COLORADO ASBESTOS
For residents of Colorado, the threat of occupational asbestos exposure is greatest in the state’s burgeoning industrial locations

Some rocks in the Rocky Mountain state of Colorado are made of toxic asbestos. The real health hazard, however, lurks in the state’s industrial job sites.

April 30, 2010 – There are a number of regions in Colorado where asbestos occurs naturally. And there have been many cases of asbestos exposure related to the old Colorado mines of yesteryear.

But the lion’s share of asbestos-related diseases occurring in Colorado is linked to occupational asbestos exposure in industries that have a long track record of using asbestos and asbestos products.

Asbestos exposure occurs primarily as an occupational hazard through the inhalation of airborne asbestos fibers that become trapped in workers’ lungs, usually in industrial occupations.

Denver has seen an influx of industry in recent years. Work sites that are considered potentially hazardous zones for asbestos exposure include power plants, oil refineries, railroad job sites, and old public buildings in particular. The majority of asbestos-related deaths are recorded around the industrial centers of Denver and Colorado Springs.

Colorado asbestos mortalities

Compared to the rest of the country, Colorado ranks No. 31 for mesothelioma deaths, according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit public information organization headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Between 1979 and 2000, 133 people died of asbestosis in Colorado. In that same period, mesothelioma deaths numbered between 267 and 456.

The lack of a specific number for mesothelioma deaths is due to the fact that the federal government has monitored mesothelioma as a cause of death only since 1999.

Between 1999 and 2004, a more reliable study period, 163 mesothelioma deaths were tallied in the state.

Colorado asbestos regulations

The Air Pollution Control Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment assists schools and businesses in complying with air pollution laws that regulate asbestos and asbestos containing materials.

The regulation that governs asbestos in Colorado is the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission’s Regulation No. 8, Part B, “Emission Standards for Asbestos.”

Asbestos-related mesothelioma cancer

Mesothelioma is recognized worldwide as the signature asbestos-related cancer. Some 3,000 cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed every year in the United States.

Asbestos is no longer mined in the United States, but it is still imported and used in the construction and automotive industries.

Weitz & Luxenberg – Guardian of the American worker

The failure of companies to provide safety equipment or product warnings for their workers has led to tens of thousands of job-related deaths, and is a serious negligent act that courts assign liability to.

Thousands of retired workers diagnosed with a job-related asbestos illness have filed asbestos claims against these companies, and have successfully obtained large verdicts and settlements with the help of our law firm.

If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease like mesothelioma, you are urged to contact an asbestos cancer attorney at Weitz & Luxenberg for a free legal appraisal of your case and your eligibility to receive compensation.