WASHINGTON STATE
ASBESTOS EPIDEMIC
Asbestos-related mesothelioma rampant among Washington state construction workers

Washington state asbestos deaths. Washington is ranked the No. 8 state in the nation for asbestos-related deaths. Four counties bordering Seattle are on the government’s list of the Top 100 counties in the country recording deaths due to asbestos exposure.

September 22, 2009 -- A recent study that followed 8,976 workers in Washington state from 1998 through 2004 showed a shockingly high rate of asbestos-related mesothelioma cancer among construction workers in Hanford, Wash. Hanford is a small agricultural community in Benton County, Wash., about 175 miles southeast of Seattle.

“The most significant finding at Hanford was a very high rate of mesothelioma,” a rate that is 11-times more prevalent than the mesothelioma rate of the general population, said Knut Ringen, one of the authors of the study.

Asbestos and mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer diagnosed in 3,000 Americans annually. The cancer affects a membranous lining known as the mesothelium, which lines several body cavities. Mesothelioma is almost exclusively caused by occupational exposure to asbestos.

The September issue of the American Journal of Industrial Medicine published the results from a study that presented information gathered in the Building Trades National Medical Screening Program for Hanford, Washington, and three additional Department of Energy sites.

Washington state asbestos

Of the workers examined in the study, 2,779 were involved in construction at Hanford. Of the 226 workers that had passed away, 94 died of cancer. The number of cancer deaths in this group is approximately 14-times greater than would be expected in the overall U.S. population, said Ringen.

In addition to the prominent presence of mesothelioma in the workers, deaths caused by asbestosis were 30 percent greater than the asbestosis rate in the general population. Asbestosis is a progressive pulmonary disease caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibers.

Time to seek justice

Weitz & Luxenberg has protected the legal rights of asbestos-injured workers since 1986. And in that time the firm's mesothelioma lawyers have won several billion dollars in verdicts and settlements for clients.

If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma and seek a free case review, please notify us through the communication form on this page. We will pursue your claim with vigilance to help you pay for medical bills, lost wages, and suffering. The firm works on a contingency basis, so there is no cost to you until we win a settlement or a verdict.