01. Statistics
Asbestos and Mesothelioma Statistics in South Carolina
- From 1999 to 2015, 533 South Carolina residents died from mesothelioma
- The mesothelioma death rate of 7.1 per million people in South Carolina is a little below the national average (Source: CDC)
- South Carolina has 8 known asbestos deposits in the state’s mountainous areas (Source: USGS)
- Higher mesothelioma incidence occurs in the coastal counties of South Carolina, likely due to the state’s shipbuilding industry (Source: Journal of the American Medical Association)
02. Asbestos in Workplaces
Asbestos Use Across South Carolina Industries
The major industrial sources of asbestos exposure in South Carolina include shipbuilding and power generation – both of which cause some of the highest rates of asbestos-related disease.
Shipbuilding:
Beginning in the mid-1930s, asbestos insulation was used extensively in the construction of oceangoing vessels. South Carolina was home to a number of shipyards and drydocks that used asbestos extensively, exposing workers and visitors to the carcinogenic substance. Some of the shipyards known to have asbestos exposure problems include Braswell Services Group, Carolina Shipping Company, Charleston Shipbuilding and Drydock Company and Detyen’s Shipyards.
Energy Industry:
Power plants frequently used asbestos in a variety of parts, such as gaskets, valve seals, pumps, pipe fittings and machinery insulation. South Carolina has quite a few power plants where employees were exposed to asbestos as part of their ongoing work, including sites like the Duke Power Company’s Oconee Nuclear Plant in Seneca, South Carolina Electric & Gas Company in Columbia and the Charleston Consolidated Railway, Gas & Electric Company.
Military:
South Carolina has been home to a number of military bases over the years, where veterans of all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces were exposed to asbestos used in many different applications, from insulation in naval ships to brake pads in land vehicles. Some of the bases known to have caused problems for both military personnel and civilians who lived or worked there include Parris Island Marine Base, Charleston Air Force Base and the Naval Weapons Station at Goose Creek.
Camp Lejeune Exposure Risks
Military personnel may have faced exposure risks while stationed in other states, too. For South Carolina veterans, this may include Camp Lejeune in neighboring North Carolina. For years, there were exposure risks to asbestos and harmful chemicals at this base. Evidence shows hazardous chemical contamination in the water between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987.
Exposure to this contaminated water may have later led to health issues, including:
- Cancer
- Kidney diseases
- Neurological disorders
- Reproductive issues
South Carolina veterans and their families may have been at this base during these years. Recent legislation allows them to seek compensation for contaminated water exposure and related health conditions.
Paper:
South Carolina is home to a number of paper mills and plants where asbestos was used heavily in the development of paper products. Some of these companies include the International Paper Company in Greenville, Southern Kraft Paper Company in Georgetown, Reigel Paper in College Spur, Bowater Paper in Rock Hill and Carotell Paper Board Corporation in Taylors.
03. Shipyard Sites
South Carolina Asbestos Shipyards
South Carolina’s Atlantic coastline offers a distinct advantage over many other states with respect to locations for shipyards.
Braswell Services Group
Located in Charleston, South Carolina, the Braswell Shipyard provided many marine services related to building and repairing ships of all sizes throughout most of the 20th century, for both commercial and naval use. During this period, the company employed thousands of workers to construct the vessels, and given the large quantities of asbestos used in ships up until about the late 1970s, many of those workers were put at significant risk of developing mesothelioma, a deadly cancer caused by inhalation of asbestos fibers.
Carolina Shipping Company
More involved in commercial shipping than shipbuilding services, the Carolina Shipping Company provided both docking and transport services while also maintaining its own small fleet of cargo ships. Although the exposure to asbestos might have been less than that of shipbuilders who worked with the material directly, dock workers like those at the Carolina Shipping Company would likely have encountered airborne asbestos in any damaged ships where insulation or other materials could have exposed to the open air.
Charleston Naval Shipyard
Located about five miles north of Charleston, South Carolina, the Charleston Naval Shipyard provided support and repair facilities for a wide variety of ships, from submarines to destroyers. During World War I, the shipyard employed thousands of people to help construct ships for the worldwide conflict, and by the time World War II came around, the shipyard was expanded again, with a peak of nearly 26,000 shipbuilders, stevedores, administrative personnel and other workers all involved in the operation. All of these individuals were put at a high risk of developing mesothelioma due to the nearly daily contact with asbestos used in ships of the time period.
