Tennessee Asbestos Resources

Asbestos in Tennessee

Tennessee is a southern state that was industrialized earlier than many of its neighbors because of the Tennessee Valley Authority.  This enormous public utilities project was created in 1933, in part to bring Depression-era jobs to the region.  The principal focus of the project, however, was to provide a source of electricity to many regions of the south that had none.   The plants that were constructed to accomplish this were an admirable feat where government stepped in to modernize an entire region both socially and in economic terms.

Those power plants, however, were built in an era when asbestos was the insulation of choice for industrial installations that generated heat.  Steam driven power plants generate lots of heat, and the workers in those plants were exposed to asbestos every workday.  Inhaling asbestos fibers can lead to a number of health problems, including mesothelioma cancer.  Older asbestos in industrial facilities can give off those fibers when disturbed or disintegrating.  Tennessee has at least ten TVA power plants within its borders that have provided an asbestos threat for decades. 

The state also has a number of paper and pulp mills, another industry that used asbestos extensively for insulation.  Because mesothelioma does not show any symptoms until many years after the asbestos exposure - sometimes decades - workers in these plants who have retired are only recently finding themselves afflicted with asbestos-generated health problems.

Chattanooga has a number of industries that have used asbestos in their production lines, including chemical plants, foundries and insulation manufacturers.  Memphis has a number of power plants, chemical plants and old insulation companies.  Tennessee's mix of industries that have been in place for decades guarantees that thousands of workers have been exposed to asbestos at one time or another.

The list below includes the names of jobsites where workers probably had hazardous exposure to asbestos.  If you or a family member were ever employed in one of them you should consider talking with your doctor about the health problems asbestos can cause.  If you are in fact a victim of asbestos exposure, talk with an attorney who is knowledgeable about the issue because you may be entitled to compensation from asbestos companies and the businesses that used their products.

Asbestos Mortality in Tennessee

A study released in 2004 analyzed the public data on causes of death to determine how many deaths occurred due to asbestos over the last two decades of the twentieth century.  From 1979 to 2000 Tennessee recorded 229 deaths due to asbestosis.  The estimate for mesothelioma deaths is somewhere between 447 and 786.  Tennessee ranks seventeenth among the states for asbestos related deaths during that period. 

In 1999 the federal government began keeping statistics on mesothelioma deaths.  From 1999 through 2004 Tennessee recorded 236 deaths due to mesothelioma.  It is believed that mesothelioma will continue to impact our population on an accelerating basis for several more years, since the use of asbestos products continued into the 1980s to some degree and mesothelioma can take decades to manifest itself in the form of symptoms.

Cancer treatment in Tennessee

There are two cancer centers in Tennessee that have been designated by the National Cancer Institute as comprehensive treatment and research facilities.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, Tennessee 38105-3678
Tel: (901) 595-3982
Fax: (901) 595-3966

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
691 Preston Research Building
Nashville, Tennessee 37232-6838
Tel: (615) 936-1782
Fax: (615) 936-1790

Other cancer treatment centers include:

East Tennessee State University Cancer Center
Johnson City Medical Center Hospital, First Floor
400 N. State of Franklin Rd., Johnson City, TN 37604
Voice: 423-433-6200
Fax: 423-433-6202

The University of Tennessee Medical Center
1924 Alcoa Highway
Knoxville, Tennessee 37920-6969 
(865) 305-9000