Rhode Island Asbestos Areas

Rhode Island saw less of the heavy industrialization that began in the late nineteenth century than did its neighboring New England states. Providence and Warwick show some signs of the fabricating and manufacturing shops that became business icons of the era, but nothing along the lines of the mills and steel plants that were scattered across Connecticut and Massachusetts. 

The state does have one excellent harbor at Newport, which was patronized by both the U.S. Navy and commercial ship repair yards.  Otherwise, Rhode Island has a small base of industries that became known as asbestos hazards. Power plants and mechanized factories built during the first three quarters of the twentieth century can be found in the state but not in the overbearing concentration found in the Rust Belt and in parts of Massachusetts.

Asbestos Risks for Rhode Island Workers

Asbestos exposure for factory workers usually occurred around manufacturing production lines that used heat as part of the processing. Asbestos is a natural insulator and has fire-retardant properties. It was the insulation of choice for many steel mills and later, for auto plants and production facilities of all kinds.

Shipyards have proven to be among the most hazardous of job locations for asbestos exposure. Engine rooms on all ships built through the 1970s used asbestos to control heat and for fire protection; it was also used to insulate pipes throughout the ship. The shipyard worker has been among the highest job classifications for development of asbestosis and the asbestos-caused cancer mesothelioma.

Health Risks of Asbestos Exposure

Asbestos begins its health damage when it is inhaled or ingested by humans. The fibers that asbestos gives off are light enough to travel in a cloud of dust and tough enough to lodge in internal tissue and remain there. Asbestosis is scarring of the lung from inhaled asbestos fiber. Malignant mesothelioma attacks the lining of the lungs or the chest wall, or the abdominal wall and eventually the asbestos fibers that are embedded there will cause cancer cells to develop.

One of the unusual properties of mesothelioma cancer is the fact that it has a latency period of years and even decades – twenty years or more – before symptoms begin to appear. An employee exposed to asbestos in an industrial setting may live many healthy years before discovering this lethal cancer.

Asbestos Jobsites in Rhode Island

The Rhode Island job sites listed below are locations known to have exposed employees to asbestos.  If you were ever employed at one of them, discuss the potential effects of asbestos exposure with your doctor. If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or an asbestos related disease contact an experienced Rhode Island mesothelioma lawyer who can make sure that you receive the compensation you are owed by the asbestos companies.

U. S. NAVAL BASE - UNDERWATER ORDINANCE NEWPORT RI
U. S. NAVAL TRAINING CENTER NEWPORT RI
GORDON BESSER & COMPANY NORTH PROVIDENCE RI
EASTERN SUPPLY CO. PAWTUCKET RI
MARVIN CORP. PAWTUCKET RI
MCHALE WAREHOUSE PAWTUCKET RI
NARRANGANSETT WIRE & CABLE PAWTUCKET RI
NORTHEAST INSULATION PAWTUCKET RI
OWENS-CORNING FIBERGLAS CORP. PAWTUCKET RI
PANTEX PRESSING MACHINE CO. PAWTUCKET RI
SARGEANT & WILBUR PAWTUCKET RI
ACANDS, INC. PROVIDENCE RI
BRAND INSULATION CO. PROVIDENCE RI
BROWN JOB PROVIDENCE RI
CITIES SERVICE OIL CO. PROVIDENCE RI
MODERN FABRICATING CORP PROVIDENCE RI
SOUTH STREET POWER PLANT PROVIDENCE RI
NARRANGANSETT ELECTRIC COMPANY PROVIDENCE RI
NEW ASPHALT PLANT PROVIDENCE RI
PROVIDENCE COLLEGE PROVIDENCE RI
PROVIDENCE COLLEGE - BOILER HOUSE PROVIDENCE RI
RHODE ISLAND COVERING COMPANY, INC. PROVIDENCE RI
RHODE ISLAND HOSPITAL PROVIDENCE RI
RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF NURSING PROVIDENCE RI
WALSH KAISER SHIPYARD PROVIDENCE RI
NAVAL AIR STATION QUONSET POINT RI
U. S. NAVAL AIR STATION QUONSET POINT RI
BRAND INSULATION CO. RUMFORD RI
OWENS-CORNING FIBERGLAS CORP. RUMFORD RI
WESTFORD TRAINING SCHOOL RUMFORD RI
NEW ENGLAND CONTAINER CO., INC. SMITHFIELD RI
LEESONA CORP. WARWICK RI

Deaths from Exposure to Asbestos in Rhode Island

A study completed in 2004 examined the deaths attributed to asbestos related diseases in the United States during the 20 year period between 1979 and 2000. An analysis of death certificates and other public documents showed that during that period, there were 101 deaths in Rhode Island due to asbestosis. Over the same period there were between 115 and 197 deaths in Rhode Island that can be attributed to mesothelioma.

In 1999 the federal government began tracking mesothelioma deaths carefully, on an annualized basis. Between 1999 and the end of 2004 there were 67 deaths attributed to mesothelioma cancer.  These figures suggest that the disease is still very much with us despite the fact that asbestos products disappeared from the market by about 1990.

Cancer Care in Rhode Island

Nearby Massachusetts has some of the finest comprehensive cancer care and research facilities in the country.

Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
44 Binney Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
Tel: (617) 632-2100
Toll Free: (877) 420-3951
Fax: (617) 632-4452

David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
Tel: (617) 253-8511
Fax: (6170 253-0262

In Rhode Island:

The Comprehensive Cancer Center at three locations:

Rhode Island Hospital:
APC Building
866-401-0002
Medical oncology/hematology
401-444-5435
Radiation oncology, scheduling and information
401-444-8311 

At the Miriam Hospital:
The Adele R. Decof Comprehensive Cancer Center
The Miriam Hospital
866-401-0002
401-793-3338

At Newport Hospital:
Newport Hospital Cancer Services
866-401-0002
401-845-1646