Five important facts about South Carolina asbestos exposure

“While I breathe, I hope”: the motto chosen by South Carolina colonists in 1776 could easily come from anyone in South Carolina today, talking about their fight against asbestos diseases. The amount of asbestos exposure that occurred in the asbestos mines, shipyards and asbestos textile plants of yesterday are unthinkable today. But if you worked during the 1930s to the 1960s and 70s, you can remember just how common asbestos was.

Asbestos manufacturers knew the dangers of asbestos inhalation long before the 1960s. (http://www.ewg.org/sites/
asbestos/facts/fact3.php) But asbestos was such a popular ingredient in insulation products (be they vermiculite, cement, paper or cloth) that the people who profited from asbestos kept their knowledge of those dangers to themselves.

Weitz & Luxenberg provides this information—the five facts you should know about South Carolina asbestos exposure—in the hope that all South Carolinians who suffer from asbestos-related diseases will know these five facts about asbestos exposure in your home state, and what you can do about it now.

One: In South Carolina, asbestos is naturally occurring

In 1883, the South Carolina Department of Agriculture stated that there were several gold mines and one asbestos mine in Spartanburg County, which means there was enough naturally occurring asbestos to warrant a company's investment in building a mine. (South Carolina Dept. of Agriculture. South Carolina: Resources and population. Institutions and industries, p.180)

Another naturally occurring mineral in South Carolina is vermiculite. Vermiculite insulation is produced from ore mined throughout the world. When heated, the ore “expands into a light, rather fluffy material. This material is fire resistant, absorbent, lightweight, odorless, and does not react with chemicals.” (http://www.aerias.org/DesktopModules
/ArticleDetail.aspx?articleId=70)

Vermiculite ores from some mines, like the W.R. Grace mine in Libby, Montana, have been found to contain asbestos. In the United States, vermiculite mines are located in Montana, South Carolina, and Virginia. (Aerias) Asbestos-tainted vermiculite is most harmful to those who mined and produced it, and those who lived close to the mine.

Two: Libby, MT shipped 8783 tons of asbestos-tainted vermiculite to Traveler's Rest, North Charleston, and Enoree

Not only does South Carolina have naturally occurring asbestos, but the Palmetto state received over 209 shipments of asbestos-tainted vermiculite from Libby, Montana to Traveler's Rest, Enoree, and North Charleston. (http://www.ewg.org/sites/asbestos
/maps/shipment_data.php?stab=SC) The town of Libby has become synonymous with the dangers of asbestos exposure:

“Before 1990, the now closed mine in Libby, Montana, was a significant source of vermiculite in the United States. In 1998, vermiculite was mined in the United States predominantly in South Carolina and Virginia and was also imported from South Africa and China.”(http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/asbestos/
more_about_asbestos/health_consultation/)

With much of the shipbuilding industry and other companies based in Charleston, and naturally occurring asbestos in Spartanburg County, is it surprising that the counties with the highest death rates from asbestosis and mesothelima are Charleston County and Spartanburg County? (http://www.ewg.org/sites/asbestos
/tables/deathdetails_county.php?fips=45000)

Three: At a textile plant in South Carolina, asbestos lung cancer was worse than in a Canadian asbestos mine

In a 1983 study of 2543 men, all employed for at least a month between 1938 to 1958 in an asbestos textile plant in South Carolina, 863 men (34%) had died before the end of 1977, one from malignant mesothelioma. Twenty one men died of asbestosis and 66 of lung cancer. There were 30 more deaths than expected from respiratory cancer in men 20 or more years after first employment. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles
/PMC1009207/pdf/brjindmed00056-0001.pdf)

Doctors saw there was a much lower risk of mesothelioma in workers employed in mining and milling chrysotile than in most asbestos workers. The response to asbestos exposure (that is, how many of the exposed became sick) among asbestos textile workers was “50-fold greater at similar accumulated dust exposures than in Canadian chrysotile mining and milling.” (NCBI)

In 2007, a group of researchers published a study of 3072 workers exposed to chrysotile in a South Carolina asbestos textile plant (1916–77) and mortality through 2001. The researchers compared the causes of death and rate of death among the 3072 people with US and South Carolina mortality rates. (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/
awards/hamilton/pdfs/Hein-human-2008.pdf)

Like the 1983 study, the researchers found “excess mortality from lung cancer and asbestosis and a strong exposure-response relation between estimated exposure to chrysotile [a form of asbestos] and mortality from lung cancer and asbestosis.” (CDC)

Among the jobs that could lead to asbestos exposure at an asbestos textile plant were “preparation, carding, spinning (ring and gang, mule), spooling, twisting, winding, braiding, rope, wick and cord, weaving, finishing and quality control.” Researchers found that duties like spinning and braiding led to more exposure than carding. (CDC)

Four: At the famous shipyards of South Carolina, asbestos was in the air

Did you or your spouse work at the Charleston Naval Shipyard, the Carolina Shipping Company, or Detyens Shipyards? If so, there is a great likelihood that you were exposed at some point to asbestos.

The Charleston Naval Shipyard, operating between 1901 to 1996, saw the country through both World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and the Cold War. (http://shop38.homestead
.com/1.html) Like all shipyards, the CNSY made use of asbestos as insulation to prevent fires on the ships. The amount of asbestos used in insulating a battleship was tremendous, and it is little wonder that many Naval veterans and shipyard employees have suffered from asbestos-related diseases.

The Carolina Shipping Company was founded in 1927 in Charleston, South Carolina. In its early years, Carolina Shipping operated several of its own general cargo vessels, and performed agency and stevedore services. (http://www.carolinashipping.com
/html/history.html) The same risks involved with handling asbestos insulation apply in every shipyard.

A smaller operation than CNSY, Detyens Shipyards Inc. may still have been a source of exposure for employees. William Detyens was a merchant marine who started his own ship repair service in the Charleston, South Carolina area in 1961. The company served both the commercial and naval markets. (http://www.detyens.com/history-
detyens-shipyard-east-coast-
united-states-ship-repair-charleston
-sc-dry-docks.htm) Asbestos exposure was likely for employees during the first nine years Detyens Shipyards was in operation.

Five: South Carolina asbestos exposure victims have legal options

You do not have to have worked in an asbestos textile plant, shipyard or vermiculite plant to have been exposed to asbestos in South Carolina. Plumbers, carpenters, construction workers are at risk for asbestos exposure:“Health hazards from asbestos fibers have been recognized in workers exposed in insulation work in the construction and building trades, and a variety of other trades.” (http://www.cancer.gov/
cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/asbestos#r2)

How you were exposed is not as important as making sure that your health—physical and financial—does not suffer because of your exposure. Seeking compensation can help you cover the costs of your asbestos illness. If you are suffering from an asbestos disease and have been looking into your legal options, call Weitz & Luxenberg or fill out a form today for a free legal consultation.

Acknowledgments:

http://www.ewg.org/sites/asbestos/facts/fact3.php

Naturally occurring asbestos in South Carolina:

South Carolina Dept. of Agriculture. South Carolina: Resources and population. Institutions and industries, 1883. p.180

http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/proceedings/01/minecarb/kramer.pdf

http://www.aerias.org/DesktopModules/ArticleDetail.aspx?articleId=70

Vermiculite:

http://www.ewg.org/sites/asbestos/maps/shipment_data.php?stab=SC

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/asbestos/more_about_asbestos/health_consultation/

http://www.ewg.org/sites/asbestos/tables/deathdetails_county.php?fips=45000

Chrysotile textile plant studies:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1009207/pdf/brjindmed00056-0001.pdf