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Former Dallas Asbestos Vermiculite Plant

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Vermiculite, a naturally occurring mineral, contains Asbestos

Vermiculite, a naturally occurring mineral, was mined and processed in Libby, Montana, from the early 1920s until 1990. This vermiculite, which was shipped to many locations around the United States for processing, contained asbestos.

At the Texas Vermiculite Company/W.R. Grace site in Dallas, Texas, more than 396,900 tons of asbestos-contaminated vermiculite were shipped to that location and a facility at the site expanded vermiculite using an exfoliation process. Commercial exfoliation of vermiculite is a process of heating uniformly graded pieces of vermiculite in a furnace to expand or “pop” it into lightweight nuggets.

Expanded vermiculite had excellent insulation properties and was widely used for attic insulation, among other uses, during the second half of the 20th Century.

The Dallas vermiculite facility operated from 1953 to 1992. The buildings at the plant were demolished in the early 2000s.  A residential neighborhood is within a quarter mile of the former vermiculite expansion plant. Thousands of people lived within a mile of the facility while it was still in operation.

While the facility was operating, workers at the facility and members of their households were exposed to asbestos from the processing and handling of asbestos-contaminated vermiculite and waste rock.

Neighborhood residents could have been exposed to asbestos from the plant operations either from the manufacturing operations themselves or from stockpiles of asbestos-laden vermiculite on the property.

The vacant property most likely no longer poses a health threat to the community. However, individuals that lived in the neighborhood before 1992 should be aware that they may have experienced environmental exposures to asbestos from the facility and should mention this potential exposure when during routine medical check-ups.

The Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR) has conducted an extensive review of the Dallas expansion plant.   In the mid-2000s, health screenings were conducted at Parkland Hospital for west Dallas residents who lived near the W.R. Grace facility prior to 1992.  Radiology for a number of individuals found evidence of asbestosis.  If you lived, worked or attended school near the Texas Vermiculite/W.R. Grace vermiculite plant in west Dallas prior to 1992, you should consult your physician concerning regular screenings for potential asbestos related illnesses.

Dallas asbestos lawyer, Ben DuBose, was among several people who spoke with West Dallas residents at community meetings shortly after the Parkland health screenings.  “I was asked by the Dallas Bar Association to speak at an informational meeting for community residents about the health risks posed by asbestos exposure.   Not everyone exposed to asbestos develops an asbestos disease, but exposure does increase the risk of such disease.   Sadly, the people living in the shadow of this vermiculite plant had no idea it was spewing out asbestos fiber into their neighborhood.”

Marrero Plant Left Deadly Legacy

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When Johns-Manville (J-M) built their Marrero, Louisiana plant to manufacture asbestos-based products in the 1930s, the company already knew that asbestos posed a health risk.  Through ads and other marketing, however, it was touted as a significant asset to the community.

That asset turned into significant health issues as, over the decades, workers from the J-M plant have experienced asbestos-related diseases such as malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer from dust they inhaled while working. These life-threatening diseases often take multiple decades before symptoms are seen and a diagnosis is made.

In addition to the workers, local citizens and family members of workers have developed these serious, and often deadly, diseases. Of the many asbestos-laden products manufactured at the Marerro plant, one of the earliest was asbestos pipes. In the process of manufacture, both crocidolite and amosite asbestos were used. Tragically, workers carried fibers home through wearing contaminated clothing while in their cars, hugging and playing with children when they arrived home and laundering these work clothes at home, usually by the wife. The minuscule asbestos fibers became airborne when touched or disturbed and were inhaled by family members.

This person-to-person spread of fibers was not the only manner large portions of Marrero citizens were exposed. Over a period of years, Johns-Manville also populated the environment with deadly fibers through the distribution of scrap containing high levels of asbestos waste to homes and schools for paving driveways and playgrounds. As vehicles and children playing stirred up the asbestos, countless people, many of whom are only now showing signs of disease, breathed in fibers. Brett Powers, attorney at DuBose Law Firm, New Orleans, stated, “The reckless endangerment of employees, their families, and the overall environment of Marerro was caused by the incomprehensible and irresponsible action of the asbestos industry.”

Many of those who developed malignant mesothelioma sued J-M for negligence and liability in multiple areas, including the manufacture, distribution, and use of products known to have a high potential for serious injury. They also accuse J-M of failure to provide safety instructions and equipment, of neglecting to truthfully report results of product testing and medical studies, and of continuing the use of asbestos when alternative materials were available.  J-M eventually filed for bankruptcy protection in the 1980s.

However, the consequences of the asbestos contamination of Marrero will live on indefinitely for families of past victims and for the victims who are not yet diagnosed.

