Gorgas Power Plant

Owned and operated by Southern Generation Inc. of Atlanta, Georgia, the Gorgas Power Plant is situated on the banks of the Black Warrior River near Parrish, Alabama. Fueled by locally mined coal, its first unit became operational in 1951; four more were added over the next twenty-one years. Today, the plant has a total production capacity of 1.37 gigawatts.

Gorgas as been listed by SourceWatch as one of the fifty worst polluters in the country, emitting some of the largest amounts of sulfur dioxide and mercury of any U.S. power generation facility. Southern Generation has spent millions in lobbying efforts against the Renewable Portfolio Standard, which would require utilities to purchase 15 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020 and has literally purchased a special exemption from the Clean Air Act of 1977 that would otherwise have obliged the corporation to install up-to-date pollution controls.

The Asbestos Factor

Because of its flame retardant characteristics and its usefulness as an electrical insulator, asbestos was used in virtually every industry – including the Gorgas facility. 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.

The use of asbestos in building materials was gradually phased out in the 1980s. Today, there are strict worker safety rules regarding asbestos; however, before 1980 workers were exposed to it in various rooms, corridors, among steam pipes and conduits and from the machinery itself. Employees also took asbestos into their homes in their clothing and hair, resulting in secondary exposure among family members. Workers who have been negligently exposed should seek legal counsel from a mesothelioma lawyer.

During much of the last century, it was commonplace for plants, mills, and factories to use asbestos because it provided high resistance to heat and electricity. Although asbestos' strength as an insulator certainly protected people from injury and even death, the eventual consequences of its use were horrible, and untold numbers of laborers suffered serious illness because of contact with asbestos. The reason so many employees have fallen ill from diseases including "miner's lung" and cancer is that when humans inhale or ingest asbestos fibers, the mineral infiltrates the lungs; once there, the sharp, microscopic spikes damage organs. In addition, workplace asbestos exposure can cause the deadly form of cancer known as mesothelioma, which affects the mesothelium, the tissue that lines the pleural cavity (pleural mesothelioma) or the abdominal cavity
peritoneal mesothelioma.

Because research has uncovered the relationship between asbestos exposure and conditions such as mesothelioma, today's employees are protected by state and federal guidelines that prescribe how asbestos is used. Even up to the late 1900s, however, workers often were expected to toil in areas in which air filled with asbestos particles was not filtered; in many cases, the risks of asbestos exposure were little understood. If employers failed to provide facilities to wash off asbestos fibers, workers carried asbestos dust home in their work garments, thereby exposing family members to the risk of asbestos-related diseases. Those who have been exposed to asbestos should seek medical attention at any of the mesothelioma clinics in their area.

Men and women who were employed at this location at any time in the past, as well as family members of such workers, are encouraged to learn more about these health conditions and tell their family doctors about their history of asbestos contact, because the symptoms of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses are often difficult to distinguish from those of less serious conditions.

Sources

"Gorgas Steam Plant." SourceWatch. sourcewatch.org. 2009.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Gorgas_Steam_Plant

"Plant Locations." Southern Company. southerncompany.com. 2009.
http://www.southerncompany.com/suppliers/location.aspx

"Southern Company." SourceWatch. sourcewatch.org. 2009.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Southern_Company