Asbestos In Your Area

Asbestos in the State of Massachusetts

Asbestos Exposure in Massachusetts

Massachusetts has two areas of naturally-occurring asbestos deposits. The first is around Pittsfield; the second is near Quabbin Reservoir (the Harvard Forest locale). In addition, the state has an infamous mine known for asbestos output: the W.R. Grace & Company in North Cambridge. (The belief is that this company's management was aware of asbestos dangers, but refused to warn the community or protect them and its employees. As of 2007, 6 officers were still under indictment on criminal charges.) There are over 400 different businesses in the state that have extensively utilized asbestos-containing materials and asbestos has been found almost everywhere in Massachusetts. This is largely due to the state's 400 year old existence, and many original structures that are now historical landmarks. With the advent of asbestos use in construction for about 160 years, and almost all buildings having undergone renovations at some point, most have been insulated with asbestos least once.

Here is a detailed breakdown of buildings that are known to have widely depended upon asbestos for heat, sound and fire insulation: Schools-Abbington High School Phillips Academy, Amherst College, Andover School, Ashland High School, Athol High School, Attleboro Junior High School, Attleboro School, Joe Martin School, Peter Thatcher Jr. High, St. Francis Xavier School and the University of Massachusetts. Public facilities-Abbington Fire Station, Acushnet Housing, Arlington Boys Club, Bernard's Church, Athol YMCA, Attleboro Elderly Housing, Attleboro Town Hall, Attleboro Trust Company, Attleboro Veterans Housing, Hope Gardens Housing, Kinney Shoe Store, Old Hickton Hotel, Sweet Library, Yaeger Estate, Belfore Jewelry, Crown & Yarn Dye Company, General Instruments, Fishbrook Pumping Station, Handy & Harmon, Holiday Inn, Jostens Jewelry Manufacturing Company, LG Balfour Company, Lasalette Shrine, National Guard Armory and Sturdy Memorial Hospital. Businesses-Acushnet Gas Pipes, Acushnet Telephone Building, American Sisalkraft Corporation, Andover IRS, Arnold Fishing Co., Ashburnham Telephone, Attleboro St. Regis Paper, Balfour Company, Black Stone Valley Gas Company, Bruce Diamond Company, Donnelly Building, Fenwal, Inc., Leachand Garner, MF Ashley Co., Marathon Company, Montrose Hauser, Rosen Textile, Sweet Manufacturing, Texas Instrument Waste Water Treatment facility, Texas Instruments, and Thompson Chemical.

At-Risk Occupations and Locations in Massachusetts

The cities in which entire communities were placed at risk included Amherst, Boston, Braintree, Cambridge, Cape Cod, Dartmouth, Fall River, Gloucester, Holyoke, Kingston, Plymouth, Quincy, Salem, Worcester and Martha's Vineyard. However, these towns were also known to expose workers (pipe fitters, boilermakers, ship fitters, steel workers, and all maintenance and repair workers) in the industries of power plants, steel foundries, shipyards, and gas refineries at risk in their job sites: Auburn, Avon, Ayer, Baldwinville, Barnstable, Barrington, Belchertown, Bellingham, Bellington, Belmont, Beverly, Billricca, Blackstone, Bourne, Brewster, Bridgewater, Brockton, Brookfield, Bryantville, Burbank, Burlington, Buzzards Bay, Canton, Centerville, Central Falls, Charlestown, Chatham, Chelmsford, Cherry Valley, Chesterfield, Chestnut Hill, Chicopee, Cleghoen, Clinton, Cohasset, Concord, Cranston, Cummiquid, Dalton, Danvers, Dedham, Deerfield, Deighton, Dennis, Dorchester, Dudley, Duxbury, Dyer, E. Braintree, E. Brockton, E. Taunton, East Boston, East Bridgewater, East Douglas, East Longmeadow, East Walpole, Eastern, Everett, Fair Haven, Easton, Fallriver, Malden, Mansfield, Marion, Marlboro, Marlborough, Marshfield.

Asbestos-related Deaths in Massachusetts

During the 20 year span of 1980 and 2000, Massachusetts incurred 759 fatalities from asbestosis, a disease caused by asbestos, and 613 deaths from mesothelioma, a highly malignant lung cancer that occurs only from asbestos exposure. (It should be noted that these statistics are atypical; in most states, mesothelioma cases outnumber asbestosis.) Throughout the overall United States, Massachusetts ranks at #9 for mesothelioma cases, and has a crude mortality rank at #8.

Legal Resources for Massachusetts Residents

Massachusetts's statute of limitations for personal injury and wrongful death is three years from when the problem is discovered or should have been. Between 2006 and 2007, there were 10 asbestos-related personal injury product liability lawsuits. None were from plaintiff charges against a corporation; they were petitions for removal from asbestos litigation, 2 of which involved Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, which filed for bankruptcy. As recently as mid-2006, the Division for Occupational Safety in Massachusetts cited one school district, Saugus, for asbestos-related violations, after an elementary teacher was found with asbestos in her lungs. It was found in boiler rooms (with no warning signs) and under water-damaged asbestos tile floors. The district also failed regarding documentation procedures, and was admonished to adhere to standards under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act, or face repercussions from the Environmental Protection Agency. Then, as late as November, 2007, it was discovered that 3 apartment buildings failed to comply with asbestos protection laws and were thus fined. One instance concerned improper removal during window replacement; the second involved leaving old asbestos in the area of a new boiler, and the third was the result of leaving asbestos exposed after water pipe replacement. It is not believed that residents were in immediate danger, but any exposed asbestos may be harmful if it breaks off, enters the air current, and gets inhaled. The fibers become trapped in victim's lungs and can remain there for up to 50 years, causing various diseases, including the often fatal mesothelioma.

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