Mesothelioma and asbestos exposure in Tacoma

Tacoma's waterfront and tideflats held heavy industry. A copper smelter in neighboring Ruston operated for decades, using high-temperature furnaces with heat-resistant materials. A large kraft paper mill ran steam-heated dryers and boilers insulated with asbestos. During World War II, Tacoma shipyards built escort carriers and other vessels, with shipyard trades installing asbestos insulation on board. The smelter operated for most of the twentieth century and later became the focus of a large environmental cleanup, mostly for arsenic and lead. Workers there, at the mill and in the yards maintained hot equipment that needed constant insulation repair. Contractors often worked at several of these sites.

Military activity added more exposure. Fort Lewis and McChord Field, now joined as a single base, had older buildings, boilers and equipment containing asbestos. Many Tacoma workers moved among the smelter, mills, shipyards and base jobs, and construction across the region brought asbestos into homes and public buildings. Family members could also be exposed through work clothes brought home. Fort Lewis and McChord were separate bases for decades before they merged in 2010. Older barracks, boiler plants and hangars built in the mid-twentieth century contained asbestos materials. Union tradespeople from Tacoma also worked on construction projects throughout the South Sound area.