Arkansas has two locations in the western part of the state where asbestos occurs naturally. It has never been perceived as a public health threat due to natural deposits; the asbestos threats in Arkansas have been from widespread usage of asbestos siding, home insulation and other construction products. There are ten power plants in the state including one nuclear facility, all of which had asbestos insulation, pipe and pump fittings when initially constructed. Several chemical plants and two major Army facilities – Fort Chaffee and the Pine Bluff Arsenal - dating from World War II are known to have been contaminated with asbestos.
The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality instituted guidelines for asbestos abatement in 1990 in a document called the Arkansas Asbestos Abatement Regulation, or Regulation 21. It establishes the protective measures required for asbestos removal. Regulation was modified in 1997; there is currently a move underway to stiffen requirements as enforcement and compliance has grown lax.
Asbestosis and Mesothelioma Deaths in Arkansas
Although there were no official tallies of mesothelioma deaths kept by the federal government prior to 1999, a study conducted in 2001 concluded that during the period 1979 – 2000 there had been at least 155 mesothelioma deaths in the state and possibly as many as 274, as well as 121 deaths from asbestosis. Certainly there have been additional deaths in the last ten years.
Legal Rights of Asbestos Victims in Arkansas
Arkansas has a three year statute of limitations for a personal injury action. That means legal action must be taken within three years after the problem was discovered or should have been discovered. For mesothelioma, discovery has been defined as diagnosis of the disease. There is some legal history in Arkansas that suggests legal action at least begin with the Workers Compensation Commission if the asbestos exposure is believed to be work related. Arkansas courts have held on two occasions, most recently in 2006, that the Commission has standing on asbestos damage claims and further, that the Commission can find a case in violation of the statute of limitations. Read more about how to to find the right Asbestos lawyer as well as recent Mesothelioma case settlements in addition to lawsuits for Mesothelioma.
