Arkansas Asbestos Resources

Asbestos in Arkansas

Arkansas has a scattering of facilities that have historically been associated with asbestos exposure.  Those include oil processing facilities, power plants, paper mills, chemical companies and industries where heat is used in the manufacturing process.  The El Dorado area is home to a number of oil refineries.  Paper mills are in a number of towns where access to the pine forests coincided with the availability of rail lines fifty years ago or more, when there was no interstate highway system. 

Arkansas has enjoyed recent economic development that has ushered new industries into the state.   However much of the older industrial development occurred prior to the determination that asbestos is a toxic carcinogen.  Since that process occurred in the mid 1980s, through most of the twentieth century asbestos was the insulation of choice for many blue collar industrial settings.

Asbestos fibers are flexible enough to be woven into textile form, thus making fabric for fire retardant protective clothing.  It is resilient enough to be used as insulation coating on heated pipes, boilers and fittings in order to reduce heat exposure to workers near hot equipment.  Unfortunately, the tiny fibers that provide these features also can do lethal damage when they are inhaled.  Asbestos fibers can cause permanent scarring of the lungs and bring on asbestosis; or, they can lodge in the lining of the lung and cause mesothelioma cancer.

The businesses listed below are jobsites where it is possible or probable that employees have been exposed to asbestos in years past.  Since it can take anywhere from five years to over twenty years after asbestos exposure for the symptoms of mesothelioma to appear, employees who have remained healthy  for years after leaving such jobsites may still be at risk.

If you are concerned about your potential exposure to asbestos, talk with your doctor about what your job situation was and what the consequences of asbestos exposure might be.  Obviously, prolonged exposure is more dangerous than occasional exposure, although many family members of workers in mines or asbestos manufacturing facilities have come down with asbestos related diseases simply from exposure to the dust that the factory worker brought home.

If you are having health problems as a result of asbestos exposure, contact an experienced lawyer through our website and learn about the compensation that may be owed to you by asbestos product manufacturers.

