About Indiana
- Ranking in U.S. for mesothelioma & asbestosis deaths
- 21st
- Mesothelioma Deaths
- 1,044
- Asbestosis Deaths
- 89
- Total Deaths
- 1,133
For decades prior to the 1980s, manufacturers throughout the state put workers and their families at risk of developing asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer.
Maintenance workers who repaired machinery in manufacturing plants were most at risk for experiencing asbestos exposure. Any disturbance to asbestos-containing materials could have resulted in airborne asbestos fibers. Once airborne, anyone working nearby could have unknowingly inhaled asbestos.
Occupations at Risk
Indiana businesses used asbestos-containing products in industries that produced steel, automobiles, electrical equipment, chemical products, rubber, petroleum and coal. The risk for asbestos exposure was the highest for steel mill workers because asbestos was used in a variety of applications in the mills for its ability to withstand high temperatures.
The county with the highest incidence rate for asbestos-related diseases in Indiana is Lake County, where you can find the city of Gary, best known for its steel mills.
Jobsites with Known Asbestos Exposure:
- Rolls Royce
- Dow AgroSciences
- Chemetron Corporation
- Raybestos Friction Materials Company
- General Motors
- Peerless Pump
- Nuturn Corporation
- George Rogers Clark National Park
- Warrick Generating Station in Yankeetown
- Federal Office Building in Evansville
- General Services Administration depot in Fort Wayne
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Get Your Free GuideAsbestos in Schools
In September 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s internal watchdog released a report about the agency failing to inspect schools for asbestos. The EPA is responsible for inspecting schools in most states, but some states do their own inspecting.
The EPA only conducted 13 percent of all asbestos compliance inspections from 2011 to 2015. The states that do their own inspecting conducted 87 percent. This means the states relying on the EPA are not getting as many compliance inspections. EPA’s Region 5, which includes Indiana, performed even fewer inspections than other regions.
The report also found that half of EPA regions only conducted inspections after receiving a complaint or tip.
Famous Person Who Battled Mesothelioma
One of Indiana’s famous native sons, actor Steve McQueen, developed cancer as a result of exposure to asbestos. A veteran who served in the Marines before his acting career took off, McQueen cleaned asbestos insulation from pipes aboard a troop ship, where he was exposed to massive amounts of the toxic mineral.
He was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 1979 and died in 1980 of a heart attack following surgery to have a malignant tumor removed from his neck at a clinic in Mexico. McQueen’s on-screen legacy is that of a man’s man. He starred in films such as “Bullitt,” “The Thomas Crown Affair,” “The Great Escape” and “Papillion.”
Eli Lilly
Eli Lilly and Company, which is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, employs more than 11,500 people statewide. The company is responsible for developing the chemotherapy drug Alimta (pemetrexed), which was introduced in 2004 for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. When combined with Cisplatin, Alimta has shown to boost the life expectancy of many pleural mesothelioma patients.
Learn About Mesothelioma Treatment OptionsTreatment Centers near Indiana
Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center
535 Barnhill Drive Indianapolis, IN 46202
More Information
University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center
5841 S Maryland Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637
More Information
University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center
500 East Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
More Information
Froedtert Hospital and Medical College of Wisconsin
9200 W Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53226
More Information
Doctors in Indiana
Asbestos Litigation in Indiana
In 2003, U.S. Steel Corporation lost a mesothelioma case filed by Roby Whittington, a 70-year-old retired worker from the company’s Gary Works plant in Gary, Indiana. Whittington worked for more than 30 years at the plant, where he was exposed to asbestos insulation materials.
A Madison County, Illinois, jury awarded Whittington $250 million, including $50 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive payments. At the time, this was the largest asbestos-related verdict for a single plaintiff in U.S. history. Although U.S. Steel was expected to appeal the verdict, the company instead settled with Whittington out of court for an undisclosed amount.
Learn How to Hire a Qualified Mesothelioma LawyerNuturn Corporation
In 1984, a concerned union member of a Nuturn Corporation brake manufacturing plant in New Castle, Indiana, requested OSHA to evaluate the level of asbestos exposure and the potential risks to employees. The survey detected asbestos concentrations that far exceeded the allowable amount, concluding that a health hazard for asbestos exposure was present at the Nuturn plant.
Future pulmonary function tests and chest X-rays of 170 plant workers revealed several complications from the asbestos exposure. Many workers had abnormal pulmonary function test results, demonstrating obstructive and restrictive breathing patterns. Five workers showed X-ray abnormalities and one showed signs of asbestosis, a fatal lung disease caused by inhaling asbestos fibers.
Learn About Asbestos Exposure in Other States
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Last Modified February 7, 2019
Matt Mauney
Writer and Editor
Matt Mauney is an award-winning journalist with more than a decade of professional writing and editing experience. He joined The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com in 2016, and he spends much of his time reading, analyzing and reporting on mesothelioma research articles to ensure people in the mesothelioma community know the latest medical advances. Prior to joining Asbestos.com, Matt was a Community Manager at the Orlando Sentinel. Matt also edits pages, articles and other content on the website. He holds a certificate in health writing from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
8 Cited Article Sources
- Indiana Department of Environmental Management. (n.d.). Asbestos. Retrieved from: http://www.in.gov/idem/health/2334.htm
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1985). HHE Report No. HETA-84-151-1544, Nuturn Corporation, New Castle, Indiana. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nioshtic-2/00153395.html
- Corbis Corporation. (n.d.). Steve McQueen Biography. Retrieved from: http://stevemcqueen.com/biography.php
- Eli Lilly and Company. (2011). Impact on Indiana. Retrieved from: http://www.lilly.com/about/key-facts/Pages/impact-on-indiana.aspx
- Bloomberg News. (2003, March 31). U.S. Steel Loses Asbestos Lawsuit. Retrieved from: http://articles.latimes.com/2003/mar/31/business/fi-steel31
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. (2018). Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2017 on CDC WONDER Online Database. Retrieved from: http://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html
- Wfyi Indianapolis. (2018, September 18). EPA Not Monitoring Asbestos in Midwest Schools. Retrieved from: https://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/epa-not-monitoring-asbestos-in-midwest-schools
- U.S. EPA Office of Inspector General. (2018, September 17). EPA Needs to Re-Evaluate Its Compliance Monitoring Priorities for Minimizing Asbestos Risks in Schools. Retrieved from: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-09/documents/_epaoig_20180917-18-p-0270.pdf
