous fibers known to cause respiratory disorders, including mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer.

In 2004, the Birmingham News printed a series of reports on the severity asbestos problems in Alabama. One story detailed how Rock Wool Manufacturing, a cement manufacturer in Leeds, added asbestos to its products as a bonding agent. When unprotected workers handled the cement, they were exposed to the toxic substance. The company received more than 140,000 lawsuits from workers and their families as a result of the exposure.

And a July, 2010, report in the Huntsville Times showed that workers also found asbestos during a renovation of the Von Braun Center. Brandi Quick, assistant director of the sports and entertainment facility, said that workers had located asbestos in four sections of the building. Crews reported finding asbestos in the ductwork, in the floor tiles and in some exterior panels.

Alabama Jobsites with Confirmed Asbestos Exposure

• Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Company
• Alabama Dry Dock & Shipping Company
• Moore Dry Dock Company
• Farley Nuclear Plant
• Rock Wool Manufacturing Company
• Sanmina-SCI Corporation
• United Rubber Workers International Union

Hurricane Katrina

On Aug. 28, 2005, Hurricane Katrina approached the Gulf Coast as a Category Five storm with torrential rainfall and maximum sustained winds of 160 miles per hour. Upon making landfall in greater New Orleans early the next day, Katrina downgraded to Category Four and slowly advanced eastward towards the Alabama/Florida border with steady winds of 155 miles per hour. With a diameter of nearly 200 miles, Katrina's winds devastated innumerable homes and businesses throughout Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

The storm caused irreparable damage to many buildings and residential homes that were subsequently torn down. Both during the storm and in the demolitions that followed, Katrina's pervasive winds and flooding resulted in widespread asbestos exposure across the Gulf Coast. When damaged, older buildings with asbestos-containing materials released fibers into the air putting thousands of individuals at risk for mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.

Tuscaloosa Tornadoes

The Tuscaloosa Tornadoes resulted in similar health risks. Damage from the deadly tornadoes of April, 2011, in the college town of Tuscaloosa exposed residents to asbestos products that had lain dormant for more than 50 years when asbestos use was at an all-time high. The devastating tornado that tore through the city of Tuscaloosa was one of the largest documented incidences of asbestos exposure. More than 6,000 structures took damage from the F-4 tornado, most of them containing insulation and other materials laced with asbestos. Although many of the state and federal facilities affected by the tornado damage fell under strict regulations for asbestos removal and disposal, the single-family dwellings containing asbestos did not fall under the same guidelines.

Alabama Asbestos Laws and Lawsuits

Alabama state law makes it difficult for mesothelioma patients and their heirs to file claims against companies they allege exposed people to asbestos. The state places a one-year statute of limitations on these kinds of lawsuits, putting potential victims in a Catch-22. Mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses do not develop until at least 10 years after exposure, and sometimes the development happens 50 years after exposure.

Despite the statute of limitations, nearly two dozen Alabama steelworkers won a $115.6 million judgment against a steel mill, largely because they filed their lawsuit in Texas. A jury in Brazoria County, Texas, gave the award to 21 former steel workers in 1998 after finding that The Carborundum Co. "acted with gross negligence and malice" and exposed the workers to harmful amounts of asbestos. The company manufactured an asbestos-containing grinding wheel used to cut pipes at a U.S. Steel mill in Birmingham. The award, which came after only 30 minutes of deliberation, was $15.6 million in actual damages and $100 million in punitive damages.

The workers did not wear masks when using the grinding wheel and inhaled asbestos fibers through dust that was created. The case is one of the few in which an Alabama company was held liable for asbestos-related contamination.