Virginia Asbestos Areas

Asbestos is one of the states that has naturally occurring asbestos scattered through areas of the state. Sufficient concentrations were found that two asbestos mines were operated for years in the Richmond area. While those mines are now closed, a vermiculite mine is still in operation in Louisa. Vermiculite by itself is a harmless mineral used for insulation. In the case of the Louisa mine, the vermiculite is laced with asbestos. This situation is a mirror image of the W.R. Grace vermiculite mine in Libby Montana, where 200 people in the small town have succumbed to asbestos related diseases.

Asbestos Exposure Risk in Virginia

Beyond the vermiculite mine, Virginia has a huge naval presence in Norfolk, with the U.S. Naval base there. Shipyard workers and ship’s crewmen are among the highest rated jobs for hazardous asbestos exposure and for the malignant mesothelioma that can result from it. Many Navy ships are also based there, a number of them old enough to have substantial amounts of asbestos on board both in the engine room and throughout the piping system.

The state also has a number of chemical companies, mills and other industries that use heat for processing purposes. Plants that were built before 1985 have an excellent chance of containing asbestos either for heat control or insulation purposes.  Many of Virginia’s mesothelioma victims may have been exposed to asbestos in one of these factories, some of which are listed below.

The explosive growth in Northern Virginia has also led to an expansion of power plants, many of them steam driven. Once again, where heat is part of an industrial process, asbestos insulation or piping can often be found, especially in the older facilities.

