Georgia Asbestos-Related Deaths from 1999-2017

735
Mesothelioma Deaths
146
Asbestosis Deaths
881
Total Deaths

Asbestos Exposure in Georgia

Asbestos Mines

Georgia has several locations where asbestos occurs naturally because of its position at the foot of the Appalachian Mountain Range. The mineral-rich area also contained 17 former asbestos mines. While Georgia has a large number of locations with naturally occurring asbestos, fatal exposure is most likely occupational related.

Industrial Locations and Asbestos

Workplaces in Georgia associated with asbestos exposure include power plants, mills, shipyards, and military bases. There are also multiple processing facilities in Georgia that received asbestos-contaminated vermiculite from Libby, Montana. Workers in these processing facilities were likely exposed to toxic asbestos fibers. When asbestos fibers are inhaled, deadly diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer can develop.

The state has a history of exposing workers in the manufacturing industry to hazardous asbestos fibers. Georgia is also home to textile and paper production facilities that exposed workers to asbestos.

Paper Production and Asbestos

Georgia-Pacific is a major paper manufacturer located in Atlanta. The company is responsible for exposing employees and consumers to toxic asbestos for decades. Hundreds of thousands of lawsuits have been filed against Georgia-Pacific related to cases of diseases and deaths due to asbestos exposure.

Buildings with Asbestos

Asbestos-containing materials were used to construct many older buildings in the state, including federal buildings and military bases. The insulation properties of asbestos made it a popular building construction material prior to the 1980s. Construction and maintenance workers who built, remodeled, or repaired these facilities may have been exposed to asbestos fibers.

Partial list of work sites in Georgia with known asbestos exposure
  • 3M Chemical Plant
  • Atchinson Steam Plant
  • American Cyanamid Chemical Plant
  • American Woolen Textile Mill
  • Arkwright Steam Plant
  • Armstrong Ceiling Tile Plant
  • AT&T Plant
  • Atlanta Water Works
  • Augusta Newsprint
  • Babcock & Wilcox Boiler Plant
  • Baxley Nuclear Plant
  • Bowen Steam Plant
  • Brunswick Pulp & Paper Mill
  • Brunswick Shipyard
  • Button Gwinnett Hospital
  • Callaway Textile Mill
  • Camp Gordon-Fort Gordon Army Base
  • Celanese Chemical Plant
  • Centers for Disease Control Buildings
  • CertainTeed Roofing plant
  • Chemstrand Chemical Plant
  • Coats & Clark Textile Mill
  • Coca‐Cola Building
  • Columbia Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant
  • Continental Can Paper Mill
  • Eastman Kodak Chemical Plant
  • Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant
  • Federal Paper Mill
  • Firestone Tire and Rubber Plant
  • Ford Motor Plant
  • Ford Parts House
  • Fort Gordon Army Base
  • Fort Gordon Eisenhower Hospital
  • Frito Lay Potato Chip Plant
  • Fulton Cotton Textile Mill
  • Fulton County Courthouse
  • Fulton County Juvenile Jail
  • Gainesville Hospital
  • General Electric Turbine Plant
  • General Motors Plant
  • Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Great Southern-Georgia Pacific Paper Mill
  • Georgia Power Mechanic Shop
  • Georgia State Capital
  • Georgia State University
  • Georgia Tech Aerospace Building
  • Gilman Paper Mill
  • Glass Container Corporation
  • Goodyear Plastic Plant
  • Goodyear Tire & Rubber Plant
  • Grady Memorial Hospital
  • Hammond Steam Plant
  • Harley Branch Steam Plant
  • Hercules Powder Plant
  • Hyatt Regency Hotel
  • International Paper Mill
  • Interstate-DS Smith Riceboro Paper Mill
  • J.A. Jones Shipyard
  • J.P. Stevens Textile Mill
  • Johns‐Manville Roofing Plant
  • Knox Glass Bottle Plant
  • Lockheed Martin Plant
  • McManus Steam Plant
  • Mead Paper Mill
  • Memorial Hospital
  • Merck “Flint River” Pharmaceutical Plant
  • Miller Brewery
  • Mitchell Steam Plant
  • National Gypsum Plant
  • Northern Paper Mill
  • Owens‐Corning Roofing Plant
  • Owens‐Illinois Glass Container Plant
  • Packaging Corporation of America Paper Mill
  • Perimeter Mall Shopping Center
  • Piedmont Hospital & Medical Building
  • Proctor & Gamble Plant
  • Rayonier Paper Mill
  • Regal Textile Mill
  • Regency Hyatt House Hotel
  • Robins Air Force Base
  • Rome Kraft-Georgia Kraft Paper Mill
  • Savannah Machine Foundry
  • Savannah Shipyard
  • Savannah Sugar Plant
  • Sonoco Packaging and Paper Mill
  • Southeastern Pulp and Paper Mill
  • Southern Cement Plant
  • Southern Railroad Yard
  • Southern Railroad Yards
  • Swift Metal Fabricating Plant
  • Fort Gordon Signal Center Military Base
  • Union Camp Paper Mill
  • University of Georgia
  • Warner Robins Airport
  • West Point Pepperill Textile Mill
  • Vogtle Nuclear Plant
  • Yates Steam Plant

Statute of Limitations to File Mesothelioma Claim in Georgia

There is a limited amount of time to file a lawsuit for mesothelioma that varies for each state called the statute of limitations. This means if you do not file within the time limit, you will never be able to pursue legal action or obtain compensation. It’s important that you take legal action within this time frame so you do not miss out on receiving the compensation you may deserve. Contact us here to learn more about how we can help.

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What is mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is a deadly and rare form of malignant cancer that is caused by asbestos exposure. The most common forms of mesothelioma are: pleural and peritoneal. Pleural mesothelioma is a cancer that affects the lining of the lungs and peritoneal mesothelioma is a cancer that affects the lining of the abdominal cavity.

Victims with pleural mesothelioma may have respiratory symptoms, such as coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain, and fatigue. Victims with peritoneal mesothelioma may have abdominal swelling, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, and weight loss.

The latency period for mesothelioma is very long. The average latency period is about 30 years, but can be shorter than 15 years or longer than 40 years. This means individuals with mesothelioma may take decades to present symptoms from the time they were exposed to asbestos.

What is asbestosis?

Asbestosis is a chronic lung disease caused by asbestos exposure. When asbestos is inhaled the fibers irritate and scar the lining of the lungs, making it difficult to breathe. The lungs become stiff and cannot expand and contract normally. Symptoms of asbestosis are shortness of breath, chest pain, and a dry, persistent cough. Like mesothelioma, the latency period for asbestosis is very long. Symptoms may not present for 10 to 40 years after asbestos exposure.

Military Asbestos Exposure

It is extremely important to know that our attorneys do not sue the military. We seek accountability from the asbestos companies that sold dangerous asbestos products to the military.

Members of all branches of the military may have been exposed to asbestos before it became more restricted in the 1970s. The U.S. military used asbestos products in many areas because of its low cost, durability, and heat resistant properties. The common use of these asbestos products put many U.S. veterans at risk of developing asbestos related diseases, such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer. Below is a list of the military branches and common asbestos exposure sites:

  • Navy – shipyards, boiler rooms, submarines
  • Army – barracks, shipyards, construction
  • Marine Corps – armored vehicles, barracks, ships, aircraft
  • Coast Guard – inside ships, ships, boiler rooms
  • Air Force- bases, airplanes, jets, aircraft maintenance