REYNOLDS METAL ARKEDELPHIA  AR
GEORGIA PACIFIC PULP & PAPER ASHDOWN AR
KIMBERLY CLARK MILL ASHDOWN AR
NEKOOSA EDWARDS CO ASHDOWN AR
ALCOA ALUMINUM BAUXITE AR
REYNOLDS METALS CO - HURRICANE CREEK PLANT BAUXITE AR
NATURAL GAS PIPELINE CO. OF AMERICA BIGGERS AR
BUSH BROTHERS CANNERY BLYTHEVILLE AR
AMERACE CORPORATION BOONEVILLE AR
AMERICAN HARD RUBBER CO. BOONEVILLE AR
INTERNATIONAL PAPER CO CAMDEN AR
CROSSETT PAPER MILL CROSSETT AR
GEORGIA PACIFIC PULP & PAPER CROSSETT AR
WILSHIRE CO. DEQUEEN AR
DIERKS PAPER MILL DIERKS  AR
AMERICAN OIL CO EL DORADO AR
AMOCO EL DORADO AR
COLUMBIAN CARBON CO EL DORADO AR
DODSON INSULATION COMPANY, INC. EL DORADO AR
EL DORADO CHEMICAL PLANT EL DORADO AR
JOHN MONK REFINERY EL DORADO AR
LION OIL COMPANY EL DORADO AR
MONSANTO CHEMICAL CO. EL DORADO AR
SKELLY OIL COMPANY EL DORADO AR
UNION FLOORS CARPET EL DORADO AR
CAMPBELLS SOUP PLANT FAYETTEVILLE AR
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS FAYETTEVILLE AR
FLINT CREEK POWER STATION FLINT CREEK AR
ASH GROVE CEMENT FOREMAN AR
ARKANSAS POWER & LIGHT CO  FOREST CITY AR
B. C. BUNN - MUNICIPAL LIGHT PLANT FOREST CITY AR
SOUTHWESTERN BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY FOREST CITY AR
MUNICIPAL STEAM PLANT FORREST CITY AR
SOUTHWESTERN BELL FORREST CITY AR
BALL SERV. DIST. & ENG. CO FORT SMITH AR
BALLMAN CUMMING FURNITURE FORT SMITH AR
DIXIE CUP PLANT FORT SMITH AR
SOUTH SIDE HIGH SCHOOL FORT SMITH AR
SPARKS MEDICAL CENTER FORT SMITH AR
TRIANGLE INSULATION CO. FORT SMITH AR
SOYBEAN SOLVENT EXT PLANT HELENA AR
ARKANSAS POWER & LIGHT COMPANY HOT SPRINGS AR
LAKE CATHERINE POWER PLANT HOT SPRINGS AR
ST. JOSEPH HOSPITAL HOT SPRINGS AR
ARKANSAS POWER & LIGHT CO - LAKE CATHERINE  JONES MILL AR
LAKE CATHERINE POWER STATION JONES MILL AR
REYNOLDS METALS JONES MILL AR
ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY  JONESBORO AR
CITY WATER & LIGHT PLANT JONESBORO AR
NORTHEAST ARKANSAS INSULATION CO CO. JONESBORO AR
ARIZONA POWER & LIGHT - POWERHOUSE LAKE CATHERINE AR
ARKANSAS POWER & LIGHT LITTLE ROCK AR
ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY LITTLE ROCK AR
ASHNER AVENUE STATION LITTLE ROCK AR
BREEDING INSULATION CO. INC. LITTLE ROCK AR
EAGLE HOME & BLDG. INSULATORS LITTLE ROCK AR
FEDERAL BLDG. JOB - ASHNER AVENUE TEAM TRACK LITTLE ROCK AR
FISCHER CEMENT & ROOFING CO. LITTLE ROCK AR
OLIN MATHIESON CHEMICAL CORP. LITTLE ROCK AR
OZARK INSULATION CO. LITTLE ROCK AR
SWIFT & CO. LITTLE ROCK AR
VETERANS ADMINISTRATION HOSPITAL LITTLE ROCK AR
OLIN MATHIESON CHEMICAL CORP. MAGNOLIA AR
SOUTHWESTERN BELL TELEPHONE MAGNOLIA AR
ARKANSAS POWER & LIGHT COMPANY MALVERN AR
GENERAL SHEET METAL CO. MALVERN AR
NATURAL GAS PIPELINE CO. OF AMERICA MALVERN AR
COOPER TIRE & RUBBER CO MILLER COUNTY AR
BURLINGTON MILLS MONTICELLO AR
ARKANSAS KRAFT PAPER MILL MORRILTON AR
ARKANSAS POWER & LIGHT NEWARK AR
IDEAL CEMENT PLANT OKAY AR
OSCEOLA FINISHING PLANT OSCEOLA AR
ARKANSAS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE CORP. OZARK AR
JOHN MONK REFINERY PEARSON AR
ACME BRICK CO PERIA AR
DIERKS PAPER MILL PINE BLUFF AR
DRAVO STEEL PINE BLUFF AR
GENERAL WATER WORKS CORPORATION PINE BLUFF AR
GEORGIA PACIFIC PULP & PAPER PINE BLUFF AR
INTERNATIONAL PAPER CO PINE BLUFF AR
U. S. ARMY PINE BLUFF ARSENAL PINE BLUFF AR
PINE BLUFF ARSENAL PINE BLUFF AR
ARKANSAS NUCLEAR PLANT PRARIE GROVE AR
ARKANSAS POWER & LIGHT REDFIELD AR
NATURAL GAS PIPELINE CO. OF AMERICA SEARCY AR
CROSS OIL SMACKOVER AR
ARKANSAS POWER & LIGHT CO. STAMPS AR
OLIN MATHIESON CHEMICAL CORP. STAMPS AR
RICELAND FOODS  STUTTGART AR
COOPER TIRE & RUBBER CO TEXARKANA AR
NATURAL GAS PIPELINE CO. OF AMERICA TEXARKANA AR
CO-OP PROCESSING ASSOCIATION OF VAN BUREN VAN BUREN AR

Deaths from Asbestos Exposure in Arkansas

There are no demonstrably accurate statistics on the deaths caused by asbestos in this country that go back further than the late 1990s.  However a survey of public documents such as death certificates was conducted for the period from 1979 to 2000 to try and develop educated estimates for deaths caused by asbestosis and mesothelioma cancer.  Over that period there were 121 deaths due to asbestosis in Arkansas.  malignant mesothelioma killed between 155 and 274 Arkansas residents during that period.

In 1999 the federal government began keeping accurate statistics on mesothelioma deaths. From 1999 through 2004 there were 77 deaths in Arkansas due to mesothelioma.  While that number is small, there will still be some people who were working prior to 1980 that will come down with the disease.  The latency period for mesothelioma is a serious medical problem, because the symptoms don’t appear until the disease has matured – making early diagnosis and treatment nearly impossible.

Cancer Treatment in Arkansas

In northwest Arkansas, there is an established cancer treatment facility in Fayetteville.

Highlands Oncology Group
3232 N. North Hills Blvd.
Fayetteville, Arkansas 72703
(479) 587-1700   or  
(479) 936-9900

In Little Rock:

Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute
4301 W. Markham St.
Little Rock, AR 72205
(501) 686-6000

In a nearby state, two of the nation’s best:

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center 
University of Texas
1515 Holcombe Boulevard
Houston, Texas 77030
Tel: (713) 792-2121
Fax: (713) 799-2210

Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center 
Baylor College of Medicine
One Baylor Plaza
Houston, Texas 77030
Tel: (713) 798-1354
Fax: (713) 798-2716