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On September 26, 2008, public health officials began informing former employees of a Fremont manufacturing plant that they might have been exposed to asbestos. Workers of the Flintkote Co. were exposed to low levels of asbestos between 1967 and 1979, according to a report from the Federal Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry.

Those who lived with Flintkote workers during those 12 years also were at risk because employees could have carried asbestos fibers home in their hair or clothing, the report said.

Former workers and their family members may contact Maria Teran-MacIver, the agency’s communication specialist, at 770-488-0720.

Asbestos is the name given to a group of naturally occurring minerals whose long, thin fibers, when inhaled, can become lodged in the lungs. Over time, the fibers can accumulate, causing scarring and inflammation, and possibly cancer.

The fibers, which are resistant to heat and fire, were used in building materials for decades before it was learned that they were harmful to health. Flintkote used materials containing asbestos to make fire-resistant wall boards.

The company went bankrupt in 2004 because of asbestos-related lawsuits. The former Flintkote site, at 27975 Shinn St., now is owned by United States Gypsum as a reloading and distribution center, according to the report.

It also is possible that between 1967 and 1979, dust and asbestos fibers were released into the air within a few blocks of the facility.

Cancer records and death certificate information for the neighborhood reviewed by state health officials showed “scattered evidence” that the number of deaths associated with asbestos exposure is higher than expected. However, these record reviews are an imperfect tool for determining whether asbestos from the facility made people sick, according to the report.

On September 10, 2008, the Tennessee Supreme court ruled that Alcoa Inc. can be sued for the asbestos-related death of a former worker’s daughter. The Pittsburgh-based company had argued that it should not be held responsible for the former worker’s daughter’s mesothelioma, a rare cancer associated with asbestos that lead to her death in 2005.

The daughter initially sued the company in 2003, claiming that the asbestos dust her father brought home on his clothes had caused her cancer. The ex Alcoa worker has continued the lawsuit as the representative of his daughter’s estate. He hauled asbestos for the company in the 1970s.

The court ruled on September 10, 2008 that the employer had a duty to prevent others from being exposed to the asbestos-contaminated clothes of its workers. The lawsuit is seeking $10 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages.

The case was initially dismissed in Blount County, but the Tennessee Court of Appeals reversed that decision and reinstated the lawsuit. The company appealed that decision to the state Supreme Court.

The attorney representing the plaintiff, said the Supreme Court’s ruling is a broad one that goes beyond the previous appeals court ruling.

Justice William Koch wrote in the opinion: “In light of the magnitude of the potential harm from exposure to asbestos and the means available to prevent or reduce this harm, we see no reason to prevent carpool members, baby sitters, or the domestic help from pursuing negligence claims against an employer should they develop mesothelioma after being repeatedly and regularly in close contact with an employee’s asbestos-contaminated work clothes over an extended period of time.”

Alcoa spokesman Kevin Lowery said that company officials were disappointed by the ruling, but that they still have confidence in their ability to argue the case in trial.

“We thought we had a good case in dismissing it once, and we still think we have a good case and will go that route,” Lowery said.

On September 6, 2008, a former shipyard worker won a $4.39 million jury verdict from an Illinois maker of asbestos-related parts that he asserted gave him a terminal form of cancer.

The plaintiff, a former worker at Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp., was awarded $4 million in compensatory damages and $390,000 in medical expenses from John Crane Inc., a Morton Grove, Illinois company. The verdict came after a two-and-a-half week jury trial and a day of deliberations at Newport News Circuit Court.

The plaintiff, of Norfolk, diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2006, worked with John Crane gaskets, packing material and other asbestos parts between 1967 and 1971 while repairing ships at the Norfolk dockyard.

The plaintiff then went off to other jobs, including working for many years in operations at The Virginian-Pilot. Since being diagnosed, he had a lung removed, and suffers severe fatigue. He can’t travel or help his neighbors as he once could. His cancer is in remission, but doctors say he is likely to die a painful death from the disease.

“I’m pleased with the verdict,” the plaintiff said. “It just shows the justice system does work. I thank the jury three long weeks, long hours each day and that’s a lot of responsibility. I’m happy with the verdict. I’d give it all back for my lung though, that’s for sure.”

The suit claimed John Crane knew or should have known that breathing asbestos fibers was dangerous, and was negligent in failing to test its products and warn workers.

Officials from John Crane could not be reached for comment and nor could the company’s lead defense attorney on the case, Thomas J. Burns.

Another company that the plaintiff sued, Garlock Sealing Technologies, settled its portion of the case out of court. The jurors had the chance to reduce the verdict against John Crane by what Garlock would have had to pay had that case gone forward. But it decided not to do so.