El Dorado, Arkansas

The City of El Dorado is the county seat of Union County, Arkansas. El Dorado has a current population of nearly 19,000, occupying an area just over 22 square miles. El Dorado is a relatively young city, with most of its historic buildings dating from the oil boom years of the 1920s, including the Rialto Theater, the Exchange Bank Building, and the U.S. Post Office and Federal Building. The oil and chemical industries are still major employers in El Dorado, and in recent years the city has focused on healthcare, retail and tourism as well, with attractions such as The Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources and the South Arkansas Arts Center. For outdoor recreation, El Dorado offers a number of parks, golf courses, and a botanical garden.

El Dorado was founded in 1843, on a ridge about twelve miles from the Ouachita River. For most of the 19th century, agriculture was the chief industry in El Dorado, producing staple crops such as corn, beans and sweet potatoes. The advent of the railroads in the 1890s led to the development of a thriving local timber industry, but El Dorado's largest and fastest period of growth came with the discovery of oil in the 1920s. Dr. Samuel Busey struck the first gusher in 1921, leading to a rush of construction and development. The Lion Oil Company was established in 1922. Fertilizer and explosives manufacturer El Dorado Chemical had its origins in a cooperative venture between Lion Oil Company and the United States Army Corps of Engineers to produce ammonium nitrate during World War II. Both companies were owned by Monsanto Company from 1955 until the mid-1980s, and are currently still active in El Dorado. Murphy Oil Corporation, founded in 1964, is also headquartered in El Dorado. Other top employers in El Dorado include the Medical Center of South Arkansas, El Dorado Public Schools, and Wal-Mart Supercenter.

El Dorado's history of oil production and accompanying commercial and residential construction place it in a high risk category for asbestos exposure. Workers and their loved ones who are exposed to asbestos may be at risk for mesothelioma, a cancer of the lungs. If you were diagnosed with mesothelioma in El Dorado, you should also consider contacting a mesothelioma attorney for legal advice.

Large Jobsites in El Dorado where Asbestos Exposure Occurred

The Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance has compiled information obtained from a number of sources to identify the following large job sites in El Dorado where asbestos exposure was known to have occurred. These sites are listed below. Click on them to get more detailed information.

Other Jobsites in El Dorado where Asbestos Exposure Occurred

These additional jobsites in El Dorado, AR have been identified as harboring asbestos containing materials. These sites, at one point in their history, were known to have exposed a variety of tradesmen to asbestos. We will be documenting in more detail how asbestos exposure occurred at these sites in the future on this web site.