Asbestos In Your Area

Asbestos in the State of Alaska

Asbestos Exposure in Alaska

In Alaska, there is quite a bit of naturally occurring asbestos minerals in the area. The area of Alaska is geologically active for asbestiform minerals as are all areas in the Pacific regions of North America. Due to their geographic and geologic location, Alaska is the home for many industries that use asbestos or create asbestos materials. There are deposits of asbestos found throughout Alaska however the asbestos issue has been far less pressing than in other states, such as California, because the population density of Alaska is one of the lowest in the world. However, Alaska is one of the largest states in terms of land.

Asbestos, whether in true mineral form or having been used in the manufacturing of products, is very dangerous. Asbestos fibers are very thin, which makes them easy to inhale. The fibers are also very strong, which means that a human body is unable to expel them once they become lodged in the lining of the heart, lungs or abdomen. Lodged asbestos fibers can cause a variety of diseases, such as mesothelioma, which is known as 'asbestos cancer' because it is only caused by asbestos exposure.

At Risk Occupations and Locations in Alaska

There are four asbestos rich areas throughout the Panhandle region and two of these deposits are around Juneau and Ketchikan Alaska, both of which are populated areas in the state. There are other deposits in east-central Alaska as well, located along the Yukon River and in the north-western part of Alaska around the Kobuk Valley National Park. On the south-western coast of Alaska (which doesn't include the Aleutian Peninsula and the island chain), there are two large deposits of asbestos on the tip of the peninsula. There is also a fairly significant cluster of asbestos 100 miles north-east of Anchorage, Alaska near the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, with the town of Glennallen near by.

The town of Glennallen acquired a building from the Alaska Department of Transportation a few years ago that contained frailable asbestos (the type the crumbles, which is the most dangerous kind of asbestos). Glennallen was forced to demolish the building and remove the asbestos because the building was broken into several times and was considered to be a dangerous area for the public to be around, due to the frailable asbestos that was located within the building. Asbestos clean up throughout Alaska is usually overseen by the Department of Health or Environmental Quality agencies which identify areas of asbestos that are dangerous. The Department of Fish and Game is also involved in the overall clean up and abatement of asbestos, it was this department that requested funds for the Glennallen clean up.

There are a number of occupations in Alaska that have, in the past, put many Alaskans at risk for developing an asbestos related disease, having been exposed to asbestos. There are pulp mills, marine repair facilities and seafood processing plants in Alaska where asbestos exposure has been a problem. Any Alaskan who worked in these areas or occupations were exposed to asbestos.

Alaska is the home to many power generation plants and four oil companies which include ARCO, Tesoro, and Williams Alaska Petroleum where asbestos exposure has also occurred. Even further reaching are the public school buildings in Alaska that have had to deal with asbestos problems and abatement/removal.

Legal Resources for Alaska Residents

The Alaska statutes, Title 18, Chapter 31, deal specifically with asbestos. These laws cover all the issues surrounding asbestos in Alaska including the duties of the Department of Education (Section 30) and Department of Labor (Section 20). According to this statute as well, the officials of public schools are obligated by law to maintain records of building inspections. They must also notify any affected party about any asbestos concerns and arrange for the removal of asbestos and monitor the removal and abatement projects.

The State of Alaska has a two-year statute of limitations on all personal injury claims including toxic exposure, premises and products liability, wrongful death lawsuits and workers' compensation. The two year limit begins after you've found out the nature of your condition and how it relates to employment.

One big lawsuit in the state was a manager at Great Pacific Seafoods Inc. who pled guilty for violating the Clean Air Act safety regulations while asbestos was being removed from a facility in Anchorage before it was sold to the Alaska Department of Transportation. Great Pacific Seafoods was fined $500,000, and the manager was fined $100,000 and was given a one year prison sentence.

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