Detyen’s Shipyards
Founded in 1962 by William Detyen, Detyen’s Shipyards, Inc. is situated on the Wando River in Mt. Pleasant, South Caroline. Associated with the Charleston Navy Yard, Detyen’s helped to build and mend hundreds of ships throughout the two World Wars as well as later conflicts in Korea and Vietnam. During that period, the shipyard exposed many shipbuilders and other workers to the tons of asbestos that were added to boats to prevent and contain fires while on the ocean. Detyen’s is still in operation today, with several hundred employees consistently working on boats from navies around the world.
04. Exposure in Cities
South Carolina Cities with Asbestos Problems
Asbestos exposure on the job is known to have occurred in the following South Carolina cities. Prolonged asbestos exposure can cause the terminal cancer mesothelioma as well as other asbestos-related diseases. Click on any city below to view a complete list of commercial, military and residential job sites where asbestos exposure occurred in that city.
05. Other Work Sites
Asbestos Risks at Other South Carolina Work Sites
Asbestos exposure is also a problem if you look beyond the major cities and towns in South Carolina. Select a town to see the list of its job sites where asbestos exposure occurred. Asbestos exposure at any one of the work sites revealed could put a worker at risk to develop mesothelioma cancer.
South Carolina Directory of Asbestos Work Sites
Select a city to see a list of work sites where asbestos exposure occurred.
, South Carolina Jobsites Where Asbestos Exposure Occurred
- 3M Plant
- 84 Lumber Company
- A. Lynn Thomas Company, Inc.
- A.P. Green Industries
- Abney Mills
- Aerocox Corp
- Aetna Cotton Mills
- Aircraft Fire & Crash Building
- Airport Regional Office Park
- Aldersgate Methodist Church
- Alexandra Dyeing and Finishing, Inc.
- Alice Manufacturing Company
- Allied Chemical Corporation
- Allied Chemical Corporation
- America Brigade
- American Agricultural Chemical Company
- American Enka
- American Enka Corporation
- American Lava Corp
- American Lumber and Treating Company
- American Spinning Plant
- American Tobacco Company Cigar Factory
- Andrew Bearing Plant
- Apc
- Appleton Company
- Applied Engineering Company Inc
- Aragon Baldwin Cotton Mills
- Aragon Baldwin Mills
- Arkwright Mills
- Armstrong Contracting & Supply Corporation (ACandS, Inc.)
- Armstrong Cork Company
- Bahan Textile
- Baldwin Cotton Mills
- Basf Corp
- Bearing Distributors
- Beaufort Plaza Shopping Center
- Beaumont ManufacturingCompany
- Bellemonte Cotton Manufacturing Company
- Berea Industrial Park
- Berea Industrial Park
- Berkeley Square Shopping Center
- Bigelow-Sanford, Inc
- Bird & Son, Inc.
- Bldrs Marts of America
- Bldrs Marts of America
- Bloomsburg Mills
- Blue Bird Ice Cream Company
- BMA Inc.
- Bob Cook Powerhouse
- Bob Jones University
- Boilermakers Union- Local 687
- Bomb Plant
- Bonitz Insul Company
- Bonitz Insulation Company of South Carolina
- Bowater Paper
- Bowater, Inc.
- Bowaters Carolina Corporation
- Brandon Mills
- Braswell Services Group, Inc.
- Bristol Metal Products In
- Broad River Brick Company
- Brown Rodgers & Dixson Company
- Brown-Rogers-Dixon Company
- Buffalo Cotton Mills
- Builder Marts of America, Inc.
- Building Mats Company
- Buzzard’s Roost Hydroelectric Facility
- C L Cannon & Son
- Calhoun Mills
- Camden Forest Products Inc
- Camden High School
- Campbell Soup Company
- Carolina Coliseum at the University of South Carolina
- Carolina Drywall and Insulation, Inc.
- Carolina Drywall Insul.
- Carolina Drywall, Inc.
- Carolina Eastman Company
- Carolina Fiber Company
- Carolina Mechanical Contractors
- Carolina Power & Light
- Carolina Power & Light
- Carolina Power & Light
- Carolina Shipping Co. LP
- Carotell Paper Board Corporation
- Catawba News Plant
- Catawba Nuclear Plant
- Catlin Parish
- Catlin Parish
- Celanese Corp of America
- Celanese Plant
- Celanese Plastics
- Celotex
- Celriver Fibers Company
- Central Electric Power Coop.
- Central Mills Company
- Central Power Plant Marine Barracks
- Central Roofing & Supply Company
- Champion – Spring City Knitting
- Champion Building Products
- Chapin Company
- Charles Webb Center
- Charleston Consolidated Railway, Gas & Electric Company
- Charleston Dry Dock & Machine Company
- Charleston Hydraulic Cotton Press Company
- Charleston Memorial Hospital
- Charleston Naval Shipyard
- Charleston Shipbuilding & Drydock Company
- Charleston St. Railway Company
- Charleston Supply Company, LLC
- Charleston Water System
- Chemstrand Corporation
- Chester Arthur Office Building
- Chevron U.S.A., Inc.
