Mississippi Asbestos Resources

Asbestos in Mississippi

Mississippi’s proximity to the Gulf Coast brought about the introduction of several industries during the twentieth century that are known for their use of asbestos-based products.  Oil from offshore rigs is processed in a number of Mississippi refineries; there are also a number of chemical companies with large installations in the state.  As with any state, power plants are a likely source of asbestos exposure due to the fact that large amounts of heat are generated by fuel-driven steam plants.

There are also shipyards along Mississippi’s riverfront and coast.  Shipyard workers and ship crewmen held jobs that virtually guaranteed asbestos exposure, as ship engine rooms and pipe systems were insulated with the material.  About thirty percent of all U.S. mesothelioma victims are veterans, and many of those are former Navy personnel that either sailed or repaired Navy ships built before 1985.

Mississippi also has its share of paper mills, like many of the southern states.  And then there is the construction industry, which until the mid 1980s was rife with asbestos-based products.  Not only home insulation but flooring, ceiling tiles, roofing and plumbing fittings were manufactured with asbestos as a component or were coated with asbestos for insulating purposes.  Carpenters and plumbers who were building during the twentieth century are included in the high at-risk job descriptions for mesothelioma.

asbestosis and mesothelioma cancer are the result of inhaling asbestos fibers.  Because it can take twenty years or longer after asbestos exposure for the symptoms of mesothelioma to appear, many of the victims are men and women who worked in these industries for years and are now retired.  Tens of thousands of Americans have been affected; many of them have filed liability lawsuits against former employers and asbestos manufacturers. 

Residents of Mississippi have that option as well.  Below is a partial list of jobsites that are believed to be possible locations for asbestos exposure.  If you worked in one of them and are now having lung problems, contact your doctor immediately.  If you believe you have a case for compensation, please contact us and we will see to it that your claim is filed and processed with all possible speed.

