FLORIDA MESOTHELIOMA LAWYERS

Florida is well-known for its beautiful retirement communities. Many retired residents of Florida who contract asbestos-related diseases, such as mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis, were exposed outside of the state. On the other hand, there were numerous industries and shipyards in Florida that exposed Florida’s working population to high levels of asbestos dust.

Unique to the state of Florida is the presence of the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) whose high-powered rockets generated tremendous heat. NASA used large quantities of asbestos to insulate and dissipate the heat from these rockets. NASA employees and contractors were thus exposed to high levels of asbestos as high temperatures caused the asbestos to become friable.

Florida’s Gulf and Atlantic coasts are not only tourist attractions, but ideal for the shipbuilding industry. The Pensacola Naval Air Station was a booming business during World War II as navy ships were overhauled and repaired with tons of asbestos.

Florida workers were exposed to asbestos in numerous other industries as well. Power plants, sugar processing plants, paper mills, and vermiculite processing utilized asbestos in their factories and in some of the finished products as well. Moreover, these workers brought asbestos home on their clothes and unknowingly exposed their families.

OCCUPATIONS AT RISK

Below is a list of occupations that put Florida 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
Chemical Plant Workers
Construction Workers
Electricians
Foundry Workers
Industrial Plant Workers
Insulators
Longshoremen and Stevedores
Oil Refinery Workers
Pipefitters
Plasterers
Power Plant Workers
Railroad Workers
Sheetmetal Workers
Shipyard Workers
U.S. Navy Veterans
Welders

JOB SITES WITH KNOWN ASBESTOS EXPOSURE

The following is a list of some of the Florida 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 Florida where asbestos was used.

Shipyards

Atlantic Dry Dock
Gulf Marine Repair Corporation
The Hendry Corporation
Mayport Navy Station
Offshore Shipbuilding Co.
Pensacola Naval Air Station
Tampa Bay Shipbuilding

Power Plants

Tampa Electric Power Plant
Florida Power Corporation
Florida Power & Light
FPL Power Plant
Gulf Power Plant
FPL Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant
Anciote Power Plant
Crystal River Power Plant
Ft. Meyers Power Plant
Smith Power Plant

Sugar Processing Plants

Atlantic Sugar Association
Belle Glade Sugar Mill
Florida Sugar Corporation
Glades Sugar House

Paper Industry

St. Regis Paper Company
Rayonier Paper Mill
American Container Paper Mill
St. Joe Paper Co.

Other Industries

Armour Chemical Plant
Cities Service Co.
W.R. Grace Phosphate Plant
Kennedy Space Center
Georgia Pacific
Ameristeel
Fernandina Hardware Co.
Polk Equipment Co.
Central Phosphates Inc.
U.S. Phosphoric Prod
Receiving Officer
Fairchild Aircraft Services
U.S. Naval Air Station
USS Agricultural Chem. Co.

MESOTHELIOMA IN FLORIDA

The high levels of asbestos used in Florida industries have taken their toll on the health of Florida workers, who have one of the highest rates of asbestos-related diseases in the country. Mesothelioma is a deadly cancer of the lining of the lungs and abdomen, which is caused by asbestos exposure.

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 and the high number of elderly, retired residents in the state of Florida, mesothelioma deaths continues to rise even though asbestos is seldom used in Florida today.

Florida had the second highest number of mesothelioma deaths of all 50 states between the years 1999 and 2005. The Centers for Disease Control reported 1,213 mesothelioma deaths in Florida for that period of time – a staggering number for such a rare cancer.

FLORIDA MESOTHELIOMA LAWYER

If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, and you believe you were exposed to asbestos in Florida, 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.