Asbestos In Your Area

Asbestos in the State of Louisiana

Asbestos Exposure in Louisiana

Louisiana hosts one of the largest sea ports on the southern coast of America. New Orleans is home to a lot of different industries which have employed a lot of different workers. One of the highest risk employers were the shipyards located along the coast and up the river. There are also several power plants in Louisiana that have been spotlighted as high risk job sites for asbestos exposure.

Asbestos has been used for centuries because it possesses some very positive qualities. It's resistant to heat and electricity, most chemicals don't affect it and, since it shows up as small, thin fibers, can be used in a wide variety of products. The severe downside to asbestos is that when it's disturbed it tends to float in the air and is easily inhaled and swallowed. Two common results or the inhalation of asbestos are mesothelioma and asbestosis, both described a bit more below.

At-Risk Occupations and Locations in Louisiana

The Bollinger Shipyard in Longport, the Avondale Shipyard in New Orleans and the Higgins Shipyard, also in New Orleans, all used asbestos extensively in the construction of ships. Asbestos was used as an insulator for pipes and as fireproofing for walls and ship sections. Not only were the workers who installed the asbestos working in a cloud of fibers, often the sailors who manned the ship spent weeks and even years in the presence of asbestos that floated around the ship.

Power plants are also notorious for high concentrations of asbestos fibers in the air. Several major power plants are found in Louisiana. To name just a few towns and cities: Baton Rouge, St. Francisville, New Orleans, and Lake Charles. The town of Killona even hosts the Waterford Nuclear Power Plant. Not only were the workers in these hotspots exposed to asbestos, their families usually were, too. The workers would drag asbestos home in heir clothes and expose their families.

There are also many oil rigs located in the Gulf of Mexico and many refineries in Louisiana. Some professions that might deal with extreme heat, like that found in an oil refinery, were provided clothing to protect them from the heat, sparks and flame. In most cases, this protective gear was made from asbestos and, most likely wasn't replaced as it became worn and fibers were released.

By the 1980's most asbestos use had ceased and what little bit that was, and is, still in use has a lot more safety precautions associated with it. However, the one industry that is still incredibly high risk is construction. When these older buildings are in the midst of renovations to prolong their usefulness, chances are good that there are going to be a lot of asbestos wrapped pipes and many other Asbestos Containing Materials (ACM). Asbestos was used in everything from wallboard, to floor and ceiling tiles, to a lot of different adhesives. There are procedures that must be adhered to in order to insure the safety of employees and the public.

Asbestos-Related Deaths in Louisiana

There were 697 deaths from asbestos related illnesses between 1979 and 1999. Actual numbers are a little harder to come by than they were during the asbestos furor of the late 1990's, but experts do estimate that the number of cases is going to increase over the next few years. After the cases peak in 2015, the number will drop off rather quickly. As mentioned above, the majority of asbestos production and use ended in the 1980's, which means that after the spike there will most likely be sharp decline.

In most states, the number of deaths from mesothelioma would be a lot more that those from asbestosis, sometimes as much as three to one. Louisiana, however, has about the same number of each. Of the 697 deaths, 340 were from mesothelioma and 357 were attributed to asbestosis. These numbers are surprising as asbestosis is usually much more treatable and survivable than mesothelioma. Asbestosis is a scarring of the lungs from the constant inhalation of asbestos fibers. It diminishes lung capacity and causes the patient to have a higher risk of contracting lung cancer or mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is much more deadly than asbestosis. Asbestos fibers are carcinogenic and can cause tumors in the lining that covers and protects most of the organs in the chest and stomach, including the heart and lungs. Once mesothelioma has been diagnosed, the average lifespan of a patient is about eighteen months.

Legal Resources for Kentucky Residents

You have one year in Louisiana from the time you are diagnosed, or should have been diagnosed, with an asbestos-related illness to file a claim for damages. That is the statute of limitations in Louisiana on personal injury cases. Even with a short time period for filing claims, though, the courts in Louisiana appear to be friendly toward the plaintiff or individuals in these cases. Those suits that are not settled out of court through a settlement are typically decided in favor of the victim of asbestos exposure.

Latest concerns on the asbestos front in Louisiana deal with the clean-up and aftermath from Hurricane Katrina and all of the ACMs that can be found in the destroyed buildings and homes. Not only is there concern for the workers in these situations, but the potential for airborne fibers is so high there is worry that the public might be exposed, as well. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is involved a trying to mitigate the risk as much as possible.

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