Hamilton, Ohio is a relatively small city with a long history of heavy industry and manufacturing. While the paper and steel industry brought Hamilton thousands of jobs over the years, the terrible downside of the Hamilton Steel boom has been occupational asbestos exposure and related diseases like mesothelioma, asbestosis, adenocarcinoma and lung cancer.
Workers in several Hamilton workplaces, including Armco-AK Steel and Champion Paper may have been exposed to asbestos for decades and developed serious illness many years later.
The companies responsible for exposing employees to toxins like asbestos may be held liable in Ohio courts, and large settlements are likely following litigation handled by an experienced Asbestos Lawyer.
Joe Lyon is a highly-rated Asbestos Lawyer investigating mesothelioma and lung cancer cases in Ohio and nationwide.
Asbestos in Hamilton, Ohio
Hamilton Steel Mill Asbestos
Steel has been a prominent Hamilton industry, particularly with the American Rolling Mill Company (ARMCO) opening and running a coke and iron plant up until the early 1980s. It is likely that former Armco-AK Steel workers were exposed to asbestos and risk developing deadly cancers such as mesothelioma and lung cancer.
It is known that Armco-AK Steel used asbestos as an insulator on its work site even after health agencies had warned that the material was toxic and posed terrible risks. Asbestos was used in steel plants to insulate the following equipment:
- Ovens
- Hot blast stoves
- Furnaces
- Rolling mills
- Tanks
- Boilers
- Cranes
- Steam pipes
Asbestos fibers can be lodged in the lungs, causing scarring, and in some cases can rest in the lungs for decades, leading to cancer and other respiratory conditions.
Hamilton Asbestos Lawyer
Paper production has been a part of Hamilton industry for over a hundred years. The Beckett Paper Company mill, built in 1848, is one of the oldest paper mills in Ohio.
Like many other factories built before the 1980s, paper mills regularly used asbestos in many building materials. Because paper milling and pulping involve very high temperatures, asbestos was used to insulate several production areas.
International health agencies have suggested workers are at a serious risk. The American Journal of Epidemiology published a study conducted by Johns Hopkins researchers that found paper mill workers were “at increased risk of dying from lung cancer and mesothelioma, probably due to exposure to asbestos.”
One study found that among paper industry workers, the majority of severe asbestos exposure occurred in Maintenance Crews, largely because of the following tasks:
- Paper cutting
- Banding, wrapping, boxing, or sealing paper or paperboard
- Transporting raw materials (wood, pulp)
- Inspecting & repairing machines
- Handling talc & sanding paper
- Working on piping and boilers
