> Asbestos Exposure > Asbestos In Your Area > Wisconsin (WI)

Occupations at Risk

Wisconsin residents who worked in metal works, vermiculite processing facilities and paper mills are at highest risk of developing mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases, including asbestosis and lung cancer. Individuals who worked for companies such as Koos and W.R. Grace regularly came in contact with asbestos-contaminated vermiculite ore. Metal works facilities such as Ladish heralded asbestos for its resilience and fire resistance, using the mineral to insulate high-heat machinery.

Similarly, Wisconsin's historic paper industry used asbestos to insulate machinery and help in drying processes, exposing workers to asbestos as far back as the late 19th century. Several paper producers made a significant impact on the state's job market and public health, with companies like Kimberly-Clark, Charmin and Georgia-Pacific leading the industry. By the 1940s, it was the state's third largest industry, and today Wisconsin remains one of the largest paper producers in the country. The century-old success exposed workers and the public to dangerous levels of asbestos for decades.

Four Wheel Drive/Seagrave

Four Wheel Drive manufactured trucks in Clintonville and commonly used asbestos, especially in the manufacture of brakes. After several employees developed chronic coughs and sore throats, workers expressed concern about asbestos exposure at the facility and called the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to conduct a safety inspection.

The subsequent inspection in 1987 found that airborne asbestos was within the legal limit in air samples. But when NIOSH officials tested shavings from brakes in the facility, they found the brakes contained 10 to 20 percent asbestos. The NIOSH officials noted that the same type of shavings tended to accumulate near machines. This meant the particulate could be carried throughout the plant, leaving workers at risk. Officials also observed that workers did not wear protective gear to prevent such asbestos exposure.

As a result of the inspection, NIOSH began enforcing safe asbestos practices in the facility. It required the brake area be isolated from the rest of the facility to prevent the spread of asbestos particles. It also required the area be cleaned regularly to help prevent exposure to asbestos.

Koos, Inc.

Koos, Inc. processed asbestos-contaminated vermiculite in its Kenosha facility from 1960 to 1995, receiving the mineral from American Vermiculite and W.R. Grace. As in any vermiculite processing facility, employees were at high risk of being exposed to asbestos and developing asbestos-related illnesses. Asbestos-containing vermiculite also posed a danger to customers. Some vermiculite from Koos was used in fertilizer. Customers who bought vermiculite-containing fertilizer may have been exposed to asbestos while working with the product.

In 1995 Koos sold its facilities to IMC Vigaro. IMC sold the vermiculite processing equipment and instead used the buildings to package salt. Officials from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inspected the site in 2000 and 2001 to ensure that it was safe and free of asbestos debris. EPA officials found no vermiculite or asbestos on site, and soil samples were free of contaminants. Based on these EPA inspections, the site was declared safe.

Ladish Company

Ladish Company was a large metal manufacturer in Milwaukee. Its high-heat processes of casting and forging metal were nonstop, requiring as many as 200 furnaces to operate simultaneously. Furnaces and other equipment were insulated, often with asbestos materials. Heat-intensive processes continuously damaged the furnaces and surrounding insulation. As a result, masons and helpers continuously tore down and replaced the equipment. In doing so, they were exposed to concentrated amounts of asbestos dust.

Such asbestos exposure caused numerous concerns and health problems among Ladish masons and other employees. For example, mason George Zielinski developed mesothelioma nearly 40 years after he stopped working for Ladish. The company had a medical monitoring program in place for employees like Zielinski who were exposed to asbestos on the job. In 1984, however, NIOSH inspectors reviewed 11 medical records and determined the X-rays were not properly conducted. Of 11 chest X-rays, only six were readable. NIOSH concluded that the program was inadequate and would not help in detecting asbestos-related diseases.

Illegal Asbestos Removal

In 1999 three men were convicted of conspiring to break health and labor laws. Buddy Frazier, Chance Gaines and James Bragg recruited more than 20 men for an illegal asbestos removal project in Marshfield. About 12 of them were homeless men recruited from a Tennessee soup kitchen and transported to Wisconsin. The three conspirators used false social security numbers to obtain asbestos certification for the untrained workers. The recruits then improperly removed 9,000 feet of asbestos insulation without wearing protective gear. In addition to violating the Clean Air Act, abatement practices exposed the illegal workers to harmful asbestos. After pleading guilty to conspiracy, Frazier, Gaines and Bragg were sentenced to 30, 33 and 24 months in prison, respectively.

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