PAPER MILL 
Asbestos Exposure

Mesothelioma Symptoms

Symptoms of mesothelioma are often mistakes for minor illnesses, and when symptoms present themselves, the disease is usually in its later stages. Some signs present as the following:

• Pain in the side of the chest or lower back
• Shortness of breath
• Cough
• Fever
• Excessive sweating
• Fatigue
• Weight loss
• Trouble swallowing
• Hoarseness
• Swelling of the face and arms

Ohio Asbestos Exposure Lawsuits

Paper mill workers may have been exposed to asbestos during different stages in the manufacturing process. Some of those positions affected include the following:

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

Maintenance Workers at Highest Risk

Maintenance staff at paper mills faced some of the highest risks of toxic exposure. Maintenance workers, responsible for the inspection and repair of machinery, dismantled machines and opened passageways, often leading to the inhalation of loose asbestos fibers from the insulation and heating elements.

One study found that among paper industry employees, the majority of fatal asbestos exposure occurred in maintenance workers.

Dryer Felts Asbestos Hazards

During the paper drying process, dryer felts were commonly used to remove excess moisture. This process posed particular hazards because the dryer felts, or fabrics, contained asbestos.

Dryer felts had to be replaced quite often, and new felt was cut for the machines. When these materials were regularly maintained, asbestos fibers were released from dryer felts in drying machines, further endangering maintenance employees.

Paper Mill Asbestos Locations

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

Paper Mill Asbestos & 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.”

A study published in 2010 by the Public Health Agency of Canada found that asbestos exposure among paper and pulp mill workers has been linked to an increased risk of developing cancer. They note that the increased risk “relates to lung and pleural cancers and asbestos exposure.”

In 2002, a European study for the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) examined over 60,000 men from 13 different countries who had worked for a period of at least one year in the pulp and paper industry in the last 60 years. The study concluded that 36 percent of these workers had been exposed to asbestos fibers.

A Swedish study in 2001 showed an increased risk of mesothelioma among paper mill workers. Over 70 percent of the victims had been exposed to asbestos, the majority working as maintenance workers in the factories.

Paper Mill Asbestos Lawsuits

• In 2014, a jury in Oregon awarded $3.9 million to the family of a former insulation contractor at a paper mill. The former worker died from malignant pleural mesothelioma after he was exposed to asbestos on the job. Jurors concluded the defendants breached their duty to provide a safe place to work, and that the various safety breaches were a substantial factor in causing the decedent’s mesothelioma.
• In a separate case in Washington, a former employee of the Crown Zellerbach Paper Mill won a $10.2 million judgment after he was diagnosed with mesothelioma. The plaintiff worked for over 30 years in the factory, and claimed the dryer felts used on machinery supplied by two companies (Scapa Dryer Fabrics, Inc. and AstenJohnson, Inc.) exposed him to high levels of asbestos, ultimately causing him to develop mesothelioma.
• In another case against the same suppliers, three former paper mill employees, who worked as millwrights and machine operators, were awarded more than $800,000 by Washington juries. Lawyers in the case alleged that the companies knowingly exposed them to asbestos.

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:

• Kimberly-Clark
• Champion International
• International Paper Company
• Georgia-Pacific
• Kaiser Aluminum
• W.R. Grace Co.
• AstenJohnson, Inc.
• Scapa Dryer Fabrics, Inc.

Ohio Paper Mill Asbestos Exposure

Below are some of the Ohio paper industry employers that may have exposed workers to asbestos:

• Glatfelter Co. (Chillicothe, Ohio)
• Glatfelter Co. (Freemont, Ohio)
• Middletown Paper
• Sorg Paper Company
• Gardner Paper
• Ohio Boxboard
• Urbana Paper Mill
• Fox River Paper
• Howard Paper
• Champion Paper
• International Paper
• Scioto Paper
• Smurfit-Stone Container

Ohio Asbestos Attorney

Any current or former employee in the Ohio paper industry may have been exposed to toxins in an unsafe work environment. Victims of paper mill asbestos exposure may have a claim against an employer. Attorneys in Ohio have filed numerous lawsuits, claiming employers have been negligent for the following:

• Failing to warn employees of the presence of asbestos fibers on their premises
• Failing to comply with state and federal safety regulations applicable to workplaces
• Failing to measure the creation of airborne asbestos fibers in their workplaces
• Failing to take measures to protect employees from exposure to airborne asbestos fibers
• Failing to implement appropriate precautions and provide necessary safety equipment
• Failing to supervise and coordinate the workers’ activities to guard against dangers in common work areas creating a high risk of injury to workers.