Michigan (MI) Asbestos And Mesothelioma General, Medical, & Legal Resources

Michigan (MI) Asbestos Resources & Information:

Before the Reagan Administration instituted policies that would allow wholesale export of U.S. industry to China and Mexico, Michigan was the heart of the auto industry.

The automobile is a product that has contained numerous asbestos materials. Even today, certain gasket materials as well as brake linings contain asbestos.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the Ford Motor plant is just one of the jobsites in Michigan that have been identified as an asbestos exposure location.

Occupational Sites

In addition to Ford Motors, related industries such as steel and oil refineries have also historically been responsible for employee exposure to asbestos. These include foundries such as McLeod Steel and refiners like that owned and operated by Sunoil.

Interestingly, there are three sites listed which involve the manufacture of substances which people ingest on a regular, if not daily, basis. One of these is the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, which produces Budweiser beer in addition to several other popular commercial brands; another is Kellogg's, producer of several common commercial convenience breakfast foods. The third one is a pharmaceutical corporation, Parke-Davis, a subsidiary of Pfizer, manufacturer of Viagra.

Asbestos from these sites is not likely to be directly related to the manufacture of beer, breakfast cereal and prescription drugs. However, these industries have older buildings in which asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) were used as part of their construction, as was commonly done in the last century (in fact, Parke-Davis was the oldest drug company in the U.S., founded in 1886). It's worth noting that mesothelioma can attack anywhere in the body, not just the pleural lining; indeed, it was a peritoneal (abdominal) form of this disease that actually killed late actor Steve McQueen. Gastro-intestinal forms of mesothelioma are also common, if not prevalent.

Michigan's Many Power Plants

In a recent study in Puerto Rico, 13% of chest x-rays taken of power plant workers showed significant abnormalities. There are at least a dozen such power generating facilities in the state of Michigan, both nuclear and oil/coal-fired. Stevensville, Palisades, Midland, Fermi 2, Enrico, and Cooks are all examples of the former.

Other Jobsites

Chemical plants such as the one located in Muskegon have been known to make use of asbestos materials due to their resistance to the effects of corrosive chemical substances. Most of the asbestos used in chemical labs is of the "blue," crocidolite variety. This is a particularly deadly form of amphibole asbestos; the fibers resemble microscopic needles that burrow their way straight through the lung tissue from the inside out. On the way, they interact with the DNA of cells in ways that medical researchers are only beginning to understand, causing the cells to mutate and become malignant.

As the Great Lakes surround Michigan, marine repair facilities and shipyards are yet another industry found in the state. A recent study carried out at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, showed that shipyard workers who were employed in these facilities prior to 1980 run a significantly elevated risk of developing asbestos-related diseases.

Naturally-Occurring Asbestos

Michigan's natural asbestos deposits are located in the upper peninsula. This is a heavily forested and geologically rugged area; the Porcupine Mountains have been identified by geologists as the oldest mountain range in North America.

Five of these asbestos deposits are around the towns of Marquette, Negaunee and Ishpeming; these deposits contain both amphibole and chrysotile (serpentine) forms of asbestos. Additional serpentine and amphibole deposits exist south of this area, around the Norway/Niagara/Iron Mountain area; further south of this was an asbestos mining operation that has long since shut down.

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry maps also indicate a chrysotile deposit near the town of L'Anse as well as an amphibole formation west of Copper City and Allouez.

 

Asbestos Danger: Michigan (MI) Job Sites

Over the course of the last century, hundreds of thousands of workers were exposed to asbestos while on the job – and for the most part, they were not warned. Below is a list of Job sites covered on Asbestos.net from the state of Michigan (MI) where workers were potentially and unnecessarily put at risk:

 

Michigan (MI) Asbestos & Mesothelioma Doctors

The diagnosis and treatment of asbestos-related cancers and other diseases is gradually becoming a sub-specialty in the field of medicine all its own. However, as of the present time, there is no medical degree that is specific to asbestos-related practice.

