Alaska Asbestos Exposure

Alaska is home to many volcanoes and earthquakes. This also makes it a place where asbestos commonly occurs in nature. Asbestos, which causes asbestos cancer, is found throughout the state, including:

• Four spots in the Panhandle region, including two around Juneau and Ketchikan, populated areas in this mostly low-population density state
• Along the Yukon River in the Eastern central part of the state
• In and around Kubuk Valley National Park
• The peninsula tip separating Bristol Bay from Kuskokwim Bay
• The area around Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, within the area defined by State Routes 1, 2, and 3.

Glennallen, Alaska, located in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park area of the state, had a building that had crumbling asbestos in it. Although the public was presumably notified of the danger, the building was broken into four times by vandals. The town responded by removing, or abating, the asbestos and demolishing the building in order to protect trespassers from mesothelioma. The Department of Fish and Game in Alaska requested state funding for this cleanup, rather than the expected Alaska State Department of Health or Environmental Quality. If you believe you have been exposed to asbestos you should seek medical attention from mesothelioma clinics in your area.

Alaska Cities where Asbestos Exposure Occurred

Provided below is a list of cities in the state of Alaska where asbestos jobsites are known to have been located. If you worked at any of these companies and/or jobsites in Alaska there is a possibility that you may have been exposed to harmful asbestos which is known to cause mesothelioma. Click on any link to view a complete list of jobsites in that city.

Industries and Community Sites

Several industrial and community sites in Alaska have had asbestos issues. They include:

• Pulp mills
• Marine repair facilities
• Seafood processing plants
• Power generation plants
• The facilities of four oil companies’, including ARCO, Tesoro and Williams Alaska Petroleum
• Schools

A 2001 EPA news release relates that the manager of Great Pacific Seafoods, Inc. inappropriately removed asbestos from a facility prior to selling it to the Alaska DOT, and by doing so broke laws in the Clean Air Act. The company paid a $500,000 fine, and the manager was served with a one-year prison sentence and a $100,000 fine.

Alaska laws that deal with asbestos are found in Alaska Statues, Title 18, Chapter 31. They stipulate that public school officials must have buildings inspected and keep records of such, then notify affected parties if asbestos is present, and arrange for as well as monitor abatement projects. A mesothelioma lawyer can provide more information regarding these laws.

Other Alaska Jobsites Where Asbestos Exposure Occurred

If someone you know has ever worked at one of these Alaska work sites 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

Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Environmental Cleanup, Fiscal Year 2003 Request, Ref. No. 35810.

Alaska Statutes, Title 18, Chapter 31: "Asbestos."

Environmental Protection Agency. "Washington Company, Manager Admit Illegal Asbestos Removal in Alaska." Environmental Protection Agency, 22 February 2001.

Geological Research, Analyses and Services Programs. "Naturally Occurring Asbestos Locations in the Contiguous U.S. and Alaska." Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 25 May 2007.
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/noa/usamap.pdf (accessed 23 August 2010).