Baltimore, MD
Mesothelioma and asbestos exposure in Baltimore
Baltimore's asbestos history is dominated by Bethlehem Steel's Sparrows Point complex, where steelmaking and shipbuilding employed generations of workers. The city's port, power plants, ship repair yards and older buildings added to the exposure faced by Baltimore families over many decades.
- Filing deadline
- 3 years from diagnosis
- Main asbestos court
- Baltimore City Circuit Court
How asbestos reached Baltimore workplaces
Sparrows Point, southeast of the city, grew into one of the largest steel plants in the world, with a shipyard alongside it. Steelworkers faced asbestos in furnace work and protective gear, while shipyard workers installed asbestos insulation on boilers, turbines and piping. Bethlehem Steel also operated a ship repair yard on Key Highway in the inner harbor, and many workers moved between the steel plant and the yards over their careers. With so many people employed at Sparrows Point, whole neighborhoods in Dundalk and East Baltimore were built around the plant and the shifts it ran.
Baltimore's port handled cargo of every kind, and its industrial waterfront included chemical plants, power stations and manufacturing plants that relied on asbestos insulation. Across the city, rowhouses, schools and office buildings contained asbestos pipe covering and building materials. Maintenance workers, steamfitters and demolition crews disturbed those materials for decades. Longshoremen, utility crews and building trades all appear in Baltimore exposure histories. Dust carried home on clothing exposed spouses and children as well, and household exposure remains a common basis for claims from the Baltimore area today, decades after the dust was first carried home.
Trades most exposed locally
Exposure sites
Where Baltimore workers encountered asbestos
Historic workplaces most often named in local exposure histories.
Sparrows Point steel plant
Steel millSparrows Point
Bethlehem Steel's huge integrated steelworks on the Patapsco River, for decades one of the largest employers in the state. Furnace relining, hot-work protective clothing and insulated steam systems exposed steelworkers, bricklayers, millwrights and maintenance crews across the plant.
Sparrows Point shipyard
Commercial shipyardSparrows Point
Built tankers and other large ships beside the steel plant. Ship construction relied on asbestos insulation for machinery and piping, exposing insulators, pipefitters, welders and many other shipbuilding trades.
Key Highway shipyard
Ship repair yardSouth Baltimore
A Bethlehem Steel ship repair yard in the inner harbor where overhaul work involved removing old asbestos insulation from ship machinery spaces and installing new material.
Filing a claim
Bringing a claim from Baltimore
Baltimore City Circuit Court has handled a large asbestos docket for decades, and many Maryland claims are filed there. Venue can also depend on where exposure occurred and where defendants do business. Sparrows Point employment records, pension files and union history are central to most local cases, along with records from any shipyard or construction work. Coworker statements can fill gaps where company records are incomplete or no longer available.
Personal injury
3yr
from diagnosis in Maryland
Wrongful death
3yr
from the date of death
Our review window
3yr
diagnosis window we accept
Treatment
Specialist care near Baltimore
Mesothelioma is rare, so a pathology review and treatment plan from an experienced center matters. Ask your oncologist about referral.
Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center
Comprehensive cancer center with thoracic surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology and clinical trials in East Baltimore.
University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center
Academic cancer center in downtown Baltimore offering thoracic oncology, thoracic surgery, radiation oncology and clinical research.
Further reading
Explainers for Baltimore families
Short guides matched to the local industries and the claim process.
Questions
Baltimore mesothelioma FAQs
Keep reading
More for Maryland families
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