Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

Between 1967 and 1979, Flintkote workers were exposed to low levels of asbestos, according to the Federal Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry. The workers and their families could be at risk because employees might have carried the potentially toxic asbestos fibers home on their clothing or on their bodies. In the neighborhood near the plant, state health officials found scattered evidence that the number of deaths from asbestos exposure is higher than expected. Asbestos is the name given to a group of naturally occurring minerals such as vermiculite, amosite, chrysotile, crocidolite, tremolite, actinolite and anthophylite with long thin fibers that are tasteless and hardly detectable in the air or on clothing. When inhaled they become lodged in the lungs and over time can cause inflammation, scarring and possibly a deadly form of cancer known as mesothelioma. Asbestos is resistant to heat and fire, and was used as insulation in building materials for years before it was found to be harmful to the body. U.S. Gypsum now owns the former Flintkote site and uses the site as a reloading and distribution center.

The CPS&M law firm, which specializes in defending mesothelioma victims, urges former workers and their families to educate themselves about asbestos exposure by visiting their web site at http://www.mesothelioma-attorney.com/mesothelioma/mesothelioma and http://www.mesothelioma-attorney.com/mesothelioma/asbestos. The 50-page report on Flintkote is available at the Fremont Main Library, 2400 Stevenson Blvd., and online at www.ehib.org/cma/projects/FlintkoteATSDRRelease.pdf.