Oklahoma Asbestos Exposure
Oklahoma is primarily an agricultural state as well as a leading producer of natural gas. At one time, it was a major oil producer as well; even as recently as 2005, oil production made up 17% of the state's economic activity.
Asbestos and the Oil Industry
Because asbestos is heat and flame resistant as well as impervious to many corrosive and toxic chemicals, it was used extensively throughout the construction of oil refining facilities.
The dangers of asbestos exposure faced by workers in the oil industry was clearly illustrated in a British medical research study in which 45,000 such persons employed between 1946 and 1971 were tracked over a period of several years. While those involved in the distribution of the product were no more likely to develop cancer than the population at large, there were significantly more cases of mesothelioma and melanoma among those who worked in the actual refining process itself.
Worker at natural gas facilities face the same risks; pipe fittings, pipe and conduit insulation and even protective clothing can release friable asbestos fibers into the immediate environment. Those who believe they were exposed negligently to asbestos should seek legal counsel with a mesothelioma lawyer.
Statistics
Between 1980 and 1979, 336 Oklahomans died from asbestos diseases. As might be expected, most of these were in the heavily populated Oklahoma City and Tulsa metro areas.
Despite the fact that such cancer is far less common, mesothelioma cases outnumbered asbestosis ones by a factor of two -to-one. The main reason is that asbestosis is not necessarily immediately fatal and is relatively easy to manage if diagnosed early at mesothelioma clinics and there are not other factors involved such as tobacco use, etc.
Mesothelioma is rarely diagnosed in the early stages. most patients die within a year and a half of diagnosis.
Oklahoma Jobsites
If someone you know has ever worked at one of the Jobsites listed below, they may have been exposed to high levels of asbestos. Asbestos exposure at any one of these Jobsites could put them at risk for developing one of the following asbestos related diseases: malignant mesothelioma (a terminal cancer), asbestos related lung cancer, asbestosis or pleural mesothelioma.
Sources
Oklahoma Energy Resources Board. “A Strong Future.” OERB.com.
http://www.oerb.com/industry/history_3.asp (accessed 23 August 2010).
Sorahan, Tom. “Mortality of UK Oil Refinery and Petroleum Distribution Workers, 1951-2003.” Occupational Medicine 57, no. 3 (2007).
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