Chicago - Asbestos & Mesothelioma Resources

In May 2008, Chicago residents learned to their dismay that one of their favorite beaches is contaminated with asbestos. Unlike many other beach areas that might be contaminated with naturally occurring asbestos, the Oak Street Beach contamination was apparently caused by a manmade disaster. For 20 years, the Johns-Manville facility in Waukegan released asbestos fibers into Lake Michigan where the currents eventually carried it from the Waukegan Superfund site to Chicago's Oak Street Beach. As the EPA and the ATSDR released statements minimizing the risk and upholding their technical standards of testing, a nationally recognized asbestos risk assessment professional claimed that the EPA studies were deeply flawed and lacked standardized scientific protocols.

With a population of 2,869,121, Chicago is the third largest city in the United States. Of its nearly 1.3 million structures, over 80 percent (1,054,161) were built before 1979. The city was already one of the nation's most industrialized cities. Stockyards, freight yards, steel mills and the railroads all contributed to a growing nation, and regularly exposed the working class population of Chicago to asbestos.

Statistical Data

The government did not begin tracking mesothelioma separately as a cause of death until 1998. When they did, the mortality rate nationwide for deaths from mesothelioma more than doubled. The lower number in each range represents an estimated mortality rate based on cancers that were thought to be mesothelioma. The higher range reflects the mesothelioma rate if one assumes that the incidence during the earlier years was actually twice that reflected by government statistics.

Historical Asbestos Exposure Sites

Like all large cities, Chicago has a history of sites where workers and the public were exposed to asbestos, often without any warning that the substance was a dangerous threat to their health. The list below is far from comprehensive. It only highlights some of the most well-known work and public sites where asbestos was used. Much of this list has been compiled through the hard work of asbestos and mesothelioma lawyers, who researched the facilities and work sites in order to help clients identify places where they may have been exposed to the toxic chemical. It's important to keep in mind, though, that most construction done between the 1920s and the 1970s used asbestos. Insulation was most often made from asbestos, and most factories, power plants and steel mills used asbestos extensively for insulation and heat resistance. If you worked in a Chicago steel mill, power plant or factory during those years, you were probably exposed to asbestos.

Former W.R. Grace & Company Site

W.R. Grace & Company mined and distributed vermiculate that contained asbestos from a mine at Libby, Montana. Grace shipped vermiculite from that mine to about 700 processing plants throughout the country. One of them is in West Chicago at 603 Fenton Lane. The plant operated from 1974 through the early 1990s and processed about 273,000 tons of vermiculite. The Fenton Street site popped the vermiculite, a process that released asbestos fibers into the air. According to the U.S. Census, about 3,000 people were living within one mile of the site in 1990, which is about the time that the plant stopped processing Libby vermiculite.

The site is now an EPA Superfund site. The EPA's conclusions are that anyone who worked at the W.R. Grace & Company facility, and those who lived with them may have been exposed to dangerous levels of asbestos and should be evaluated. In addition, the EPA states that there is not enough data available to determine if those living in the area may have been exposed through emissions, or through the use of waste products from the site. They recommend routine and health consultations for those who fear they might have been placed at risk.

Steel Mills

Chicago's backbone was built on its steel mills. Asbestos was used in many ways in steel mills and metal works. It was especially used as insulation and to prevent fires and injuries from fire and overheated metals. Asbestos was used in protective clothing, and to insulate floors and surfaces around steel foundries, as well as to sheathe and insulate blasters and steel furnaces. Among the steel mills in Chicago where workers may have been exposed to asbestos are:

ACME Metals Incorporated
Acme Metals, located in Riverdale, Illinois, was made up of two companies, Acme Steel Company and Acme Packaging. Acme Steel Company was the division of Acme Metals that produced steel from iron ore. Acme Packaging manufactured fabricated steel products, typically rolls or strips of steels that were sold to other industrial manufacturing companies. Acme Metals sat along the banks of the Calumet River.

Chicago Heights Steel
Chicago Heights Steel is a small specialty steel company that has been in operation for over 90 years. Located in Chicago Heights, Illinois, home to steel mills and chemical plants, the steel mill works with rail steel, a specialty steel that was originally formulated for use in railroad rails. Rail steel is known for its lighter weight and higher tensile strength than regular steel. It may be used in many industries other than the railroads. Rolled steel and rail steel is typically used for outdoor applications, including street sign posts, tee posts and signs.

