Asbestos in Delaware

Occupations at Risk

Although Delaware's industrial economy was limited, several chemical plants in the state exposed workers to asbestos throughout their daily activities. Chemical plant operators and machinery repair specialists often handled asbestos-containing materials in the factory's boiler rooms, workspaces and production lines.

Construction workers - especially those who renovated any of Delaware's older historic buildings - may also have been exposed to asbestos. Many houses, churches and mansions in Delaware were built before the 1980s, and anyone who removed or replaced the original asbestos-containing construction materials may have loosened the fibers and inhaled them. State laws now prescribe safety measures to prevent current workers from inhaling asbestos, but former workers have an elevated risk of asbestos exposure.

Jobsites with Known Exposure

Delaware was home to multiple chemical manufacturers, producing varied goods including chlorine, polyethylene resins, engine oil additives and thermoplastics. The plants where these products were developed often relied on asbestos insulation for their machinery, and safety suits to protect workers against chemical exposure may also have been woven out of fire-resistant asbestos fibers.

Evraz Claymont Steel Holdings, which now owns the former Phoenix Steel Corporation, is another manufacturing site where asbestos use may have placed workers at risk for mesothelioma. Like chemical plants, steelworks often used asbestos products to insulate their equipment.

A Delmar vermiculite processing facility received over 314 tons of asbestos-contaminated ore from the W.R. Grace mine in Libby, Montana. This facility operated between 1943 and 1993 and processed 16 shipments from Libby.

DuPont Chemical

DuPont Chemical, one of the world's largest chemical companies, heavily contributed to asbestos exposure in Delaware. The company built their DuPont Building in downtown Wilmington in 1905 and a nylon plant in Seaford in 1939. The nylon plant employed as many as 1,300 workers and subcontractors, and workers at the company's other facilities may also have been exposed to asbestos.

Many legal cases have been filed against DuPont for their negligent asbestos use. Executives had been informed of the dangers of asbestos in the 1930s, yet they continued to purchase the materials without providing adequate safety equipment to their workers.