Alabama Asbestos Resources

Asbestos in Alabama

While Alabama cannot claim a history in asbestos mining, the state does have a remarkable number of employment sites past and present where asbestos exposure has been a concern.  The state has had two major shipyards in the Alabama Drydock & Shipping Co. and Bender Shipbuilding: shipyards have been hotspots for asbestos exposure because of extensive use of the material for insulation and for heat control in the engine room and in pipe systems.

Since asbestos was identified as a major carcinogen in the 1980s its use has been severely curtailed.  However it takes years, even decades for asbestos-related diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma lung cancer to develop.  That is why tens of thousands of people who were exposed to asbestos many years ago are filing compensation claims today.

Alabama has also been a major producer of steel, another employment site that is ripe for asbestos exposure.  There are six major steel and iron manufacturing facilities in the state as well as four oil refineries.  Facilities of this type generate and use a lot of heat.  Anyplace that uses heat in a manufacturing or operating capacity and has been built between 1920 and 1990 probably has abundant asbestos somewhere in its structure.  Here is a partial list of sites that have been recognized for their potential for hazardous exposure to asbestos:

Republic Steel     Alabama City, AL
Alabama Pipe     Anniston, AL
Anniston Army Depot    Anniston, AL
Monsanto Chemical Plant   Anniston, AL
Southern Natural Gas    Auburn, AL
Shell Chemical    Axis, AL
Stauffer Chemical    Axis, AL
Tenneco     Bay Minnette, AL
Southern Natural Gas    Bent Springs, AL
Bessemer Pipe Plant    Bessemer, AL
Pullman Car Manufacturing   Bessemer, AL
U.S. Pipe Plant    Bessemer, AL
U.S. Steel Mill    Bessemer, AL
ACIPCO Pipe Plant    Birmingham, AL
Air Products     Birmingham, AL
Alabama Oxygen    Birmingham, AL
Alabama Power    Birmingham, AL
American Cast Iron Pipe   Birmingham, AL
Avondale Mills    Birmingham, AL
Badham Insulation    Birmingham, AL
Cement Asbestos Pipe Co. (CAPCO)  Birmingham, AL
Chicago Bridge & Iron   Birmingham, AL
Clow Pipe     Birmingham, AL
Empire Coke     Birmingham, AL
McWane Cast Iron Pipe   Birmingham, AL
Reynolds Aluminum    Birmingham, AL
U.S. Pipe     Birmingham, AL
Virginia Chemical    Birmingham, AL
Container Corp.    Brewton, AL
Alabama Oxygen    Brighton, AL 
TVA Power Plant    Browns Ferry, AL
Alabama Power    Bucks, AL
Stauffer Chemical    Bucks, AL
Phillips Petroleum    Chatom, AL
USS Agri-Chemicals    Cherokee, AL
Union Carbide     Chickasaw, AL
Diamond Shamrock    Colbert, AL
Kimberly Clark    Coosa Pines, AL
Champion Paper    Courtland, AL
Air Products     Decatur, AL
American Petrochemical   Decatur, AL
Fruehauf Corp.    Decatur, AL
Goodyear Tire & Rubber   Decatur, AL
Ingalls Iron     Decatur, AL
Minnesota Mining & Mfg   Decatur, AL
Monsanto Chemical    Decatur, AL
TVA Nuclear Plant    Decatur, AL
Alabama Power    Demopolis, AL
Borden Chemical    Demopolis, AL
Gulf States Paper    Demopolis, AL
Farley Nuclear Power Plant   Dothan, AL
Allied Chemical    Fairfield, AL
Celotex     Fairfield, AL
US Steel     Fairfield, AL
Western Electric    Fairhope, AL
Reynolds Aluminum    Florence, AL
Alabama Power    Gadsden, AL
Goodyear     Gadsden, AL
Gulf States Steel    Gadsden, AL
Republic Steel     Gadsden, AL
Alabama Power    Gorgas, AL
Monsanto     Guntersville, AL
Empire Coke     Holt, AL
Owens Corning     Huntsville, AL
Thiokol     Huntsville, AL
Union Carbide     Huntsville, AL
Allied Paper     Jackson, AL
Rockwell Mfg.    Leeds, AL
KBR      McIntosh, AL
Geigy Chemical     McIntosh, AL
Alabama Drydock & Shipping  Mobile, AL
Alabama Power    Mobile, AL
Bender Shipbuilding & Drydock  Mobile, AL
Container Corporation   Mobile, AL
Diamond Shamrock    Mobile, AL
International Paper    Mobile, AL
National Gypsum    Mobile, AL
Shell Chemical    Mobile, AL
Standard Oil     Mobile, AL
Union Carbide     Mobile, AL
Virginia Chemical    Mobile, AL
Western Electric    Mobile, AL
Vanity Fair Mills    Monroeville, AL
US Gypsum     Montevallo, AL
Westinghouse Corp.    Montevallo, AL
Allis Chalmers    Muscle Shoals, AL
Diamond Shamrock Chemical  Muscle Shoals, AL
TVA Power Plant     Muscle Shoals, AL
US Rubber     Opelika, AL
Avondale Mills    Pell City, AL
American Can     Pennington, AL
Pittsburgh Steel    Prattsville, AL
Goodyear Tire & Rubber   Rockmart, AL
Goodyear Tire & Rubber   Scottsboro, AL
Revere Copper     Scottsboro, AL
Craig AFB     Selma, AL
Hammerhill Paper    Selma, AL
Southern Natural Gas    Selma, AL
Atlas Steel     Sheffield, AL
Diamond Shamrock    Sheffield, AL
Ford Motor Company    Sheffield, AL
Reynolds Aluminum    Sheffield, AL
TVA Power Plant                                Sheffield, AL
Union Carbide     Sheffield, AL
Mead Paperboard    Stevenson, AL
TVA Power Plant    Stevenson, AL (Widows Creek)
Alabama Binder & Chemical   Tuscaloosa, AL
BF Goodrich     Tuscaloosa, AL
Central Foundry    Tuscaloosa, AL
Central Supply     Tuscaloosa, AL
Hunt Refining     Tuscaloosa, AL
Reichold Chemical    Tuscaloosa, AL
TVA Power Plant    Tuscumbia, AL
Alabama Power    Wilsonville, AL
Woodward Iron    Woodward, AL
Southern Natural Gas    York, AL

Asbestos Related Deaths in Alabama

The federal government started keeping statistics on asbestos-related deaths in 1979 and published a report in the year 2000.  Over that time span, 507 people died from asbestosis, and somewhere between 248 and 410 people died from mesothelioma.   The spread of figures for mesothelioma assumes that some deaths during that period were due to mesothelioma but went unreported. From 1999 – 2004, there were 192 reported deaths from mesothelioma, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).  Nationwide, it is assumed that about 3,000 Americans die annually due to mesothelioma.

Alabama Mesothelioma Cancer Treatment

The National Cancer Institute maintains a list of forty one prominent cancer treatment and research centers across the U.S.  One of them is in Alabama:

UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center
University of Alabama at Birmingham
1802 Sixth Avenue South, NP 2555
Birmingham, Alabama 35294-3300
Director Edward E. Partridge, M.D.

Tel: (205) 934-5077
Fax: (205) 975-7428

Another dedicated facility:

The Montgomery Cancer Center
4145 Carmichael Road
Montgomery, AL 36106
334-273-7000
334-273-2290 Fax 

Official Resources

Department of Environmental Management

Department of Conservation & Natural Resources

Department of Public Health

The University of Alabama - Environmental and Industrial Programs

University of Alabama Asbestos Laboratory

Alabama Lung Association

Alabama Environmental News