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Washington Asbestos Exposure

Asbestos Exposure and Mesothelioma in Washington

Washington MesotheliomaWashington State, like most other coastal states, has a history of shipbuilding and U.S. Navy activity. Unfortunately, shipyards and Naval bases built and operated in the United States prior to the 1980s have a history of causing mesothelioma in those exposed to asbestos dust. In addition to shipyards, Washington has a number of other industrial worksites where substantial amounts of asbestos were used for fireproofing, insulation and sealing from extreme temperatures. These include aluminum smelting operations, nuclear power plants, oil refineries, and paper mills, among others.

If you may have been exposed to asbestos in Washington, you may be eligible for financial compensation. The attorneys at MesoLawyersCare have successfully recovered money awards for workers and their families who have been injured by exposure to asbestos in Washington State and elsewhere. The following worksites in Washington are examples of locations where many people had asbestos exposure:
 

1. Puget Sound Naval Shipyard

The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Immediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF) in Bremerton was first established in 1891 and stands as the largest naval shore facility in the Pacific Northwest. The massive facility, located near other shipyards on the Puget Sound (across from Seattle) maintains Navy vessels and recycles decommissioned ships and submarines. The shipyard comprises 1,300 acres and employs more than 12,000 workers (a combination of military personnel and civilians). On Navy ships, powerful, high-temperature equipment, including boilers and turbines, operated below deck. Asbestos was used materials such as insulation, gaskets, packing and cement so that the equipment could function properly and not radiate heat in the small spaces occupied by Navy boiler tenders, machinist mates and others working in the engineering spaces. Dangerous asbestos dust resulted from the installation, repair and routine maintenance of the asbestos-containing equipment and systems that powered the Navy ships.
 

2. Intalco Aluminum Works

Ferndale-based aluminum smelter Intalco Aluminum Works began operation in 1966, becoming the largest producer of aluminum in the nation after a series of mergers. While the plant once employed 1,150 individuals at its peak, it currently has roughly 640 regular employees. The production of aluminum requires extremely high temperatures, so — as in other industries where heat and fire are a concern — this and other aluminum plants were built with asbestos-containing materials, including boilers, piping, pumps, valves and insulation and sealing materials throughout the facility. These facilities, including Intalco, also used asbestos on bench tops, various coating materials, and even in protective clothing. Workers were often exposed to asbestos at Aluminum plants, such as Intalco, because the premises owners, as well as the manufacturers and suppliers of the asbestos-containing materials and equipment, failed to provide proper warnings.
 

3. Cherry Point Refinery

The Cherry Point Refinery in Blaine, located near the border with Canada, is Washington’s largest oil refinery (providing 20 percent of the state’s gasoline needs). The BP-owned refinery was originally built in 1971, just a few years before the use of asbestos-containing materials was phased out due to its serious health hazards. Oil refineries operate by boiling crude oil in order to separate out the various components, such as gasoline, kerosene, and other petroleum products. The equipment used in the process reaches high-temperatures. This is why the Cherry Point Refinery and other refineries used so much asbestos in their construction. The major problem with the use of asbestos was that the premises owners, along with the makers and sellers of the asbestos-containing products, failed to adequately warn the workers. As a result, workers and their family members have developed mesothelioma.
 

4. Hanford Nuclear Site (Hanford)

Located on the bank of the Columbia River in Hanford is the decommissioned nuclear power plant known simply as the Hanford Nuclear Site. It was built in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project to build an atomic weapon for the war effort and plutonium created at the site ultimately was used in the atomic bomb detonated over Nagasaki, Japan. The site was expanded during the Cold War to include five large plutonium processing complexes. The Hanford Nuclear Site, as with other nuclear reactors, was subject to extremely high temperatures, which resulted in the use of asbestos-containing materials, including insulation, cement, gaskets and packing. These asbestos-containing products and equipment did not include warnings that gave adequate notice of the dangers of asbestos. The Hanford Nuclear facility ceased operations in the late 1980s, with a massive cleanup effort beginning in 1989.
 

