Oregon Asbestos Exposure

Oregon is part of the Pacific Rim and therefore the state's economy is closely tied to maritime industries. It is to be expected that most of the asbestos-related illnesses in Oregon are among those who worked in industries.

Oregon Cities where Asbestos Exposure Occurred

Provided below is a list of cities in the state of Oregon where asbestos jobsites are known to have been located. If you worked at any of these companies and/or jobsites in Oregon there is a possibility that you may have been exposed to harmful asbestos which is known to cause mesothelioma. Click on any link to view a complete list of jobsites in that city.

Shipbuilding and Asbestos

Shipbuilders began using asbestos extensively in their vessels beginning in the mid-1930s; the reason was because of a tragic cruise-ship fire off the coast of New Jersey in which nearly half of the passengers and crew lost their lives.
Below decks, friable (crumbling) asbestos become highly concentrated. Medical research has shown that the chances of developing an asbestos-related disease is proportional to concentration of fibers and the length of time spent in the asbestos environment. In the famous Krstev Study at National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland 4700 shipyard workers employed by the U.S. Coast Guard between 1950 and 1964 were studied. This group was shown to suffer from “small but significant excess mortality” from asbestos disease, including mesothelioma and lung cancer.

Oregon Chemical Industry

Asbestos is used wherever there are hazards from heat, fire or corrosive chemicals. Chemical plants located in Oregon include:

Borden
Chevron
Chipman
Rhone-Poulenc
Stouffer

Most of the asbestos used in chemical factories consisted of amosite ("brown asbestos") or crocidolite ("blue" asbestos), which are particularly deadly and a major factor in mesothelioma cases. Unlike relatively soft “white” asbestos, amosite and crocidolite fibers are rigid and shaped like microscopic needles. When inhaled or ingested, they literally drill through lung tissue, emerging on the outside. During this process, DNA attaches itself to these fibers, resulting in cellular mutations that result in cancer. Although this much is known, medical science has not yet discovered the precise mechanism.

Oregon Oil Industry

Petroleum products are highly flammable at all stages of production. As a result, fire is always a hazard.
Oil industry workers also suffer from mesothelioma at much higher rates than the general population. A recent research study in the United Kingdom tracked 43,000 industry employees in that country. Mesothelioma was far prevalent among those who actually worked in the refining process (as opposed to those who simply delivered the product to retailers). Still, anyone who believes they may have been exposed to asbestos should seek medical attention at mesothelioma clinics.

Paper and Pulp Mills, Et. Al.

Other Oregon industries identified as asbestos sites include:

Portland Gas and Coke
Hercules Powder Company (now defunct)
Georgia-Pacific Resin Plant

Most of these are located in the Portland-Multnomah County metro region. Similar industries have operated at various times in Bend, Eugene, Hood River, Klamath Falls, McMinnville, Medford, Salem, St. Helens, and The Dalles. Residents in such counties should seek legal counsel with a mesothelioma lawyer if they believe they have been negligently exposed to asbestos.

Statistics

Most of Oregon's 3.4 million people live in the upper Willamette Valley. During the last two decades of the last century, health authorities recorded 862 deaths due to asbestos disease. 50% of these were from mesothelioma; Oregon is unusual in this respect, as in most states, mesothelioma fatalities greatly outnumber those from asbestosis.

Other Oregon Jobsites Where Asbestos Exposure Occurred

If someone you know has ever worked at one of the Jobsites listed below, they may have been exposed to high levels of asbestos. Asbestos exposure at any one of these Jobsites could put them at risk for developing one of the following asbestos related diseases: malignant mesothelioma (a terminal cancer), asbestos related lung cancer, asbestosis or pleural mesothelioma.

Astoria

Astoria Electric Company
Astoria High School
Astoria Marine Shipyard
Clatsop County Fairgrounds
Pacific Power and Light Company
Tongue Point Naval Shipyard

Bend

Bend City Hall
Bend Water Light and Power Company
Brooks Scanlon Incorporated
Brooks Scanlow Inc
Brooks Williamette Company
Brooks-Scanlon Lumber Company
Daw Forest Products
Sunrise Utility Company
Williamette Company

Coos Bay

Coos Bay Cardboard Plant
Coos Bay Timber Company
Evans Products Company
Georgia Pacific Power Company
Menasha Paper Company
U S Plywood
Weyerhauser Paper Mill

Corvallis

Camp Adair
Gerdings Market
Neptune Microfloc, Inc.
Oregon State College
Oregon State University
R.L. Elfstrom Inc.
Us War Department

Dallas

Mountain States Power Company
Willamette National Lumber Company
Willamette Valley Lumber Company

Forest Grove

Columbia Beauty Shop
Farm Boys Market
Pacific University
Stimson Lumber Company
Suburban Pools Incorporated
Telephone Equipment Building

Gardiner

International Paper Company
International Paper Mill

Halsey

American Can Company
Armstrong Cont & Supplies
James River Paper Corporation
Pope and Talbot

Junction City

Agri Pac
Eugene Fruit Growers Association
Georgia Pacific Corporation
Valley Plywood Company

La Grande

Boise Cascade Corp
Borden Chemical Company
E O C
Oregon Sugar Company
Weyerhaeuser

Lebanon

Cascade Plywood Corp
Crown Willamette Paper Company
Crown Zellerbach Corp
Us Plywood Corporation

Marshfield

C A Smith Lumber and Manufacturing Company
Coos Bay Lumber Company
International Cedar Corporation
Mountain States Power Company

McMinnville

Cascade Steel Rolling Mills

Medford

Consolidated Freightways
Federal Building
Medford Corp
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
Post Office
Robert Duff Water Treatment Plant
Sabroso Company