Talcum Powder a Carcinogen?

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Johnson & Johnson was handed a jury verdict for $72 million this week in the case of a woman who died from ovarian cancer. She, and dozens of others, sued the company in the St. Louis Circuit Court in a case alleging that use of talcum powder, also known as baby powder, increases the risk of ovarian cancer.

Is talcum powder a carcinogen?

Up to approximately 1980, asbestos contaminated talc was commonly used in talcum powders. Modern day powders often are no longer talc based. However, asbestos diseases have a 30 to 40 year or longer latency period. Accordingly, women or children who frequently used talcum powders 30, 40 or 50 years ago could be at an increased risk for the development of certain asbestos related diseases.

Whether talc should be among the minerals commonly described as “asbestos” has been a point of contention going back to at least the early 1970s.

Hot Dogs and Asbestos in Same Hazard Category?

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Last week the World Health Organization (WHO) and their International Agency for Research of Cancer (IARC) released a statement classifying processed meats as Group 1 carcinogens. Numerous headlines covering this story reported “Processed Meats and Asbestos in Same Category.”  Can this really be true? “Asbestos and hot dogs are not even in the same hazard universe – not even close,” says Dallas asbestos lawyer, Ben DuBose. “Asbestos has long been a Group 1 carcinogen,” says DuBose, “and now WHO has found processed meats to be a Group 1 carcinogen, but that does not mean they are equally dangerous.” Indeed, the Group 1 classification only describes that cancer has been associated with an agent – the classification does not assess the level of risk or potency presented by the toxin.

Brief, low level asbestos exposures have been established as causing asbestos-related cancer.  NIOSH and other health agencies determined in the 1970s that there is no safe level of asbestos exposure.  Even short, low dose asbestos exposures have been established to cause mesothelioma, an asbestos cancer.

In contrast, the WHO processed meat statement was based on review of scientific articles involving daily, prolonged consumption of processed meats, not the occasional sausage, bacon, or hot dog. Katie Wright, a senior manager of research communications with the Canadian Cancer Society’s Ontario division, stated that people who contract cancer from processed or red meat are “eating red meats or processed meats every day, for a long period of time.”

What needs to be kept in perspective with this announcement, is that the comparison to the toxicity of meat consumption versus tobacco use and asbestos exposure is at opposite poles of the spectrum. The WHO published their estimation of cancer death causes worldwide with the following numbers: Processed meats – 34,000, red meat – 50,000, pollution – 200,000, alcohol – 600,000, and tobacco – 1 million!  In terms of toxicity, asbestos is even deadlier than tobacco.

The message is to eat sensibly – processed meats only occasionally and red meat only up to three servings a week.  Quit smoking, and avoid exposure to environmental toxins – such as exposure to loose asbestos on the job or in household renovations.  Buy local, organic, farm-raised meat and vegetables when at all possible to avoid pesticide poisons. Be aware of what you put in, on, and around your body as you endeavor to live a healthy life.

Portland Home Demolitions Expose Hundreds to Asbestos

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Fedor Zarkhin, writer for The Oregonian|OregonLive, wrote an article, “Unsettling dust: Hundreds of Portland homes demolished with asbestos inside,” this week. It exposed poor demolition practices in the tear-down of hundreds of Portland homes. While Oregon regulations require asbestos removal by licensed contractors, the rules are weak and few contractors even know they exist. With virtually no oversight, regulators are unaware when rules are broken.

In one neighborhood, Heather Dickinson saw the home next door torn down creating a dust cloud that entered her home and spread over the area. None of the workers wore respirator masks. Only because she reported this did any regulators know of the problem. It was discovered that hundreds of square feet of asbestos flooring and insulation were inside the destroyed home. This hidden danger was not unusual. Contractors tore down hundreds of Portland homes without proper asbestos removal—most homes were never even tested. Yet, asbestos is the factor in many lung cancers and in mesothelioma, a deadly disease. These tiny asbestos fibers float through the air and are inhaled by those who work or live around them.

Complaints from the construction industry have caused the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to ignore abuses, even though the DEQ was aware of them. In 2002, an effort to improve asbestos oversight never materialized. Since then, approximately 650 homes with asbestos are torn down annually, meaning thousands were demolished in the past 13 years. The lackadaisical attitude is also exhibited by a vacancy in the asbestos inspector position for the Portland region throughout the past three years.

Though new legislation, starting in 2016, requires owners or contractors to check for asbestos before a demolition, no ability or process to check on these inspections or removals was created. When an asbestos-filled building is demolished, no state agency, or even the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), notifies employees or neighbors of their future risks. “One would like to think that we’re all OK,” Dickinson said of her family. “But you know, who knows?”