5. Longview Fibre Paper Mill (Longview)

Now owned by KapStone Paper and Packaging, the Longview Fibre Paper Mill in the lumber city of Longview was originally founded in 1927. The mill produces packaging papers, containerboard, corrugated cardboard containers, Kraft paper (used in grocery bags), and other materials. The manufacturing process at the Longview Mill resulted in asbestos exposure both from the equipment that utilized asbestos and from the manufacturing process. Work at paper mills has been shown to significantly increase the risk of asbestos exposure. The attorneys at MesoLawyersCare have successfully represented many paper mill workers who have developed mesothelioma, as well as family members who have been diagnosed with this asbestos-related cancer as the result of household contact with dusty work clothing.

The attorneys from MesoLawyersCare have recovered more than $10 billion dollars for people diagnosed with mesothelioma. Our firm has successfully represented workers exposed to asbestos at worksites throughout the state of Washington, and throughout the country. For more information or a free consultation, fill out the form on this page, type into the “live chat” function on this page, or call the number on the screen.
 

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Did You Know?

  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    The highest award of compensatory damages ever upheld on appeal in a mesothelioma case is $30.3 million.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    The largest punitive damages verdict ever upheld on appeal in a mesothelioma case is $18 million.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    There are over $30 billion in asbestos trust funds to compensate victims of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    There are more than 50 bankruptcy trusts accepting claims to compensate victims of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    There are many “asbestos dockets” that permit living mesothelioma patients to obtain a jury verdict in less than 1 year.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    In 2015, more than 2000 mesothelioma cases were filed in the United States.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    In some mesothelioma cases, settlements can be obtained in less than 1 year.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    Thousands of different companies have been defendants in mesothelioma cases over the past 40 years.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    According to a 2015 study of 77 peritoneal mesothelioma cases, the average life expectancy (median survival period) was 75.7 months, or over 6 years.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    According to a 2015 study of 77 peritoneal mesothelioma patients, 73.8% were living after 3 years, and 65.3% were living after 5 years.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    According to a 2015 study of 77 peritoneal mesothelioma patients, 64% were treated with HIPEC and cytoreductive surgery.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    According to a 2015 study of 303 pleural mesothelioma patients, the average life expectancy (median survival period) was 18.4 months.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    According to a 2015 study of pleural mesothelioma patients, 73.1% were still living after 1 year, and 22.9% were still living after 3 years.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    In 2015, the largest number of mesothelioma cases were filed in the following 10 courts: (1) Madison County, IL; (2) Cook County, IL; (3) St. Louis, MO; (4) Los Angeles, CA; (5) New York, NY; (6) Philadelphia, PA; (7) New Castle County, DE; (8) Middlesex County, MA; (9)Middlesex County, NJ; (10) Kanawha County, WV.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    The states with the largest number of diagnosed mesothelioma cases are: New York, New Jersey, California, Washington, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Virginia, Florida, Texas, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    There are about 3000 mesothelioma cases diagnosed in the United States each year.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    About 1 in 100,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with mesothelioma each year in the United States.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    More than 80% of all mesothelioma cases occur in the pleura (pleural mesothelioma).
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    Less than 20% of all mesothelioma cases occur in the peritoneum (peritoneal mesothelioma).
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    About 22% of all mesothelioma cases occur in women.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    A history of asbestos exposure can be found in more than 80% of mesothelioma cases.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    More than 30% of all mesothelioma patients in the United States were exposed to asbestos in the military.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma can be caused by laundering, or other household contact with, work clothing contaminated with asbestos.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma can be caused by work with (direct exposure) or around (bystander exposure) asbestos-containing products.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    The average time between a person’s first exposure to asbestos and the development of mesothelioma (latency period) is more than 40 years.
 

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If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, please contact us to see if we can help you get the compensation you deserve from the billions of dollars in asbestos trust funds available now for qualified asbestos victims. With just one call, you can put all our experience and success to work for you.

We have represented thousands of victims of mesothelioma and their families in virtually every State in the country and in decades of work have recovered billions of dollars in financial compensation for our clients.

Call us now at 1-888-568-1177, fill out the form on this page or chat with a live person. The consultation is free and it costs nothing upfront to hire the lawyers behind MesoLawyersCare. We only get paid if you collect a settlement or verdict and you will never receive a bill from us.

 

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