History of Asbestos in Tennessee
One of the industries likely responsible for many cases of asbestos exposure and mesothelioma in Tennessee is the paper industry. A study conducted in 2004 noted that paper industry employees that worked in the industry for one year had a 36% chance of being exposed to asbestos. Importantly, this study was conducted 25 – 30 years after asbestos became highly regulated and restricted. The percent must have been much higher before the 1970s.
Other industries in the state commonly associated with people being exposed to asbestos include manufacturing, foundries, the U.S. Military, and power generation. In fact, the largest U.S. public utilities provider is located in the state, the Tennessee Valley Power Authority (TVA). The organization was founded in 1933 to provide much of the South with electricity and to bring jobs to an area hard hit by the Depression. Today, TVA boasts more than 8.5 million customers.
Before asbestos became regulated, it was widely applied in the power industry because of its ability to resist heat, fire, and electricity. It was used in motors, generators, wires, electricity panels and many other places.
Companies with Potential Asbestos Exposure
These companies are believed to have exposed people to asbestos at some point and some have been held financially responsible in court for mesothelioma cases.
- Acands Inc.
- Allied Chemical
- Allis Chalmers Manufacturing
- American Enka
- Amoco Oil
- Arnold Air Force Base
- Arnold Engineering
- Atlas Chemical
- Beaunit Fibers
- Binghamton Mill
- Bowater Southern Paper
- Breeding Insulation
- Central & Heiskell
- Chicago Bridge & Iron
- Colbert Steam Plant
- Combusting Engineering
- Consolidated Western Steel
- Crump Lime & Cement
- DuPont Chemical
- Eastman Kodak
- Electric Storage Battery
- Eureka Foundry
- Farmers Chemical Assn. Ammonia Plant
- Federal Copper
- Firestone Tire & Rubber
- Ford Motor Co.
- Gas Dynamics
- Gaskell Manufacturing
- Gates Rubber
- General Cable
- General Motors
- General Portland Cement
- General Shale Products Co.
- Gobain Corp.
- Goheen Insulation
- Goodyear Tire & Rubber
- Grace Chemical
- H.K. Ferguson Co.
- Heat Tec
- Hercules Powder Plant
- Holston Defense Corp.
- Hooker Chemical
- Humko Chemical
- Hunt Foods
- Ideal Cement
- Industrial Insulation
- Jack Daniels Distillery
- Johns Manville
- Kellogg
- Knoxville Iron Works
- Kraft Foods
- Lawson Stacker Division
- Lookout Boiler Company
- Louisville & Nashville Railroad
- Mead Paper Mill
- Memphis City Schools
- Memphis Electric Thomas Allen Power Plant
- Memphis Light, Gas & Water
- Middle State University
- Midwestern Gas Transmission
- Nashville Bridge Co.
- National Carbon Co.
- North American Rayon
- North Bros.
- Olin Matheson Chemical
- Olin Wire Manufacturing
- Owens Corning
- Proctor & Gamble
- Quaker Oats
- Rock Ten Paper Mill
- Rockwell International
- Rossville Refined Metals Plant
- Southern Boiler & Tank Works
- Southern Railroad
- Swift & Co. Neuhoff Packing
- Tennessee Central Railroad
- Tennessee Consolidated Coal
- Tennessee Copper
- Tennessee Eastman Corp.
- Tennessee River Pulp & Paper
- Tennessee Tech
- Trane Mfg.
- Trunkline Gas Co.
- Tennessee Valley Power Authority (TVA)
- Union Carbide
- Velsicol Chemical
- Visking Corp.
- W.R. Grace
- Watts Bar Nuclear Power Plant
- Westinghouse
Asbestos-related Deaths in Tennessee
Between 1979 and 1999, approximately 460 mesothelioma deaths were reported in Tennessee. This estimation ranks the state at about 24th in the country for mesothelioma deaths.
Where to Find Mesothelioma Help in Tennessee
Mesothelioma Treatment Centers
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
332 North Lauderdale Street
Memphis, TN 38105
Phone: 901-495-3300
The Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
691 Preston Research Building
Nashville, TN 37232
Phone: 615-936-1782 (Ingram Cancer Center)
615-936-5847 (clinical trial or treatment option information)
As mesothelioma attorneys helping victims in Tennessee, we've seen a variety of reasons people have filed lawsuits against asbestos companies, such as wanting to hold them responsible for the damage they've done, to protect others from having to go what they've gone through, or to receive financial help to pay for the many expenses and losses they are responsible for.
Speak with a mesothelioma lawyer about your Tennessee case today, free of charge and without obligation. Know your legal rights. 866-632-7574.