Virginia Mesothelioma and Asbestos Exposure Risks

The Appalachian Mountains, which run from northeastern Alabama through Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, the Mid-Atlantic States, and up into Vermont and Quebec, are scattered with natural deposits of a toxic mineral. Naturally occurring asbestos (NOA) deposits run along this expansive mountain range and were formed with massive amounts of pressure and time, just as the surrounding mountains. Virginia bears an abundance of asbestos deposits along the Blue Ridge and west of Washington D.C., along the Maryland state line. Additionally, two old asbestos mines are located near the metropolitan Richmond area, and the rest of the deposits lie along the Appalachians to the southwest (on the eastern slope).

Industry and Asbestos in Virginia

Though the two asbestos mines near Richmond have been shut down, another asbestos-contaminated mine lies in Louisa, Virginia. Like the infamous asbestos-containing vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana, this vermiculite mine also contains the highly toxic mineral. In 2000, the Mine Safety and Health Administration performed an overall analysis of the presence of asbestos in the mine. All 30 of the air samples taken where miners worked detected toxic levels of asbestos in every sample, and the 12 ore and rock samples showed the prescience of both tremolite and actinolite asbestos. Seven of the latter samples detected very high levels of asbestos, and several contained between 95 and 99 percent asbestos. The Virginia Vermiculite mine sells about 100,000 tons of the material each year, which is processed for use in hundreds of products distributed throughout the United States. Experts say the danger of exposure extends beyond the mine, as locals have been using the waste rock around homes and businesses for decades. In addition, workers in the companies who process, make and sell the contaminated vermiculite are also at great risk.

Virginia's extensive industrial history shares quite a relationship with asbestos. Hailed for its natural heat and fire resistance, asbestos offered endless and diverse industrial applications. Industrial jobsites in Virginia with a known record of asbestos use have included mines, power plants, shipyards, chemical laboratories, and oil refineries. Some of the worst corporate polluters on the planet, such as Dow and DuPont, have facilities in Virginia.

Home to the second oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the United States (Jamestown), Virginia features a maritime industry that dates back hundreds of years. Shipyards such as the Lyon Shipyard, Newport News Shipbuilding, and the naval shipyards in Norfolk and Portsmouth, have used asbestos in hundreds of applications. The industry experienced a boom from the demands of World War II, and it is estimated that as many Veterans and federal contractors died of asbestos illness as a result of working in shipyards during WWII as were killed on the front lines. Various shipyards in Virginia contributed greatly to the war effort (such as Collona's Shipyard and the Richmond Shipyards), but few contributed more than the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. The Navy's oldest and largest shipyard in the country, its beginnings trace back to the 1700s as a British Naval Yard. Just over 230 years old, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard experienced a peak in production during WWII, employing roughly 43,000 workers-all of which probably experienced considerable asbestos exposure.

The power generation industry valued asbestos for its heat and fire resistance just as much as the shipbuilding industry. The pliable and durable material was used as insulation on machinery and pipes, and was literally coated on practically all mechanical equipment. Through normal operations or during servicing of machinery, the asbestos-containing materials released microscopic asbestos fibers into the surrounding air, which were inhaled by workers. Once inhaled, asbestos can build up in the body over time and potentially cause illnesses such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma cancer. Virginia is home to a number of power plants where exposure to asbestos has been an issue: the Charlston Nuclear Power Plant, Chesapeake Paper Powerhouse, Lasalle Atomic Powerhouse, North Anna Powerhouse, and the North Anna Nuclear Power Plant.

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