Fort Churchill Generating Station
The Fort Churchill generating station is gas-fired plant in Wabuska, Nevada about 30 miles east of Carson City. Previously, the plant was operated by the Sierra Pacific Power Company; it is now run by Nevada Energy.
Two GE power generating units have a combined generative capacity of over 230 megawatts, sufficient to provide power to a quarter million residences and small businesses. The plant first came online in 1968 with a single unit; the second unit was operative by 1971. While natural gas is the primary fuel source, a supply of oil is held in reserve onsite.
Because of its flame retardant characteristics and its usefulness as an electrical insulator, asbestos was used in virtually every industry built through the 1970s. While the use of asbestos saved millions of dollars in property damage as well as spared thousands from the agony of burn injuries, for many it resulted in a range of respiratory illnesses ranging from calcification of lung tissue to full-blown malignancies.
In 1977, shocking revelations during an asbestos case proved that the corporations had engaged in a conspiracy to withhold information about the health dangers of asbestos from the public. As a result, the use of asbestos was gradually phased out, at least in industry and construction (although there are still 3000 products on the market today that still contain asbestos).
Asbestos illness has been established as a work-related hazard for those employed at power generation facilities. In a Puerto Rican study published in 2007, over 130 out of 1100 chest x-rays from such workers showed signs of asbestos disease.
Employees were not the only ones who were at risk from asbestos; they unwittingly brought asbestos into their homes in their clothing and hair, resulting in secondary exposure among family members.
Asbestos diseases usually have a lengthy latency period; symptoms may not be apparent until decades after initial exposure. Therefore, former employees as well as their families are advised to get frequent medical checkups if possible. New tests have enabled pathologists to detect the early markers that indicate the presence of a malignancy, and treatment of mesothelioma in its earliest stages means a much better prognosis. Treatments like mesothelioma chemotherapy are available from doctors like Dr. David Sugarbaker of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA.
This location was one of a multitude of factories, mills, power plants and worksites that, throughout the majority of the last century, used asbestos for its ability to insulate against flame. While using asbestos was intended in many cases to reduce the risk of injury, it sadly ended up with the opposite effect. Exposure to asbestos while at work has resulted in serious illness for untold numbers laborers. The health conditions associated with asbestos include asbestosis and cancer of the lungs; the greatest chance of contracting these conditions happens when asbestos-containing products become fragile, releasing microfibers into the environment where they are available to inhale. Also, workplace exposure to asbestos is the primary cause of the deadly cancer called mesothelioma, which develops as a tumor of the mesothelium, the tissue that lines the chest cavity (pleural mesothelioma) or the stomach (pericardial mesothelioma).
Because statistics have uncovered the relationship between asbestos exposure and diseases such as pleural plaques, modern-day workers are protected by government regulations that control how asbestos is to be handled. Even as late as the 1970s, however, workers unprotected by masks or other safety equipment frequently toiled in areas filled with airborne asbestos. If workplaces failed to offer showers, employees took asbestos dust home on their clothes or in their hair, which exposed family members to the risk of asbestos-related diseases.
Men and women who were employed at this site in the past, as well as those who lived with them, should learn more about these health conditions and tell their healthcare professionals about their history of asbestos exposure, because the symptoms of diseases such as mesothelioma are often difficult to distinguish from those of less serious conditions.
Sources
Bowker, Michael. Fatal Deception: The Terrifying True Story of How Asbestos is Killing America. New York: Touchstone, 2003.
Cabrera-Santiago, Manuel et al. "Prevalence of Asbestos-Related Disease Among Electrical Power Generation Workers in Puerto Rico." Presentation at American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, 2007.
"Power Facts." nvenergy.com. 2009. NV Energy. 8 May 2009,
http://www.nvenergy.com/company/facts.cfm