Asbestos Jobsites in Virginia

Potomac Electric Power Co.                                Alexandria, VA
Shirley Industrial Center – Anacostia Field House     Alexandria, VA             
Shirley Industrial Center – Columbia Union College   Alexandria, VA
Shirley Industrial Center – Country Club Towers       Alexandria, VA
Shirley Industrial Center – Edison High School          Alexandria, VA
Shirley Industrial Center – Heating Plant        Alexandria, VA
Shirley Industrial Center – Horizon House      Alexandria, VA Shirley Industrial Center – Ruxton Apartments            Alexandria, VA
Shirley Industrial Center – Washington Steam Tunnel          Alexandria, VA
Shirley Industrial Center – Woodson High School     Alexandria, VA
Wayne Insulation Co.  Alexandria, VA
Lane Company           Altavista,
Ross Laboratories      Altavista, VA
American Oil Co.        Amoco, VA
Virginia Electric & Power CO.            Amoco, VA
Humble Oil Refinery   Ampthell, VA
Crystal Plaza South    Arlington, VA    
Pentagon Bldg Auxiliary Power Supply           Arlington, VA
Sears & Roebuck Store          Arlington, VA
Arlington Navy Annex Arlington, VA
Westinghouse            Arlington, VA
Great American Industries – Rubatex Division          Bedford, VA
Owens Illinois Inc.      Big Island, VA
Virginia Tech  Blacksburg, VA
Virginia Electric & Power       Bremo Bluff, VA
Appalachian Electric Power Co.        Carbo, VA
Celanese Fibers        Celco, VA
Dulles Int’l Airport       Chantilly, VA
University of Virginia   Charlottesville, VA
Virginia Electric & Power       Chester, VA
Allied Chemical & Dye National Aniline Division        Chesterfield, VA
Chincoteague Naval Air Station         Chincoteague, VA
Clarksville Finish Plant           Clarksville, VA
C & O Railroad         Clifton Forge, VA
Hercules Powder      Covington, VA
Westvaco Paper Mill Covington, VA
West Virginia Pulp & Paper  Covington, VA
Staten River Finishing Co.     Dublin, VA
Dulles Airport  Dulles, VA
Atlantic Richfield – Cockpit Point        Dumfries, VA
Virginia Electric & Power Co.  - Possum Point          Dumfries,VA
Virginia Electric & Power        Dutch Gap, VA
Georgia Pacific           Emporia, VA
C & P Telephone        Fairfax, VA
Fieldcrest Mills            Fieldale, VA
Martin Processing       Fieldale, VA
Fort Eustis      Fort Eustis, VA
Fort Lee           Fort Lee, VA
Hercules Powder        Franklin, VA
Radford Arsenal          Franklin, VA
Union Bag Paper Corp.           Franklin, VA
Western Craft Corp.   Franklin, VA
American Viscose Corp.         Front Royal, VA
Hanes Corp/    Galax, VA
Appalachian Electric Power Co.         Glen Lyn, VA
Dixie Hospital  Hampton, VA
NASA Langley Research Center        Hampton, VA
Langley AFB    Hampton, VA
Hercules Powder Co. Harford, VA
Allied Chemical           Hopewell, VA
Allied Chemical & Dye Corp. National Aniline Division           Hopewell, VA
Continental Can Co.   Hopewell, VA
Firestone Fiber            Hopewell, VA
Firestone Tire & Rubber Synthetic Fibers Division    Hopewell, VA
Phillip Morris    Hopewell, VA
National Gypsum Co.  Kimballton, VA
Dow Chemical            Lee Hall, VA
Stonewall Jackson Hospital    Lexington, VA
U.S. Navy Amphibious Base   Little Creek, VA
North Anna Nuclear Power Plant        Louisa, VA
Virginia Vermiculite     Louisa, VA
NASA Boat Dock         Mappsville, VA
Dupont Chemical        Martinsville, VA
Appalachian Electric   Narrows, VA
Celanese Fibers         Narrows, Va
Franklin Printing Co.   Newport News, VA
Newport News Shipyard         Newport News, VA
Norfolk Naval Shipyard            Norfolk, VA
U.S. Navy Receiving Station   Norfolk, VA
USS Coral Sea           Norfolk, VA
USS Forrestal Norfolk, VA
USS Hank       Norfolk, VA
USS Rushmore          Norfolk, VA
Virginia Power & Electric        Norfolk, VA
Allied Chemical – Fibers Division       Norfolk, VA
B.F. Diamond  Norfolk, VA
Hampton Roads Army Terminal         Norfolk, VA
Langley Air Force Base          Norfolk, VA
National Bulk Carriers Norfolk, VA
Naval Air Station          Norfolk, VA
Naval Base      Norfolk, VA
Naval Shipyard            Norfolk, VA
Newport News Shipping & Drydock   Norfolk, VA
Norfolk Shipping & Drydock    Norfolk, VA
Virginia Electric & Power Portsmouth Station            Norfolk, VA
Swift & Co. Agri-Chem Division          Norfolk, VA
USS Cadmus  Norfolk, VA
USS Chukawan          Norfolk, VA
USS Shenandoah       Norfolk, VA
Union Bag Camp Paper          Norfolk, VA
USS Fremont  Norfolk, VA
C.E. Thurston & Sons            Norfolk, VA
U.S. Naval Depot        Norfolk, VA
Dupont Chemical        Parkersburg, VA
Hercules Powder Co, Pepper, VA
Radford Ammunition Plant      Pepper, VA
USS Harwood Portsmouth, VA
Norfolk Naval Shipyard            Portsmouth, VA
Virginia Chemical        Portsmouth, VA
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard    Portsmouth, VA
Westinghouse Electric           Portsmouth, VA
Virginia Power & Electric        Richmond, VA
Allied Chemical National Aniline Division        Richmond, VA
American Oil Co.        Richmond, VA
American Tobacco     Richmond, VA
Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Richmond, VA
Dupont Company        Richmond, VA
Firestone Tire & Rubber         Richmond, VA
Manchester Board & Paper    Richmond, VA
Mead Corp.     Richmond, VA
Old Hickory Chemical Company        Richmond, VA
Phillip Morris    Richmond, VA
Reynolds Metal Co.     Richmond, VA
Synthesis Gas Plant   Richmond, VA
Texas Gulf Sulphur     Richmond, VA
Union Bag Paper Corp.  Flake Board Plant    Richmond, VA
University of Virginia    Richmond, VA
Virginia Electric & Power Co. Richmond, VA
West Virginia Pulp & Paper Co.         Richmond, VA
Winco Ellitt Crump Co.           Richmond, VA
Acands, Inc.    Richmond, VA
Kroger Co.      Roanoke, VA
American Viscose Corp.         Roanoke, VA
Celanese Fibers         Roanoke, VA
Chemstrand Lab         Roanoke, VA
Hercules Powder        Roanoke, VA
Olin Matheson Chemical Company    Roanoke, VA
Virginia Polytechnic Institute   Roanoke, VA
West Virginia Pulp & Paper    Roanoke, VA
Noland Co.      Rosslyn, VA
Graham White Manufacturing Salem, VA
Olin Matheson Chemical Corp.          Saltville, VA
South Norfolk Terminal           South Norfolk, VA
Texaco Inc.     South Norfolk, VA
General Electric          Staunton, VA
Keene Corp.    Surry, VA
Transcontinental Station         Unionville, VA
Chesapeake Corp.      West Point, VA
Virginia Electric & Power        West Point, VA
Anheuser Busch Brewery       Williamsburg, VA
American Oil Co.        Yorktown, VA

Asbestos Related Deaths in Virginia

A study conducted of asbestos-related deaths from 1979-2001 was completed in 2004. It is an analysis of death statistics reported over that period, in an attempt to establish the number of deaths from asbestosis and mesothelioma cancer. Virginia is ranked tenth among the state for these grim statistics with 790 fatal cases of asbestosis and mesothelioma deaths in the range of 599 to 972. The analysis provides a range of mesothelioma deaths because the federal government did not begin tracking mesothelioma deaths until 1999, when asbestos exposure had become an enormous health problem and liability issue. From 1999 through 2004, the Center for Disease Control reports 456 mesothelioma deaths in Virginia.

Cancer Treatment in Virginia

The National Cancer Institute has established a network of forty one cancer centers with which the NCI will work to underwrite cancer research. These are prominent, established cancer treatment and research facilities; many are already sites where clinical tests are underway for new cancer treatments – including treatment for pleural mesothelioma.  

In Virginia, the NCI-designated cancer centers are:

University of Virginia Cancer Center
MSB West Complex
Jefferson Park Ave.
Charlottesville, Virginia 22908
Tel: (434) 243-6784
Fax: (434) 982-0918

Massey Cancer Center
Virginia Commonwealth University
401 College Street
Richmond, Virginia 23298
Tel: (804) 828-0450
Fax: (804) 828-8453
 
Also well established in Virginia is Blue Ridge Cancer Care based in Roanoke, with nine satellite offices throughout the area.