Northwestern Steel & Wire
From 1879 to 2001, Northwestern Steel & Wire was a major Chicago area employer. Located in Rock Falls, Illinois, the company began as the Northwestern Barbed Wire Company in 1879. The company employed thousands throughout the years, and at its peak in 1979, there were 4678 workers employed at the steel mill. Like most steel makers, the company used asbestos extensively, both in equipment and furnaces, and added to the products that they manufactured.

Clingan Steel, Inc.
Granite City Steel
Keystone Steel & Wire Co.
O'Hare Spring Company Inc.
A. Finkl & Sons Co.
Bohler Steel
Carnegie Steel
Reynolds Metals Plant
Tri Star Metals
U.S. Steel Mill
Republic Steel Mill
Inland Steel Mill
Wisconsin Steel
Republic Steel

Power Plants

Because of its insulating and fireproofing properties, asbestos was widely used in power plants to protect workers and prevent accidents. Generators and reactor cores were made with or coated with asbestos to help prevent heat transfer and control temperatures.

Commonwealth Edison
Chicago Powerhouse
Crawford Station Power Plant
Thomas A. Edison Nuclear Power Plant
Western Electric Corporation

Factories & Packing Plants

Factories and packing plants often had machinery that contained asbestos parts, particularly as insulation and as gaskets in friction bearing parts. Workers in factories that were most likely to be exposed to asbestos were those who maintained the manufacturing machinery, and may have been responsible for changing gaskets and replacing worn insulation and gaskets.

General Electric Appliance Plant
Continental Can Plant
International Truck & Engine Corp.
Abbott Laboratories
Danly Machine
Container Paper Mill
Armour Manufacturing Plant
Campbell's Soup Plant
General Motors Plant
Hotpoint Appliance Factory
Argonne National Lab
General Electric Plant
International Harvester Plant
Perk Foods Company
International Harvester Tractor Plant
Illinois Packing Company
Proctor & Gamble Plant
Ward Bakery
W F Hall Printing Company
E J Brach & Sons
Wilson & Co.Inc.

Construction Sites & Building Maintenance

Most buildings constructed before 1980 were built using materials that contained asbestos. Workers on the construction sites were routinely exposed to asbestos in fireproofing materials, protective equipment (like welding masks), wall board, floor and ceiling tiles, insulation, adhesives and paints. Public buildings such as office buildings and government buildings also continued to be a hazard to those who maintained and cleaned them. Anyone who worked in building and facilities maintenance in these buildings may have been exposed to asbestos in the course of their duties.

Equitable Insurance Building
Marshall Fields Department Store
Sears, Roebuck Tower
University Of Chicago
Montgomery Ward Building
O'Hare International Airport

Shipyards and Oil Refineries

Great Lakes Naval Training Center
Calumet Shipyard
Mobil Oil Refinery
B & O Railroad
Pure Oil Refinery

Existing Asbestos Exposure Hazards

While the EPA argue that there is little risk to those who use the Oak Street public beach, asbestos has been found in higher concentrations than normal in the sand on that beach. Environmental groups suggest that those who use the beach take precautions that include refraining from eating while on the beach and not digging in the sand. In addition, they suggest that any sand or dirt should not be swept up or vacuumed unless using a HEPA vacuum cleaner to avoid the chance of making amphibole asbestos fibers airborne and inhaling them.

Asbestos in the News

On June 13, 2008, OSHA proposed fines totaling over $112,000 against United Airlines at O'Hare International Airport. Among the serious violations cited was failure to complete an asbestos survey to discover the amount and quality of asbestos in the area of a proposed renovation. OSHA's designation of "serious" is reserved for those violations that could result in serious injury or death, and of which the employer knew.

Asbestos Unit
1021 North Grand Avenue East
P.O. Box 19276
Springfield, Il. 62794-9276

Treatment Centers

The University of Chicago's Cancer Research Center includes a Mesothelioma Program that has been one of the nation's leading pioneers in the study and investigation of mesothelioma for over two decades.

University of Chicago Cancer Research Center
Mesothelioma Treatment Section
Nicholas J. Vogelzang, MD
5841 S, Maryland Ave., MC 1140,
Chicago, Illinois 60637-1470
773-834-6742

Louis A. Weiss Memorial Hospital
Mesothelioma Treatment Section
Gary D. Steinberg, MD
4646 N. Marine, Urology Center 5-B
Chicago, Illinois 60640
773-564-5272

The University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago
Mesothelioma Treatment Section
1740 West Taylor Street
Chicago, IL 60612
312-996-7976