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Occupations and Environmental Areas at Risk

Despite abundant natural asbestos occurrences in northern Georgia, this region's low number of asbestos-related deaths indicates that fatal exposure is far more common at the workplace. Because of the mineral's excellent insulation properties, asbestos materials were used to construct many older facilities. Exposure has been documented in federal buildings such as Atlanta's Centers for Disease Control and several of the state's 13 military bases, including Fort Stewart, Fort McPherson and Hunter Army Airfield. Ranking fifth in the nation for military employment, Georgia has military bases representing all branches of the service.
   
Employing 344,000 workers and accounting for 11 percent of Georgia's GDP in 2010, the state's manufacturing industry is also known for asbestos exposure. In 1989, a Health Hazard Evaluation by the Centers for Disease Control found that Keebler Company workers in Atlanta may have inhaled asbestos fibers released from one of the plant's ovens. Other areas of Georgia's manufacturing sector like textile and paper product production have exposed workers to asbestos contained in aging machinery and equipment.

Natural asbestos forms in several locations throughout Georgia with the highest concentrations found in Rabun and White counties. The U.S. Geological Survey has identified 52 sites within the state that contain asbestos, including former asbestos mines, former prospects and reported occurrences. The Sall Mountain Region in White County features high quality anthophyllite asbestos that was mined there for nearly a century by the Sall Mountain Asbestos Company. Excavation at the site began in 1894 making Sall Mountain Asbestos the first documented company in the U.S. to produce the mineral on a large scale.

Several other locations along the Appalachian Mountain Range also contain asbestos deposits, specifically in the Blue Ridge and the Piedmont plateau region. The Piedmont region is home to the Soapstone Ridge, another asbestos-rich area located about eight miles south-southeast of Atlanta. If left alone, natural asbestos is mostly harmless. However, environmental exposure can occur if the deposits are disturbed and microscopic fibers are released into the air and then inhaled.

Asbestos Litigation in Georgia

Several important changes to asbestos litigation have occurred over the past decade in response to an increasing number of claims filed. A major reform in Georgia took place in 2005 when the Georgia Supreme Court placed stricter filing requirements on asbestos lawsuits.

The new law requires plaintiffs to establish that asbestos was a "substantial contributing factor" for their condition before trial, while in the past they had to only prove that asbestos was a "contributing factor." The law applies retroactively to all pending claims as of April 12, 2005 and has significantly reduced the number of new lawsuits. One Fulton County State Court judge saw his caseload fall from 1,200 to only a dozen after the law was put into effect.

In 2007 some key provisions were added to the recently updated asbestos law. As of May 1 of that year, asbestos lawsuits in the state can only be filed by current residents or people who resided in Georgia at the time of exposure.

For those with asbestos cancers other than mesothelioma, the law now requires plaintiffs to provide a medical report from a qualified doctor stating that asbestos exposure was a substantial contributing factor for their disease. This requirement also applies to cases of nonmalignant disease, such as asbestosis. These reports must prove that the doctor has examined the patient's occupation, exposure, medical and smoking history, and also verified that at least 15 years have passed between exposure and diagnosis.

Georgia-Pacific

One of the world's leading manufacturers of tissues, paper, packaging and construction products, Georgia-Pacific received much attention over the past few decades for exposing employees and consumers to harmful asbestos-containing materials. In 1965, the company acquired Bestwall Gypsum Corp., whose product line included a joint compound containing a small percentage of chrysotile asbestos.

Although Georgia-Pacific discontinued the manufacturing and sales of the compound in 1977, the aftermath of more than a decade of exposure resulted in cases of asbestos-related disease, countless deaths and hundreds of thousands of lawsuits against the company. Approximately 290,000 claims have been filed against Georgia-Pacific since the mid 1980s and the company set aside $665 million to pay for asbestos-related costs and claims through 2012.

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