NEW HAMPSHIRE MESOTHELIOMA LAWYERS
The economy of New Hampshire, and its use of asbestos-containing materials, was significantly influenced by World War II. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS), although located across the Piscataqua River in Kittery, Maine, employed thousands of New Hampshire residents during the war and has continued to employ New Hampshire residents ever since. PNS, established in the 1800’s, has been a premier facility building that utilized asbestos materials as it built and repaired the Navy’s submarine fleet. While this shipyard built submarines for the Navy, factories in New Hampshire also supplied boots and uniforms for the war effort.
Other industries that once flourished in New Hampshire also utilized asbestos products. New Hampshire was once known as the textile capital of America, taking advantage of its rivers to power the mills that sprang up along the Amoskeag River and other rivers in New Hampshire. While most of the paper and textile mills in New Hampshire have closed, these mills were once found throughout all of northern New Hampshire. These textiles and paper plants utilized asbestos insulation as did power plants and other manufacturing facilities in New Hampshire. This has resulted in thousands of workers being exposed to asbestos products.
Hundreds of New Hampshire residents have died from mesothelioma or asbestosis over the past 40 years. Because asbestos-related cancers develop decades after exposure, asbestos-related deaths continue to be found among people in New Hampshire. Experts believe that the incidence of mesothelioma will continue to rise for many years before reaching its peak, followed by a gradual decline. Thousands of mesothelioma cases will continue to be diagnosed nationally for many years to come.
OCCUPATIONS AT RISK
Below is a list of occupations that put New Hampshire workers at a known risk of asbestos exposure. If you worked in one of these occupations in the 1980s or earlier, there is a good chance that you were exposed to asbestos:
- Aircraft Mechanics & Repairmen
- Automobile Mechanics
- Boilermakers
- Brick and Stone Masons
- Carpenters
- Chemical Plant Workers
- Construction Workers
- Crane and Hoist Men
- Drill Press Operators
- Drywall Workers & Tapers
- Electric Power Linemen & Cable Men
- Electricians
- Engineers
- Firefighters
- Foundry Workers
- Heavy Equipment Mechanics
- HVAC Workers
- Industrial Engineers
- Industrial Plant Workers
- Insulators
- Iron Workers
- Laborers
- Longshoremen and Stevedores
- Machine Operators
- Machinists
- Mechanical Engineer
- Merchant Marines
- Metal Lathers
- Millwrights & Mill Workers
- Paper Mill Workers
- Painters
- Pipefitters
- Plasterers
- Plumbers
- Power Plant Workers
- Railroad Workers
- Roofers and Slaters
- Sheet metal Workers
- Shipyard Workers
- Steamfitters
- Textile Operators and Workers
- Tile Setters
- U.S. Navy Veterans
- Welders
JOB SITES WITH KNOWN ASBESTOS EXPOSURE
The following is a list of some of the New Hampshire job sites where there is a documented use of asbestos products. If you or a family member worked at one of these places, you may be at a heightened risk of asbestos disease.
If you believe that you may have been exposed to asbestos at your own job, please contact a mesothelioma attorney for more information. There are many other job sites in New Hampshire where asbestos was used.
- Anheuser Busch Brewery
- Ashuelot Paper Company, Inc.
- Berlin Paper Mill
- Brown Paper Co.
- Claremont Paper Mill
- Concord Power Plant
- Crochet Mt. Rehabilitation Center
- Davidson Rubber Co.
- Dover Gas Plant
- Exeter Gas Plant
- Farmington Waste Water Plant
- Foster Grant Co.
- Fraser Papers
- Gernier Air Force Base
- Hampshire Chemical Corp.
- Harcros Chemical Inc.
- Hitchiner Manufacturing Co.
- Hoague Sprague
- Littleton Hydro-Electric Dam Project
- Lincoln Paper Company
- Merrimack Power Plant
- Miller Insulation
- Nashua Corporation
- Nashua Memorial Hospital
- New England Power Co.
- Newington Plant
- Pease Air Force Base
- Peterborough Hospital
- Phillips Exeter Academy
- Portsmouth Air Force Base
- Portsmouth Hospital
- Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
- Portsmouth Schools
- Public Service of NH, Bow
- Public Service of NH, Concord
- Rochester High School
- Rochester Shoe Tree Company
- Sanders Associates
- Schiller Power Station
- Seabrook Nuclear Power Station
- St. Anslem’s College
- St. Mary’s College
- University of New Hampshire
- Warren Manufacturing Co.
MESOTHELIOMA IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
The high levels of asbestos used in New Hampshire industries have been reflected in the health of New Hampshire workers, hundreds of whom have died from asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma. Like other asbestos diseases, mesothelioma has a long latency period. This means that a person usually develops mesothelioma long after the initial exposure to asbestos – usually between 10 and 50 years later.
Due to this latency period, the number of New Hampshire mesothelioma deaths continues to rise even though asbestos is seldom used in New Hampshire today. The most significant risk of exposure today comes from the removal of asbestos containing products particularly when buildings are demolished.
In the six year period from 1999-2005, almost 100 mesothelioma deaths were reported in New Hampshire. Other statistics show the number of deaths adjusted for the age of ew Hampshire residents. Between 2000 and 2004, the following New Hampshire counties had the highest age-adjusted death rates (per million residents) from malignant mesothelioma:
- 15.81: Cheshire County
- 13.65: Grafton County
- 13.20: Hillsborough County
- 12.93: Merrimack County
- 25.44: Rockingham County
- 12.36: Strafford County
NEW HAMPSHIRE MESOTHELIOMA LAWYER
Galiher DeRobertis & Waxman has worked on behalf of workers from New Hampshire to help them recover compensation for their mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure. If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, and you believe you were exposed to asbestos in New Hampshire, it is important that you contact a skilled attorney with experience in asbestos litigation. In addition, time is of the essence, because you have a limited amount of time to file suit.
We urge you to contact one of our mesothelioma lawyers for a free consultation. We can help you investigate the sources of your exposure, and determine what companies were responsible.