West Virginia Asbestos Exposure

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The jurisdiction of Charleston, West Virginia is considered a “judicial hellhole” - meaning that when it comes to tort litigation between plaintiffs who are the victim of corporate malfeasance and corporate defendants, chances are good that the court will side with the plaintiff.
Considering how corporations have behaved in the most impoverished state in the Union, it should come as no surprise.

West Virginia Cities where Asbestos Exposure Occurred

Provided below is a list of cities in the state of West Virginia where asbestos jobsites are known to have been located. If you worked at any of these companies and/or jobsites in West Virginia 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.

Industries

Coal mining and some limited oil drilling continue to form the basis of West Virginia's economy, although the latter has yet to produce any real results. There are nonetheless two major oil refineries in West Virginia, and a British study of petroleum workers demonstrated that such workers are substantially more likely to contract asbestos disease. West Virginia is also home to several chemical plants as well as a number of power generation facilities. Dangerous amphibole asbestos was frequently employed at such facilities, due to its superior resistance to electrical current as well as caustic and corrosive chemicals.
Ironically, the Morgantown Medical Research Center has also been identified as having asbestos issues. The reason is that that prior to 1980, asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) were used in almost every kind of building material. ACMs were used to insulate water pipes, HVAC ductwork, boilers and electrical conduits in a wide variety of public buildings, including hospitals. Workers who have been negligently exposed should seek legal counsel from a mesothelioma lawyer.

Industrial Hazards

Generally, one will find ACMs nearly anywhere that fire, electrical or chemical hazards exist. Laboratory countertops, electrical machinery in insulation, and even protective clothing contained asbestos prior to the early 1980s.
Some asbestos products such as insulation may be “safe” for a time. Eventually however, it becomes “friable.” In this state, ACMs are crumbling into dust, releasing millions of asbestos fibers into the environments. According to several medical studies around the world, power plants and oil refineries are among the most hazardous industrial jobsites for asbestos. Those who have been exposed to asbestos should seek medical attention at any of the mesothelioma clinics in their area.

Statistics

Between 1980 and 2000 the overall population of West Virginia declined by 140,000 to 1.8 million. 594 of those who left the state also left the world, dying from mesothelioma or asbestosis. Most of these were in the Charleston metro area; 25% lived in Kanawha County, where the vast majority succumbed to the latter disease – despite the fact that asbestosis is not invariably fatal, and that with proper treatment, patients are able to manage the disease for many years.

Other West Virginia 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.

Albright

  • Albright Power Station
  • Monongahela Power Company
  • Potomac Edison

Alloy

  • Electro Metallurgical Company
  • Elkem Metals
  • Union Carbide
  • West Virginia Hydro Electric Company

Apple Grove

  • Apple Grove Pulp Company
  • Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
  • Point Pleasant Plant
  • Shell Chemical Company

Beckley

  • Beckley Armory
  • Beckley National Bank
  • Pinecrest Hospital
  • United Mine Workers Hospital
  • V. A. Hospital
  • Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Beech Bottom

  • American Gas and Electric Company
  • Beech Bottom Power Company, Inc.
  • Ohio Power Company
  • Wheeling Pittsburg Steel

Belle

  • Belle Alkali Company
  • Belle Works
  • Diamond Shamrock
  • E.I.Dupont Denemours
  • Sharples Solvents Corporation
  • Union Boiler

Benwood

  • Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
  • Benwood Iron Works
  • Boston & Ohio Railroad
  • Wheeling Coke Ovens
  • Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel
  • Wheeling Steel and Iron Company
  • Wheeling Steel Corporation

Bluefield

  • Bluefield Ice & Coal Company
  • Bluefield Water Works
  • Bluestone Tract'N Company
  • Coppinger Machinery
  • East River Electric Company
  • Norfolk and Western Railway Company

Buckhannon

  • Buckhannon Light and Water Company
  • Corhart Cement Company
  • Corhart Refractories Company
  • J. F. Pritchard & Company
  • Moore's Business Forms

Cabin Creek

  • Aep Cabin Creek Power Station
  • Appalachian Electric Power Company
  • Appalachian Power and Light. Company
  • Cabin Creek Power Plant
  • Hope Natural Gas Company
  • Pure Oil Company

Chester

  • American Tin Plate Company
  • Celotex Corporation
  • Chester Rolling Mill Company
  • Chester Works
  • Koppers Company, Inc.
  • Taylor Smith & Taylor

Cresap

  • Appalachian Electric Power Company
  • Appalachian Power Company Mit
  • Captina Operating Company
  • Consolidation Coal Company
  • Cresap Powerhouse
  • Kammer Plant
  • Mitchell Powerhouse
  • Ohio Power Company

Dunbar

  • Acands, Inc.
  • Ap Green Refractories of Ohio
  • Armstrong Cork Company
  • Dunbar Glass
  • Dunbar Tire and Rubber Company
  • Port Amherst
  • Union Carbide Chemical Company

Elkins

  • Allegheny Veener Plant
  • Barnard & Wetzek Block Company
  • C & P Telephone Company
  • Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company - New Dial Building
  • Elkins Hospital

Follansbee

  • American Tar Products Company
  • Follansbee Brothers Company
  • Kippers Products Company
  • Koppers Company, Inc.
  • La Belle Iron Works
  • Steubenville Plant
  • Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel
  • Wheeling Steel Corporation

Gary

  • Alpheus Preparation Plant
  • Char. Iron Gary Mdowell Company
  • Olga Coal Company
  • P.P. Gary Station
  • U S Steel Corp
  • United States Coal and Coke Company
  • United States Steel Mining Company
  • Welch, Mcdowell Company

Glasgow

  • Appalachian Electric Power Company
  • Appalachian Electric Power Company - Kanawha River Plant
  • Appalachian Power Company
  • Appalachian Power Company
  • Glasgow Powerhouse
  • Kanawha River Plant

Graham Station

  • American Gas and Electric
  • Appalachian Electric Power Company
  • Ohio Power Company
  • Ohio Power Company Appalachian Power
  • Phillip Sporn Plant

Grant Town

  • East. Assoc. Goal
  • Eastern Gas & Fuel Association
  • Federal Coal and Coke Company
  • Seneca Coal Corporation

Hinton

  • Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company
  • Hinton Sanitary Board
  • Hinton Water Light and Supply Company
  • Sanitary Board
  • Wv Water Company

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