Nebraska asbestos exposure sites: Western Minerals Products, power plants, and more
Kool-Aid, CliffsNotes, and Arbor Day were all invented by Nebraskans. Something in the air of the Cornhusker State must inspire creativity, with famous authors like Tillie Olsen from Wahoo and Nicholas Sparks born in Omaha. One thing in the air of Nebraska surely did not inspire creativity: asbestos.
In Nebraska, asbestos exposure works the way it does everywhere: most people are exposed to asbestos on the job (“occupational exposure”). Because of this, this article focuses on jobs in Nebraska and asbestos exposure. There are other ways a person can be exposed to asbestos—for example, by washing the clothes of a family member who works with asbestos.
For the most part, asbestos diseases are the result of occupational exposure: “People who become ill from asbestos are usually those who are exposed to it on a regular basis, most often in a job where they work directly with the material or through substantial environmental contact.” (http://www.cancer.gov/
cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/asbestos)
Weitz & Luxenberg provides this article for all Nebraskans who are suffering from an asbestos related disease and would like more information about occupational asbestos exposure. Before the government set up standards for asbestos exposure, and even after, what jobs put Nebraskans at risk for asbestosis and mesothelioma?
Western Mineral Products: Nebraska asbestos exposure via Libby, Montana
Employees at the former Western Minerals Products site in Omaha from the 1940s to 1989 were exposed to asbestos at levels that exceeded workplace health standards, according to a 2004 statement from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
The W.R. Grace Company shipped at least 131,696 tons of potentially asbestos-contaminated vermiculite to three sites in Nebraska between 1948 and 1993: one location at Capitol Avenue, and one at 36th & I St.(http://www.ewg.org/sites/asbestos
/maps/shipment_data.php?stab=NE)
Processing the vermiculite was hazardous for employees and those who lived near the plant:
“These plants typically “popped” or exfoliated the ore to produce vermiculite attic insulation and other products. This process produced a massive amount of asbestos-contaminated dust, very high workplace exposures, and significant airborne asbestos in the surrounding neighborhoods.”
(http://www.ewg.org/files/NE_factsheet.pdf)
From the 1940s to 1989, the Western Minerals Products plant processed vermiculite mined in Libby, Montana. The vermiculite from Libby contained asbestos, which is how former WMP employees may have been exposed. The ATSDR “recommends that former workers and people who lived with them to consult with a physician who has experience diagnosing asbestos-related lung disease.” (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/news/displaynews.asp?PRid=1932)
Nebraska asbestos exposure: low risk jobs and high risk jobs
For current and retired members of Nebraska's workforce, the strongest industries do not involve significant asbestos exposure. For example, meat-packing and food-processing are large employers in the state, and there is little risk of asbestos exposure in a slaughterhouse. As of 2005, Tyson Foods, Inc. was the largest private employer in Nebraska.
(http://www.neded.org/files/research/stathand/csect10.htm)
However, the largest public employer in Nebraska is the State of Nebraska, followed by the U.S. Government. Government jobs include work in universities, the Department of Corrections, law enforcement, schools, and more. The fifth largest public employer is Omaha Public Power District, followed by the Nebraska Public Power District.
Alot of the equipment and machinery inside power plants are lined with asbestos insulation to prevent overheating and fires. Generators and turbines at NPPD and OPPD are most likely lined with asbestos, as much industrial equipment built before 1980 is. The boilers, pipes, gaskets, seal pumps and valves in most power plants are insulated with asbestos materials. The floor, wall and ceiling tiles of power plants may also contain asbestos.
Offutt Air Force Base is the twelfth largest public employer in the state, and it has been a large employer for years. The Offutt Air Force Base website says “each branch of the US military is represented among the approximately 10,000 military and federal employees assigned here.” (http://www.offutt.af.mil/index.asp)
Most military bases in the past century used asbestos in concrete, in roofing products, and in wallboard and joint compound. Asbestos was also used in aircraft braking systems and as engine insulation. But the Air Force acknowledged these dangers, and in 1986 the Air Force Command adopted the Asbestos GRADE (Guidance for Rating and Assessing Damage and Exposure) system to make decisions on asbestos abatement in their bases. (http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA174875)
Wherever you worked in Nebraska, whatever your job, asbestos exposure was unfair
Whether you worked in a power plant in Monroe or Columbus, or were in carpenter in Ogallala; whether you were a plumber in residential homes or an electrician for state facilities, asbestos exposure was not part of your job description, and should not have happened.
If you are suffering from an asbestos-related disease and would like to learn more about your legal options, call Weitz & Luxenberg or fill out a form today for your free legal consultation.
Acknowledgements:
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/asbestos
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/news/displaynews.asp?PRid=1932
http://www.ewg.org/sites/asbestos/maps/shipment_data.php?stab=NE
http://www.ewg.org/files/NE_factsheet.pdf
http://www.neded.org/files/research/stathand/csect10.htm
http://www.offutt.af.mil/index.asp
http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA174875
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