- Circle Grade School
- Citizens Builder Mart Inc.
- Civil Insulation Company
- CK Supply
- CK Supply
- Clark Heating Company, Inc.
- Clearwater Finishing Plant
- Clearwater Manufacturing Company
- Clemson Agricultural College of Sc
- Clemson College
- Clemson University
- Clinic For Doctors Price & Hart
- Columbia Brick Company
- Columbia College
- Columbia Electric Street Railway, Light & Power Company
- Columbia Hospital
- Columbia Lbr & Manufacturing. Company
- Columbia Pacific Mills
- Columbia Pipe Company
- Columbia Plastering Company
- Columbia Plastering Company
- Columbia Railroad, Gas & Electric Company
- Columbia VA Health Care
- Commissioners of Public Works
- Cone Mills Corporation
- Congregation Beth Israel
- Continental Can Company
- Cotwill Manufacturing Corporation
- Covil Insulating Company
- Covil Insulation Company
- Covil Insulation Company
- Covil Insulation Company
- Covil Sales, Inc.
- Covil Sales, Inc.
- Cox Manufacturing Company
- D.A. Sprinkle
- Daniel Construction
- Daniel Construction Company
- Daniel Construction Company
- Daniel Construction Company
- Daniel Construction Company
- Daniel Construction Company
- Daniel Construction Company
- Daniel Construction Company
- Daniel Construction Company Inc
- Daniel Construction, LLC
- Daniel International Construction Company / Daniel International Corp.
- Darlington Manufacturing Company
- Darlington Mills
- Darlington Veneer Company, Inc.
- De Kalb Cotton Mills
- Deering Milliken Mills
- Deering Milliken Mills
- Deering Milliken Mills
- Delta Finishing Company
- Delta Finishing Plant
- Delta Mills, Inc.
- Derrick Insul. Company
- Detyen’s Shipyards, Inc.
- Detyens Shipyards, Inc.
- Dillon Columbia Supply Company
- Dolphus M. Grainger Power Station
- Donaldson Air Force Base
- Dow Badische
- Dow Chemical Company
- Drayton Cotton Mill
- Dreher High School
- Duke Energy Corp
- Duke Power
- Duke Power Company
- Duke Power Company
- Duke Siding
- Duke Siding
- Dupont Chemical
- DuPont de Nemours, Inc.
- Dupont Denemours
- Dupont May Plant
- Dupont Savannah River Project
- E. I. Dupont De Nemours & Company
- E. I. Dupont De Nemours & Company
- E.I. Du Pont De Nemours
- E.I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company
- Easley Cotton Mills
- East Henry Street
- Eastman Chemical Company
- Eastman Kodak Company
- Em Service Club
- Embers Charcoal
- Enterprise Lumber Company
- Equinox Mill
- Erskine College
- Esso
- Ethyl Corporation
- Excelsior Ill No 4
- Excelsior Mills
- Excelsior Mills
- Exide Battery Company
- Exxon
- F W Poe Manufacturing Company
- Fabric Services
- Fabric Services Inc
- Fairwood School
- Federal Land Bank
- Fiberglas Plant
- Fibers Div
- Fibers International
- Fibre Industries, Inc.
- First Federal Savings & Loan Association Building
- First Presbyterian Church of Columbia
- Florence Hospital
- Fluor Daniel Corporation
- Fort Jackson Complex
- Fort Park
- Gaffney High School
- Gaffney Manufacturing Company
- Gaffney School
- Garrett Engineering Company
- General Electric
- General Electric
- General Electric Company
- General Electric Power Company
- Georgetown Mill
- Georgia Power Company
- Gerrish Milliken Mills
- Glen Lowry Manufacturing Company
- Glenwood Cotton Mills
- Glenwood Mills
- Gluck Mills
- Grace Bleachery
- Graniteville Manufacturing Company
- Graniteville Mill
- Great Falls High School
- Greenville City Hospital
- Greenville General Hospital
- Greenville Industrial Insulation
- Greenwood Mills, Inc.
- Greenwood Mills, Inc.
- Greenwood Office Building
- Grendel Mills (until 1946, then Abney Mills)
- Guignard Brick Works
- H B Robinson
- H L Roper & Company
- Hamilton Veneer Company
- Harper Building
- Hartsville Cotton Mills
- Heat Celanese
- Hercules, Inc.