Most doctors focusing on asbestos disease today are trained in oncology, thoracic surgery, respiratory or occupational medicine, or some related field. Below is a list of doctors in Michigan (MI) that specialize in some form of asbestos cancer or mesothelioma treatment and the institution they are currently affiliated with:

 

Michigan (MI) Asbestos & Mesothelioma Treatment Centers

Today, between 25 and 30% of all Americans will get some form of cancer during their lifetimes. There are many reasons for this, including the modern lifestyle and the poisons that have been put into the environment – of which asbestos is a prime example.

The number of clinics and hospitals that specialize in oncology have increased in response to the growing number of patients. Below is a list of the cancer treatment centers located in Michigan (MI) that we feature on Asbestos.net:

 

Clinical Trials Serving Michigan (MI):

A clinical trial is when new medications and treatments are tested on human subjects. Participation in such studies can entail some risks, but for some who are facing an invariably fatal disease, they also represent an opportunity – not only for personal relief, but to serve the greater good in the advancement of medical knowledge.

Below is a list of clinical trials with locations in Michigan (MI):

Michigan (MI) Legal Resources: Asbestos, Asbestos Cancer & Mesothelioma

A search through the Michigan Federal District Court Cases for asbestos-related personal injury product liability lawsuits brings up no recent lawsuits. However, this does not mean that there are no asbestos concerns in the state. In fact, Michigan ranks 12 in the U.S. for mesothelioma cases. With mesothelioma mortality of 8.91 per million, Michigan has a crude mortality rank of 38 in the country.

There are a number of asbestos-exposure sites in Michigan, including Kelloggs in Battle Creek, Bay City Power Plant and Defoe Shipbuilding Company in Bay City, the Cooks Nuclear Power plant and ICMS in Bridgeman, and the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert. In addition, in Detroit, Marathon and the University of Detroit are known asbestos-exposure sites. The Ford Motor Plant in Ecorse and the Rush Island Powerhouse in Feturs are known asbestos exposure sites. In Flat Rock, Mcleod Steel has been affected, and in Grand Haven the Conventional Powerhouse has been an exposure site. The Kalamazoo Power Plant and Lakeside Refining in the same city are known sites. In Lansing the Parke-Davis Lab and in Midland the Midland Nuclear Power Plant are known exposure areas. In Monroe the Enrico Nuclear Power Plant and in Moorehead the Anhauser Busch Brewery are known exposure areas. In Muskegon the Muskegon Chemical Plant and in Newport the Fermi 2 Nuclear Power Plant are known exposure sites. In River Rouge the Electric Plant, Sunoil Refinery, and River Rouge Stadium have all been affected. In St. Claire, the St. Claire Powerhouse and in Stevensville the Stevensville Atomic Powerhouse are known sites. The known asbestos-exposure site in Stoneville is the Cooks Nuclear Plant.

It is important to note that while many of these sites have taken steps to keep their employees and visitors safe since the problem was discovered, people who worked in or visited these areas in the past may still have been exposed to asbestos. Individuals who lived or worked near these areas or other known asbestos exposure sites in Michigan should be checked regularly for signs of mesothelioma in order to file any lawsuits within the state's statute of limitations.

In 2006, the Michigan Supreme Court prohibited trial courts in the state from "bundling" asbestos-related cases except for discovery. This means that each case must be tried separately. The effect on mesothelioma victims is a mixed one: the victims in stronger cases are likely to get a larger settlement than they would if their case were part of a group settlement; however, it also means that there will be more individual cases in the court system, potentially delaying trials.

Those interested in filing lawsuits should know that the statute of limitations for personal injury law in Michigan is three years with a discovery rule that states that this amount of time begins when the problem (in this case the mesothelioma) either was discovered or should have been discovered. Wrongful death cases fall under the same statute of limitations and follow the same discovery rule. There is no specific statute about asbestos. However, it should be noted that there are special regulations on the discover rule in lawsuits filed against professional engineers, licensed architects, surveyors, or contractors.

 

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