Asbestos Exposure at W.R. Grace Texas Vermiculite Plant in West Dallas

W.R. Grace & Co. operated the Texas Vermiculite Company facility in West Dallas, Texas from 1953 until 1992. The plant processed vermiculite ore from a mine located in Montana for use in a variety of products. Because this ore was contaminated with asbestos, individuals who worked at the Texas Vermiculite plant may be at risk of developing cancer or other diseases caused by asbestos exposure.

If you or a loved one worked at the W.R. Grace Texas Vermiculite facility in West Dallas or other jobsites in the state of Texas that were contaminated with asbestos, you may be eligible to file a claim or receive a free health exam courtesy of our firm. 

To start your claim today, contact the lawyers at Hissey Mulderig & Friend by calling our office toll-free at 1-855-500-3734, or by filling our our free claims form on the left side of this page.

Asbestos Exposure at W.R. Grace Texas Vermiculite Plant

During its 40 years in operation, W.R. Grace’s Texas Vermiculite plant processes hundreds of thousands of tons of vermiculite ore. Vermiculite was heated and expanded at the plant in a process known as “exfoliation” for use in a variety of products, including shingles, insulation, fireproofing materials, potting soil, and concrete products.

Although not all vermiculite contains asbestos, between 1967 and 1992, the vermiculite ore that was processed at the Texas Vermiculite facility came from the Zonolite Mine in Libby, Montana. This mine, which was also owned by W.R. Grace, is known to be contaminated with asbestos. The Zonolite Mine in Montana was closed in 1990 after years of exposing workers and local residents to toxic asbestos fibers.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), when vermiculite from the Libby mine was processed at the Texas Vermiculite plant in West Dallas or other facilities operated by W.R. Grace, both the facility and the surrounding areas were contaminated with asbestos fibers found in the raw vermiculite ore.

Workers who were employed at the plant may have been exposed to dangerous levels of asbestos that could put them at risk of developing mesothelioma, asbestos lung cancer, asbestosis, or other asbestos-related diseases.

Asbestos Contamination at Texas Vermiculite Site

W.R. Grace ceased operations at the Texas Vermiculite facility in Dallas in 1992. In 1997, the company removed all equipment from the site that had been used to process asbestos-contaminated vermiculite. In 2001, all of the buildings at the site were demolished. The company also excavated the buildings, removed their foundations and about 1 foot of soil, replaced it with clean soil, and seeded the area.

Although these measures were designed to remove any traces of asbestos contamination that were left behind by the Texas Vermiculite plant, subsequent testing by the EPA found that soil at that site was still contaminated with asbestos more than 20 years later.

In 2001, EPA inspectors visited the Texas Vermiculite facility and noted what they believed to be a pile of asbestos-contaminated vermiculite next to the railroad tracks near the plant. The inspectors wrote that asbestos contamination at the site may be so widespread that vermiculite ore “might cover the entire site”.

The EPA is currently conducting soil tests of the areas nearby the Texas Vermiculite plant in order to determine the extent of asbestos contamination to the surrounding areas.

W.R. Grace Bankruptcy and Asbestos Trust Fund Claims

Workers and other individuals who developed mesothelioma, asbestos lung cancer, asbestosis, or other asbestos-related diseases as a result of exposure to vermiculite and asbestos materials produced by W.R. Grace have filed tens of thousands of lawsuits against the company. 

In 2001, W.R. Grace declared chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to resolve more than 100,000 claims stemming from asbestos that was produced at the company’s mine in Libby, Montana and processed at plants across the country, such as the Texas Vermiculite facility in West Dallas.

W.R. Grace has paid more than $4 billion into asbestos trust funds that were established to compensate workers and other individuals who developed illnesses as a result of exposure to asbestos in the company’s products and facilities. The company also paid more than $63 million to settle claims involving asbestos contamination at 32 Superfund sites across the U.S. that were operated by the company.

Start Your Claim Today

Companies that produced or used asbestos products such as W.R. Grace have set up asbestos trust funds to compensate victims of asbestos exposure. Currently, more than $30 billion in funds are available for individuals who developed mesothelioma, asbestos lung cancer, asbestosis, or other asbestos-related diseases.

If you or a loved one were exposed to asbestos and have been diagnosed with one of these diseases, you may qualify to file a claim and receive compensation for your illness and medical expenses. Individuals who believe that they were exposed may also qualify to receive a free health examination courtesy of our law firm to find out whether they have developed a diease caused by asbestos exposure.

To start you claim today or to schedule your free asbestos health exam, contact the lawyers at Hissey Mulderig & Friend by calling our office toll-free at 1-855-500-3734, or by filling our our free claims form located at the top of this page.