- Hoechat Fibers
- Hoechst Celanese
- Hoechst Fibers Incorporated
- Huguenot Mills
- Hystron Fibers
- Imperial Manufacturing Company
- Industrial Burners Inc
- Industrial Burners, Inc.
- Industrial Cotton Mills Company Inc.
- Industrial Firebrick Company
- International Paper
- International Paper Company
- International Paper Company
- Isaqueena Mills
- J P Stevens and Company Inc
- J P Stevens and Company Inc
- J.P. Stevens and Company
- J.P. Stevens and Company Inc.
- J.P. Stevens and Company Inc.
- J.P. Stevens and Company Inc.
- J.P. Stevens and Company, Inc.
- J.P.S. Daniel Building
- J.R. Deans Company, Inc.
- Jess Underground Utility
- Jim Rast D/W Company
- Jim Rast Drywall Company
- Joint Base Charleston
- Jp Stevens
- Judson Mills
- Kavser Mill
- Keenan High School
- Keowee Hydro Plant
- Kimberly-Clark Corporation
- Kohler Company
- Korn Industries
- L.L. Barr
- Lancaster Cotton Mills
- Lancaster Cotton Mills
- Lancaster Water District
- Lander University
- Laundry Building
- Leaphart Elementary School
- Lexington Vocational Education Center
- Lineberger & Paul General Contractors
- Lower Florence Ho
- Lycoming Division of Avco Corporation
- Lyman Printing and Finishing Company, Inc.
- Macreeves Company
- Magnolia Finishing Plant Deering Milliken Mills
- Manchester Cotton Mills
- Manning Correctional Institution
- Marine and River Phosphate Mining and Manufacturing Company
- Marine Corps Air Station
- Marine Corps Auxilary Landing Field
- Marine Corps Recruit Depot
- Marion Manufacturing Company
- Marshall Plant
- Mathews Cotton Mills
- Mauldin Lumber Company
- Maxwell-Campbell Inc.
- Maxwell-Campbell Inc.
- May Plant
- Mayfair Mills
- Mays Constr.
- Mc Donald, Wilkins and Company
- McClendon Center
- McCormick Mills Corporation
- McCormick Spring Mill
- McCrory-Sumwalt Construction Company, Inc.
- Mcmeekin Station
- Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Buildings and Facilities
- Michelin Tire Corp
- Michelin Tire Corp
- Michelin Tire Corporation
- Miller Lbr Company
- Milliken & Company
- Milliken Mills
- Monaghan Mills
- Monaghan Plant
- Monarch Cotton Mills
- Monsanto Company
- Montgomery Ward Company
- Montreal Fast Print, Ltd.
- Mustang Sales & Service
- National Aniline Division
- National Distillers & Chemical
- National Linen Service Corporation
- Naval Support Activity Charleston
- Neal Brothers Charleston, Inc.
- New Residential Investment Corporation (NRZ)
- New South Forest Industries
- Niles Manufacturing Company
- North Brothers
- North Brothers, Inc.
- North Brothers, Inc.
- North Brothers, Inc.
- Nucor Corporation
- Nucor Steel
- Nylon 66 Facility
- Nylon Industries, Inc.
- Oconee Nuclear Station
- Olympia Cotton Mill
- Orangeburg Ice and Fuel Company
- Orr Mills
- Owens Corning Fiberglas Corp
- Owens Corning Fiberglass
- Pacolet Finishing Plant Subsidiary of Deering Milliken Corp
- Pacolet Manufacturing Company
- Pacolet Yarns
- Palmer Manufacturing & Supply, Inc.
- Palmetto Compress Company
- Panola Cotton Mills (until 1946, then Abney Mills)
- Paris Island Marine Base
- Parke-Davis and Company
- Parris Island
- Peoples Ice and Fuel Company
- Peoples Natural Gas
- Perfection American Company
- Perfection Gear Company
- Pet Milk Plant
- Phelps Hall Winthrop College
- Piedmont Print Works
- Pine Creek Manufacturing Company
- Plywood Plastics Corporation
- Plywood Products Corp
- Poe Hardware and Supply Company
- Poinsett Com Heat Treat
- Port Park
- Port Royal Cotton Compressing Company
- Quantum Chemical
- Ralph H. Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center
- Raybestos-Manhattan Asbestos Textile Plant
- Reading Power
- Receiving Section
- Reigel Paper
- Richland Shale Product Company
- Richtex Brick
- Riley Stoker Corporation
- Riley Stoker Corporation
- Roberts Foundry Company
- Rock Hill Lumber Company
- Rock Hill Printing & Finishing Company
- Rocky River Mills
- Roper Hospital
- S C M Corporation
- S C State Hospital
- S C Y Corporation
- S.C. District 55 H.S.
