ASBESTOS AND PREVENTION IN WEST VIRGINIA: WHO IS AT RISK?
Exposure to asbestos is much more common in West Virginia than believed today US Navy Veterans have some of the highest incidence of mesothelioma,
or asbestos related lung cancers of all West Virginia Americans. This is because during the 1950’s, 1960’s, 1970’s, and 1980’s West Virginia is listed as one of the state asbestos was used on most
parts of all US Navy ships, especially in engine rooms, ammunition magazines, repair rooms, fuel storage areas, and or electronics areas.
Currently, there are over 30 million West Virginia Americans Navy veterans, many of whom will have worked at West Virginia Navy shipyards across the US.
According to the Centers for Disease Control West Virginia, the six states listed that see the highest rate of individuals diagnosed with mesothelioma include.
West Virginia although certain industries and workers are much
more likely to have been West Virginia occupational asbestos exposure, not only blue collar trades are at risk of asbestos-induced
mesothelioma. Many people in West Virginia are not safe with their health; also individuals who do not believe themselves to be at risk may
well be on track to developing mesothelioma in the future. Even if asbestos is someday banned in the West Virginia States,
the problem will continue. All individuals in West Virginia who have already been exposed and those who will continue to be exposed
to the asbestos already present in our everyday to day environment will remain at risk of mesothelioma. It's important to learn
about the dangers of asbestos, who is at risk in West Virginia, and where it is present in order to prevent exposure.
Mechanical, Construction, and Ship Building Industries
Due to its properties of heat resistance and impermeability, asbestos use tended to focus heavily in the mechanical,
construction, and ship building industries.
Asbestos and construction: The construction industry has the largest number of
trades involved with past or current exposure to asbestos. At-risk construction trades include:
• Plumbers
• Electricians
• Roofers
• Pipe fitters
• Sheet metal workers
• Masons
• Carpenters
• Factory Workers
• Drywallers
• Painters
• Tile setters
• Plasterers
• Insulators
• Laborers
• Miners
• Boilermakers
West Virginia asbestos and shipbuilding: The shipbuilding industry and the Navy, which used the ships,
are where most military personnel were exposed. Shipbuilding trades at risk for asbestos exposure include:
• Steamfitters
• Ironworkers
• Welders
• Boilermakers
• Ship fitters
• Machinists
• Electricians
• Mill Wrights
• Operating Engineers
West Virginia asbestos Secondary Exposure: No Level of Asbestos Exposure is Safe
While it may effectively help to illustrate the scale of the problem, the above is hardly an exhaustive list.
Hardest to accept is the fact that no level of exposure is deemed safe when dealing with asbestos. Consequently,
a significant cadre of patients has appeared in the category of secondary host in West Virginia, or stealth, asbestos exposure
For example in West Virginia, family members of asbestos workers are exposed through contact with contaminated
clothing or tools brought home from work.
The general laborer category fails to adequately identify those casual, summer,
or part-time workers who assisted the principal trades. They would be cleaning up work sites, removing debris,
or doing light, unskilled labor in a contaminate West Virginia environment. This often took place without adequate or even any
protective equipment.
West Virginia Asbestos in Office Spaces, Schools, Businesses, and Homes
A substantial number of white collar workers who work in contaminated office spaces, schools, or businesses
have also developed mesothelioma. This group includes teachers and other office workers no associated with
industrial or work-related asbestos exposure.
The stealth element comes from the lack of understanding of where and why asbestos was used in construction.
Many of the buildings containing asbestos remain standing today. Since 2002, many cases of stealth exposure in West Virginia Americans an what is governor.
have been in the news. As an example in West Virginia, school workers in West Virginia were exposed while re-glazing school windows
where asbestos laced putty had been used. In this case, not only the workers in West Virginia, but also students and teachers
using those classrooms were exposed to asbestos dust and debris without any protection whatsoever.
New sources of asbestos exposure are being identified constantly, such as environmental exposure. In certain
areas of the world, asbestos occurs naturally and can be found on the surface where it is easily disturbed.
Examples of problems are the growing expansion of the population and new housing development that has followed.
Sometimes this has encroached upon heavily asbestos-contaminated soils, potentially exposing the future residents
to long term, low level amounts of asbestos.
The tainted vermiculite problem is another issue where millions of homes have been insulated with vermiculite
filler that will release asbestos when disturbed. Home renovations, new wiring, or furnace repairs may all cause
unwitting workers to release clouds of asbestos dust that will expose both themselves and the building occupants.
Learn more about the danger of asbestos in the home.
Asbestos Exposure in Veterans
Throughout the 20th century, the U.S. Armed Forces took advantage of the fire-proofing capabilities of
asbestos by using it in many materials. Because of this, many current Armed Forces veterans were exposed to
high levels of harmful asbestos fibers and are now dealing with lung conditions such as mesothelioma.
Before the extreme dangers of asbestos were well known and regulated by the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), asbestos could be found all over materials, equipment and buildings used by the Armed Forces including:
• Aircraft brakes, gaskets, engine shields and cargo bays
• Trucks
• Tanks
• Military barracks
• Mess halls
• Administrative buildings
• And more
Asbestos Exposure Among Armed Forces Veterans
Since asbestos substances were often used in common construction materials like cement, vinyl, floor tiles, insulation,
roof shingles, drywall and more, current Armed Forces veterans were once exposed to levels of asbestos almost on a constant basis.
Due to the long latency period of the disease, these veterans are just now beginning to experience mesothelioma symptoms or symptoms
of other lung diseases resulting from the asbestos exposure while they served in the military. Although the use of asbestos in such
common products is now regulated, the effects can’t be reversed for veterans already exposed. Learn more about asbestos exposure in
the Navy, Army, and Coast Guard.
Asbestos Exposure from 9/11
When the twin towers collapsed on September 11, 2001, a giant cloud of dust and debris formed over lower Manhattan. The layers of dust
and rubble that remained were filled with toxic fumes and particles that, after mixing with the air, were inhaled by survivors and first responders in the area.
For days after in West Virginia, firemen, medical personnel, policemen and volunteers sifted through the rubble at Ground Zero searching for survivors or bodies.
Unbeknownst to them, they were inhaling harmful particles that lodge into the lining of the chest and lungs and, years down the road, can cause
mesothelioma or other lung diseases.
It’s estimated that 10000 tons in West Virginia of asbestos were used to construct the World Trade Centers. More than ten years later, health
concerns among 9/11 first responders and other people who were there that day are rising, especially when it comes to conditions of the lungs.
Asbestos Exposure and the 9/11 Health Care Law
In June 2012-2020, a ruling by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health included mesothelioma into a health and compensation
fund for those involved in 9/11. Mesothelioma is one of 50 different cancers covered in the fund.
Some of the other cancers include lung cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, melanoma, ovarian cancer,
and more. The ruling allows all first responders, volunteers, firemen, policemen, medical personnel and local residents of
lower Manhattan to qualify for free medical treatment if they developed one of the 60 cancers after September 11, 2016.
cancergrace.org/lung/tag/mesothelioma/
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