The Mobile to Pascagoula area of Alabama is known to be home to companies that "screen" individuals for mesothelioma, oftentimes using untrained personnel, in the hopes of getting a diagnosis appropriate for a court case. There are several industries based in Alabama where it commonly occurred that individuals were exposed to asbestos. They include:
- eight power generation plants
- six steel and iron mills
- four oil refineries
- two marine construction and repair sites
- Kimberly-Clark pulp and paper mill plants
- Cement Asbestos Company plants
Eighty community water systems in Alabama also used a combination of cement mixed with asbestos to create the pipes used to funnel water throughout the water network to homes and schools. Water system overseers do not think that this is a problem; the latest tests for asbestos in the water were performed in 1994 and many of the systems have never been tested. The overseers have said that they "doubt their pipes ever leached asbestos fibers into the drinking water."
Alabama Cities where Asbestos Exposure Occurred
Provided below is a list of cities in the state of Alabama where asbestos jobsites are known to have been located. If you worked at any of these companies and/or jobsites in Alabama 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.
The Statue of Limitations and The Discovery Rule
Based on previous rulings, Alabama courts have not gone out of their way to help litigants in asbestos disease cases have their day in court. This has to do with when asbestos diseases are diagnosed and the aforementioned statue and rule:
- Statute of Limitations: the period of time you have in which you must file a claim in court or forfeit the right to sue
- Discovery Rule: the statue of limitations starts when a disease victim is diagnosed, rather than exposed
Because exposure to asbestos, which can lead to asbestos cancer, often takes several decades for symptoms to become evident, it was important that the statute of limitations begin at diagnosis for asbestos disease victims rather than date of exposure. Otherwise, the statue of limitations could easily run out, leaving the victim with no recourse in court.
Nevertheless, Alabama has put some limitations on the discovery rule as it applies to asbestos disease. The first is that you have up to one year after diagnosis to file a claim with a mesothelioma lawyer, and only if you were exposed after 19 May 1980 and have had a professional diagnosis. Unfortunately, many asbestos disease victims diagnosed at various mesothelioma clinics, were exposed before 1980, and thus have virtually no recourse to sue the negligent corporations for damages in Alabama courts.
Other Alabama Jobsites Where Asbestos Exposure Occurred
Tradesmen who worked at any of the Alabama Jobsites listed below 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.
McIntosh
- Brown & Root
- Ciba Geigy Chemical Company
- MacIntosh Steam Generating Plant
- Mathieson Alabama Chemical Corp
- Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation
Monroeville
- Alabama River Pulp Company
- Olinkraft Inc
- Temple Inland Forest Products
- Vanity Fair Mills
Montevallo
- Alabama College
- Allied Products Company
- U S Gypsum Company
- Westinghouse
Naheola
- American Can Company
- James River Paper Mill
- Marathon Southern Corp
- Naheola Southern Corp
North Birmingham
- Chemical Plant
- Semet Solvay Company
- Sloss Sheffield Steel and Iron Company
- U.S. Pipe
Opelika
- BF Goodrich
- Opelika Foundry Company
- Opelika Mills
- Pepperell Manufacturing Company
- Uniroyal Tire Company
- Us Rubber
- West Point Papermill
- West Point Pepperell Manufacturing
- West Point Stevens
Parrish
- Alabama Power Company
- Gorgas Power Plant
- Pratt Coal
Pennington
- American Can Company
- Fort James
- Fort James Operating Company
- Georgia Pacific
- James River Dixie Northern - Georgia Pacific
- James River Paper Company
- Marathon Southern
Phenix City
- Alabama Kraft Company
- Continental Carbon
- Mead Paper
- Rust Engineering Company
Pine Hill
- Industial Development Board of Camden
- Macmillan Bloedel Particleboard, Inc.
- Rust Engineering Company
- Weyerhaeuser
Prattville
- International Paper
- Prattville Paper Mill
- Union Bag Camp Paper Corporation
- Union Camp Corporation
- Union Camp Paper Mill
- Union Camp Plywood Plant
Saraland
Scottsboro
- Bellefonte Nuclear Plant
- Goodyear
- Revere Copper & Brass
Stevenson
- Mead Paperboard
- Widows Creek Power Plant
Sylacauga
- Avondale Mills
- Central Mills
- Defense Metal Products Inc
- Georgia Marble
- Moretti Harrah Marble Company
Talladega
- Allen Graphite Company
- Coosa River Ordnance Plant
- Newbury Manufacturing Company
- Northern Ala Coal Iron and Railway Company
- Talladega Furnace Company
- Talledega College
Tarrant
- Alabama By-Products Corporation
- Clow Pipe and Foundy
- James B. Clow and Songs
- Ketona Chemical Corporation
- Singmaster & Breyer For Ketona Chemical Company
Thomas
- Republic Iron and Steel Company
- Republic Steel Corp
Tuscumbia
- Colbert Steam Plant
- Ford Company
- Robbins Tile Company
- Tennessee Valley Authority
Tuskegee
- Creasey Company
- Tuskegee Normal and Industrial
- Tyndall Air Force Base, Mess Hall
- U.S. Veteran's Hospital
- Veterans Administrative Hospital
Woodward
- Koppers Company Inc
- Koppers Company Tar Andb Chemical Div
- Tar Products Div Koppers Company
- Woodward Iron & Coke
Sources
Centers, Jessica. "Multiple Water Systems Still Use Asbestos Pipe." Aniston Star, 24 July 2005.
Curran, Eddie. "Diagnosing for Dollars?" Mobile Register, 4 April 2004.
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