Asbestos In Your Area

Asbestos in the State of Washington

Asbestos Exposure in Washington

Washington's locale lends itself to being a producer of chrysotile asbestos, in the form of the natural serpentine found in its mountains. These are mostly in the northeast portion of the state, above Spokane, and in the Okanogan highlands, as wall as in the central Cascades. In addition, serpentine was discovered around Wenatchee and Ellensburg but it was not mined for consumer use. This Pacific Northwest state depended heavily upon the industries of shipbuilding, timber and paper production, oil refining, power plants, and aluminum processing. Unfortunately, these very businesses are guilty of utilizing asbestos as an integral part of their manufacturing.

At-Risk Occupations and Locations in Washington

In paper and pulp mills, it is believed that asbestos-containing products are still employed as insulation, and possibly even in conjunction with the materials and equipment for their processes (for example, in the adhesives used with drying felts). With many aluminum plants in Washington and their protocols of extreme heat, asbestos was employed as a protective element against dangers of burns and flames. Washington, on the Pacific Rim and a port for Alaskan tankers, also housed numerous oil refineries. These facilities relied on the properties of asbestos as a safeguard against toxicity and volatility of the chemicals involved with petroleum handling. It not only was used throughout the facilities and around machinery, asbestos was placed inside protective gear and clothing of workers. Regardless of the location of asbestos, there was a chance that the sealant used would become ripped, torn, broken or damaged, thus allowing fibers to become disengaged and separated. Once these fibers entered the air, everyone was vulnerable to the possibility of inhaling them, or carrying them into the community on their hair or clothing. Power plants in Washington posed serious hazards to employees due to asbestos preponderance throughout the facilities, and its natural asbestos mines placed even more residents in danger. Some of the areas in the state that have been noted as exposing individuals to risk are as follows:

Shipyards-Bremerton Naval, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Puget Sound Bridge Yards and Voyage Repair Station Power Plants-Centralia Washington Public Power Plant, FFTF Nuclear Power Plant, Chevron Chemical Plant, UNOCAL Chemical Plant, and Washington Public Power Plant Aluminum Plants- Alcoa Aluminum Plant, INTALCO Aluminum, Kaiser Aluminum, and Reynolds Metals Aluminum Plant Miscellaneous Facilities- ARCO Oil Refinery, Chevron Cracking Plant, Dow Chemical Plant, Fairchild Air Force Base and Midnite Uranium Mine Mine sites located in the areas of-Anacortes, Ferndale, Goldendale, Richland, Tacoma, and Vancouver. Washington State University was also found to contain high levels of asbestos throughout the campus around 1990, but it was successfully removed shortly after discovery. In addition, the state is undertaking the task of investigating all public housing built before 1999 to determine if asbestos exists.

Asbestos-related Deaths in Washington

From 1980 to 2000, there were 1,776 deaths of Washington residents that were attributable to asbestos. From this amount, mesothelioma was the cause in slightly less than half of the fatalities, and asbestosis, a non-cancerous disease was responsible for the rest. Approximately 25% of those deaths were centered in Washington's hub for shipbuilding facilities, King County. (This one small area has the infamous distinction of the fourth highest amount of deaths in the entire U.S., not only from shipbuilding but due to asbestos processing plants for materials shipped from Libby, Montana.) Throughout the county, the state is ranked at #7 regarding asbestos-related deaths.

Legal Resources for Washington Residents

Washington's statue of limitations for personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits is 3 years from the discovery date of when the problem was discovered, or should have been discovered. Within the years of 2006 and 2007, there have been 7 lawsuits involving asbestos. In more than a few cases, defendants are the well-known companies of General Electric Company and C.H. Murphy / Clark-Ullman Inc. Asbestos Corp. Ltd., Elliott Company, and IMO Industries Inc. are named in the other suits.

During 2007, a Washington case resulted in $1 million award to a pulp mill pipe fitter in Port Angeles. He had been employed for 33 years, and suffered exposure from asbestos surrounding the pipes. Four years after retiring, in 1996, he received a mesothelioma diagnosis, but Washington held only companies which supplied or produced asbestos as liable. Unfortunately, because the mill had since closed, it was difficult to establish a defendant. The case was settled by those companies believed to be responsible and agreeing to pay damages, even after claiming bankruptcy.

It is worth noting that, in Washington, asbestos is not regulated as a dangerous waste. Yet, it is mixed with regulated amounts of dangerous wastes. The State Department of Ecology's Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction Program regulates asbestos waste as long as it is combined with other dangerous wastes, for example if asbestos has been painted, coated or mixed with specific measurements of cadmium, chromium, lead, or mercury. (However, household hazardous waste or a status of small quantity can lessen these requirements.)

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