Magers and Poole Baldwin, MS
Big M Aluminum Plant Batesville, MS
International Paper Company Batesville, MS
Rittners Industrial Enameling Bay St. Louis, MS
Harbison Walker Bay Springs, MS
Coast Shipbuilding Biloxi, MS
American Packing Booneville, MS
Mississippi Power & Light Cedar, MS
Tennessee Gas Transmission Coffeeville, MS
Hooker Chemical Plant Columbus, MS
Occidental Chemical Corp. Columbus, MS
Southern Pipe and Supply Columbus, MS
Buckeye Cellulose Corinth, MS
Kimberly Clark Corinth, MS
Rudolph Wurlitzer Manufacturing Co. Corinth, MS
Southbridge Plastic Products Co. Corinth, MS
Corning Glass Corning, MS
Dupont Chemical Delisle, MS
Mississippi Power & Light Escatapawa, MS 
ST. Regis Paper Co. Ferguson, MS
Georgia-Pacific Corp. Gloster, MS
Mississippi Power & Light Greenwood, MS
Mid-South Insulation Co. Greenwood, MS
U.S. Gypsum Greenville, MS
Mississippi Power Co, Gulfport, MS
Associated Piping & Engineering Co. Gulfport, MS
Industrial Steel and Machine Gulfport, MS
Mississippi Power Co. Gulfport, MS
Reichold Chemical Gulfport, MS
Reichold Chemical Handsboro, MS
Hercules Chemical Co. Hattiesburg, MS
Mississippi Power Co. Hattiesburg, MS
Wicht Insulation Company Hattiesburg, MS
International Paper Co. Hitches, MS
Allied Paper Jackson, MS
Mississippi Power & Light Co. Jackson, MS
Shell Oil Jackson, MS
Veterans Administration Hospital Jackson, MS
Mid-South Insulation Co. Jackson, Ms
Hamilton Manufacturing Co. Kosciusko, MS
International Paper Co. Kreole, MS
Continental Turpentine  Laurel, MS
Hercules Chemical Co. Laurel, MS
Mason Electric Co. Laurel, MS
Masonite Corp. Laurel, MS
Laurel Compress Co. Laurel,MS
Baseboard Box Co Magnolia, MS
Flintkote Magnolia, MS
Cook Industries Marks, MS
Sun Oil Co. McComb, MS
Flintkote Meridian, MS 
Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center Meridian, MS
Georgia-Pacific Corp. Monticello, MS
St. Regis Paper Monticello, MS
South Mississippi Electric Moselle, MS
Halter Marine Moss Point, MS
H.K. Porter Moss Point, MS
International Paper Co. Moss Point, MS
Thiokol/Morton Chemical Moss Point, MS
Armstrong Tire & Rubber Natchez, MS
International Paper Co. Natchez, MS
Mississippi Power & Light Natchez, MS
Mississippi Testing Facility Inc. Nicholson, MS
Bechtel Corp. Pascagoula, MS
Chevron Oil Pascagoula, MS
Clark Seafood Company Pascagoula, MS
Chicago Bridge & Iron Pascagoula, MS
Coastal Chemical Pascagoula, MS
First Chemical Corp. Pascagoula, MS
General Electric Pascagoula, MS
Industrial Steel & Machine Pascagoula, MS
Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp. Pascagoula, MS
L&N Railroad Gulley Warehouse Pascagoula, MS
Litton Shipyard Pascagoula, MS
Mississippi Phosphates Pascagoula, MS
Mississippi Power Pascagoula, MS
Standard Oil Company Pascagoula, MS
Badham Insulation Company, Inc. Pascagoula, MS
Schaupeter Shipyard Pascagoula, MS
Shook & Fletcher Insulation Co. Pascagoula, MS
Mississippi Power Co. Petal, MS
Crosby Chemicals, Inc. Picayune, MS
Bechtel Corp. Port Gibson, MS
Amerada Hess Purvis, MS
Gulf Oil Purvis, MS
Hess Oil & Chemical Purvis, MS
Morrow Power Plant Purvis, MS
Pontiac Refinery Purvis, MS
Southland Oil Refinery Sandersville, MS
Trunkline Gas Co. Shaw, MS
St. Regis Paper Silver Creek, MS
Georgia Pacific Corp. Taylorsville, MS
Southern Pipe and SUpplyq Tupelo, MS
Transcontinental Pipeline Tylertown, MS
International Paper Co. Vicksburg, MS
Mississippi Power & Light Co. Vicksburg, MS
Southwest Potash Corp. Vicksburg, MS
Day Companies Waynesboro, MS
West Point Works West Point, MS
Babcock & Wilcox Co. West Point, MS
Coastal Chemical Corp. Yazoo City, MS
Mississippi Chemical Corp. Yazoo City, MS
 
Asbestos Related Deaths in Mississippi

In 2004 an analysis of asbestos-related deaths in this country from 1979 to 2001 was released based on death certificates reported to the government.  According to the estimates of the researchers, Mississippi had 408 deaths due to asbestosis during that period.  Also during that period there were mesothelioma deaths in the range of 204 to 363.  The inexact figures for mesothelioma are due to the probability that some lung cancer deaths were not attributed to asbestos fibers and should have been.

In 1999 the federal government began tracking mesothelioma deaths carefully.  Between 1999 and the end of 2004 there were one hundred reported deaths from mesothelioma.  The wave of asbestos related deaths is not done, however; it is expected to remain the same on an annual basis or increase slightly in the near future. 

Cancer treatment in Mississippi

Recently the National Cancer Institute designated forty one cancer treatment and research facilities across the country as comprehensive cancer centers that will work with the Institute on implementing research for new cancer treatments.  These centers will serve as resources for clinical trials of new treatments for various types of cancer, including mesothelioma.  The nearest one to Mississippi is in Alabama :

UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center
University of Alabama at Birmingham
1802 Sixth Avenue South, NP 2555
Birmingham, Alabama 35294-3300
Tel: (205) 934-5077
Fax: (205) 975-7428

There is an excellent regional cancer facility in Pascagoula, the first of its kind in the state:

Singing River Hospital System
The Regional Cancer Center
2809 Denny Avenue
Pascagoula, MS 39581
http://www.srhshealth.com