MEAD PAPER
Asbestos Exposure

Former workers at the Mead Westvaco Paper plants in Chillicothe and Dayton, Ohio may be at risk of developing mesothelioma, asbestosis, or lung cancer as a result of exposure to asbestos materials on the work site.

Over the last fifty years, thousands of Ohio paper industry workers have been at risk. Any amount of exposure to asbestos, long term or short term, can potentially lead to serious health issues.

Like many factories built in the past, paper mills regularly used asbestos as a primary insulating material in buildings and factory machinery. Because paper milling operations involve very high temperatures, asbestos was considered necessary.

However, former employees who were exposed may be at risk of developing deadly asbestos-related diseases. Because of the long latency period of asbestosis and mesothelioma, these severe conditions may not be diagnosed until decades after initial exposure.

Joe Lyon is a highly–rated personal injury lawyer representing plaintiffs nationwide in a wide variety of toxic tort and mesothelioma claims.

Mead Paper Workers Exposed at Work Facilities

Because of the way factories in the Ohio paper industry were constructed, almost anybody employed by a paper mill in the last 50 years could have been exposed to toxic materials every day at their workplace.

Most paper mills were constructed with industrial adhesives, ceiling and floor tiles and cement that contained asbestos. As a result, large amounts of asbestos dust collected and any worker who worked in an area of a building with aging and deteriorating materials may have been unknowingly inhaling asbestos fibers.

As employees inhale these toxins, the fibers become lodged in the tissue surrounding the lungs, causing inflammation and scarring, and may lead to asbestos-related illnesses.

Paper Mill Toxic Exposure

Maintenance staff at Mead’s Dayton and Chillicothe paper mills faced some of the highest risk of toxic exposure. One study found that among paper industry employees, the majority of fatal asbestos exposure occurred in maintenance workers.

Maintenance workers were responsible for the inspection and repair of machinery, tasks that often lead to the inhalation of loose asbestos fibers from insulation materials. Some other positions affected include the following:

• Machine setters
• Machine tenders and operators
• Truck and tractor operators
• Printing machine operators
• Floor supervisors
• Inspectors and quality control officers
• System operators
• Assemblers and fabricators
• Boiler workers

Paper Industry Tasks Associated with Asbestos Exposure

• Paper cutting, sawing and slicing
• Banding, wrapping, boxing, stitching, or sealing paper
• Transporting materials (wood, pulp, etc.)
• Inspecting and repairing machines
• Handling talc and sand paper
• Working on piping and boilers

Paper Mill Hazards and Mesothelioma

Several international health agencies have raised concerns over the safety of working in paper mills. The American Journal of Epidemiology published a conclusive study conducted by Johns Hopkins researchers that found mill workers were “at increased risk of dying from lung cancer and mesothelioma, probably due to exposure to asbestos.”

In a 2002 study for the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), researchers concluded that 36 percent of over 60,000 workers had been exposed to asbestos fibers.

A study published in 2010 by the Public Health Agency of Canada found that asbestos exposure among paper and pulp mill workers increases risk of developing cancer.

Any current or former Mead employee at the Dayton or Chillicothe plants may have been exposed and possibly have a claim against an employer. Prominent asbestos attorneys have filed claims against the following companies, stating they provided dangerous products, and endangered thousands of workers in Ohio and around the country:

Attorneys claim Mead Paper and other companies have been negligent for the following:

• Failing to warn employees of the presence of asbestos fibers on their premises
• Failing to take measures to protect employees from exposure to airborne asbestos fibers
• Failing to implement appropriate precautions and provide necessary safety equipment

If you or a loved one suffered an asbestos-related illness after working at Mead Paper or another paper mill, and have questions about the legal remedies available to improve quality of life and medical care, contact The Lyon Firm. You will speak directly with Mr. Lyon, and he will help you answer these critical questions.

Over the past fifty years, thousands of workers in Ohio’s paper industry could have been put at risk for paper mill asbestos exposure. Any amount of exposure to asbestos, long or short term, can cause serious health damage, including deadly cancers such as mesothelioma.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls mesothelioma “a fatal cancer primarily associated with exposure to asbestos.” Like many factories built and managed up until the 1980s, paper mills regularly used asbestos in many building materials as well as in integral factory machinery.

Because paper milling operations, such as pulping, involve very high temperatures, asbestos was used to insulate many areas in the workplace. Workers who were exposed may still be at risk of developing deadly asbestos-related diseases. Because of the long latency period (20-40 years) of conditions like asbestosis and mesothelioma, some cancers and illnesses may not be diagnosed until decades after initial exposure.

Unfortunately, the problem is still current with an estimated 1.3 million U.S. industry workers potentially exposed to asbestos at their place of work.

Joe Lyon is a highly-rated Asbestos Lawyer and toxic exposure attorney reviewing paper mill asbestos exposure for workers nationwide.

Paper Mill Asbestos Exposure

Because of the way factories in the paper industry were constructed, almost anybody who worked in paper mills in the last 50 years could have been exposed to toxic materials on a daily basis. Particularly before the 1980s, paper mills were constructed with industrial adhesives, ceiling and floor tiles and cement that contained asbestos.

Because pulping and boiler operations involve high heat, asbestos was used to insulate most of the piping in factories. Consequently, any worker who worked in an area of a building with aging and deteriorating materials may have been unknowingly inhaling asbestos fibers.

Asbestos was also used in wall insulation, roofing shingles and siding, for fire prevention. As a result, large amounts of asbestos dust collected in the air, which exposed almost any worker in the plant.

When workers breathe in these toxins for long periods of time, the fibers can become lodged in the tissue surrounding the lungs, causing inflammation and scarring, and may lead to asbestos-related illnesses such as mesothelioma.