- S.C. Electric & Gas
- S.C. State College
- Saco Lowell Shops
- Sanitary Plumbing & Heating
- Savannah River Plant
- Saxon Mills
- Seaboard Airlines, Rr
- Seaboard Park
- Sears, Roebuck and Company
- Self Regional Healthcare
- Seminole Mills
- Senate Plaza
- Seneca Cotton Mills
- Senior High School
- Shaw Air Force Base
- Sheet Metal Workers International Association Local 399
- Sherwin Williams Company
- Sherwin Williams Company
- Shields Inc.
- Silas Mcmeekin Station
- Singer Manufacturing Company
- Sirocco
- Skyland Power Plant
- Sligh Plumbing & Heating Company
- Sln&L Railroad
- Smurfit-Stone Container Enterprises, Inc.
- Sonoco Engineering Building
- Sonoco Products Company
- South Carolina Electric & Gas
- South Carolina Electric & Gas Company
- South Carolina Electric & Gas Company
- South Carolina Electric & Gas Company
- South Carolina Electric & Gas Company
- South Carolina Industries
- South Carolina Manufacturing Company
- South Carolina State Hospital
- Southern Bell Tel.
- Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company
- Southern Bleachery & Print Works
- Southern Kraft Corp
- Southern Kraft Paper Company
- Southern Novelty Company
- Southern Railway
- Southern Railway Frt Team Track
- Southern States Supply Company
- Southland Exchange
- Spartan Mills
- Spartanburg Arts Center
- Spartanburg High School
- Spartanburg Railway Gas Power and Electric Lt
- Spring Industries
- Spring Industries
- Spring Mills
- Springs Bleachery
- Springs Cotton Mills
- Springs Cotton Mills
- Sprinstein Mills
- Stafford Insulation Company
- Stafford Insulation Company
- Standard Oil Company
- State A & M College
- Stokes Hall Francis Marion University
- Stone Container Corporation
- Sullivan Hardware Company, Inc.
- Sumter Cotton Mills
- Sumter Ice and Fuel Company
- Sumter Ice and Light and Power Company
- Sumter Lighting Company
- Sunoco Oil Refinery
- Sunoco Products Company
- Supreme Court of South Carolina
- T.E. Wannamaker, Inc.
- Taxon Mills
- The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina
- The Florence Steam Laundry Company
- The Refinery Charleston
- Tidewater Supply Company, Inc.
- Timmons Plumbing & Heating
- Todd Shipyards Corporation
- Toledo Engineering Company
- U. S. Rubber Company
- U.S. Quartermaster’s Office
- Union Bleachery
- Union Bleaching Mill
- Union Carbide
- Union Dry Cleaning Company and Steam Laundry
- Union Mills
- Uniroyal, Inc.
- United Merchants Manufacturers
- United Merchants Manufacturers
- United Merchants Mill
- United Office Incorporated
- United Piece Dye Works
- United States Army Fort Jackson
- United States Electric Illuminating Company
- United States Finishing
- United States Marine Barracks
- United States Marine Barracks
- United States Marine Depot
- United States Naval Air Station
- University of South Carolina
- Urquhart Powerhouse
- Us Army
- Us Plywood Corp
- Utica and Mohawk Mills
- Utica Mohawk Plant
- Victor Monaghan Company
- Victor Monaghan Company
- Victor Plant
- Vitor Monoghan Mills
- W A Lamans Fpm
- W.R. Grace
- Waccaman Clay Products Company
- Walker Plumbing and Heating Company, Inc.
- Wanamaker Chemical Company
- Wateree Steam Plant
- Watts Mills
- Wellman, Inc.
- West Point Stevens
- West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company Mill
- Westinghouse Electric Corporation
- Westinghouse Plant
- Westpoint Stevens
- Westvaco Corporation
- Weyerhauser Company
- White House Mill
- Whitmire Plant
- Whitney Manufacturing Company
- Whitten Village
- Wickes Corporation
- Wickes Corporation
- Wickes Corporation
- Wickes Corporation
- William M. Bird & Co., Inc.
- Winthrop College
- Winthrop University
- Winyah Electric Generating Plant
- WO Blackstone & Company, Inc.
- Wofford College
- Wood Brothers Thresher Company
- Wood Preserving Company, Inc.
- Woolen Unit
- Wylie Mills
- Yeamans Hall Road
- York Company Tech Center
