Power Plants, Asbestos, and Your Legal Rights
Kentucky’s power plants keep the lights on and make modern living possible. For decades, workers who spent their careers inside these plants helped build Kentucky’s economy. But the asbestos products used throughout these facilities came with a cost that workers weren’t warned about. Now, many of them, and their families, are paying the ultimate price for working with and around asbestos products.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, laryngeal cancer, or another asbestos-related disease after working at a Kentucky power plant (or after being exposed to asbestos because you lived with someone working at a plant), you are not alone, and you are not without options.
These are serious, life-altering diseases. Medical bills can be substantial. The ability to work disappears, and a long-dreamed-of retirement may be cut short. Families are left carrying financial and emotional burdens they never should have to manage.
Satterley Law Firm, PLLC attorneys have spent decades representing Kentucky families in this situation. We know these plants, how they operate, the asbestos-containing products in them, and how to hold the companies responsible for your situation accountable.
Workers Were Exposed to Asbestos That Filled Kentucky’s Power Plants
Asbestos was used in power plants from their first development through the early 1980s. It was considered an ideal material because it was the following:
- Inexpensive
- Readily available
- Strong and durable
- Incredibly resistant to heat, fire, and electricity
For the engineers designing Kentucky’s power plants, it was the obvious choice for nearly every part of the facility where heat, fire, or electricity were a concern. As a result, asbestos was practically everywhere in power plants for decades.
1. Boilers and Boiler Rooms
The boiler is the heart of a coal or gas-fired power plant. It boils water, turning it to steam, which spins turbines that produce electricity.
For generations of power plant workers and contractors, these facilities were practically encased in asbestos. Boiler insulation, gaskets, packing materials, and block insulation all contained asbestos.
Equipment had to be installed, maintained, repaired, and eventually removed. That involved workers who installed, repaired, removed, or replaced asbestos insulation on or in equipment.
They constantly disturbed asbestos material, releasing clouds of airborne, cancer-causing asbestos fibers that were inhaled and swallowed by anyone in the vicinity.
2. Steam Pipes and Pipe Insulation
Miles of steam pipes ran through every power plant, carrying superheated steam from the boilers to the turbines. Those pipes were wrapped in asbestos insulation to prevent heat loss and protect equipment and workers from the extreme heat.
Every time that covering was cut, torn, shaped, damaged, or replaced, asbestos dust filled the air. Workers nearby, no matter their job, whether they worked for the utility or were contractors, inhaled and swallowed that dust without understanding how toxic it was.
3. Turbines and Generators
Steam turbines operated at extreme temperatures. Asbestos-containing gaskets, rope packing, and insulating blankets were needed to maintain their safe operation. Those who performed turbine installation, maintenance, and repairs were regularly exposed to asbestos. Routine cleanup work, such as sweeping up debris, could stir up asbestos fibers and send them into the air, where workers could inhale them.
4. Electrical Equipment and Control Rooms
Asbestos was used as electrical insulation throughout power plants. It was in switchboards, arc chutes, panel boards, and wire insulation. Electricians who installed, maintained, or replaced equipment were directly and repeatedly exposed. Control rooms where operators worked contained asbestos-lined panels and asbestos-fireproofed wall and ceiling materials.
Take-Home Exposure: Wives, Children, and Families
Asbestos wasn’t contained in power plants, and neither were its hazards. Workers carried asbestos fibers home. Anyone living with power plant workers and contractors could be exposed to asbestos fibers shaken or cleaned off clothing, hair, or skin.
Families may have lived many miles from power plants, but their toxic dust and fibers floated through their homes. Some family members died decades later due to the asbestos fibers fathers, husbands, and sons brought home.
Kentucky Power Plants Where Asbestos Exposure Occurred
Asbestos was present in all but the more modern Kentucky power plants for decades. If you worked at, or lived with someone who worked at, any of the facilities listed below, and are diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, you and your family may have a valid compensation claim.
- Bedford: Trimble County Generating Station
- Burgin: Dix River Powerhouse; E.W. Brown Generating Station (Kentucky Utilities)
- Burnside: Cooper Powerhouse; East Kentucky Power – Cooper Station; John Sherman Cooper Station
- Carrollton: Kentucky Utilities Ghent Powerhouse
- Centertown: Big Rivers Electric – D.B. Wilson Station
- Drakesboro: TVA Paradise Steam Plant
- Ghent: Ghent Powerhouse
- Green River: Green River Power Station
- Harrodsburg: Kentucky Utilities – E.W. Brown Generating Station
- Hawesville: Big Rivers Electric – Kenneth C. Coleman Power Plant
- Lexington: Lexington Utilities Company
- Louisville: Kentucky Electric Company; Louisville Gas & Electric Company (Paddys Run, Mill Creek, Cane Run, Waterside, Magnolia, Hydro, Trimble County)
- Maysville: East Kentucky Power – Spurlock Station
- Owensboro: Owensboro Municipal Utilities
- Paducah: TVA Shawnee Steam Plant
- Robards: Big Rivers Electric – Sebree Station (Robert Reid and Robert Green Plants)
- Versailles / Tyrone: KU – Tyrone Powerhouse
- Indiana (Nearby): Warrick Power Plant / Generating Station
If you worked at a facility that’s not listed or located out of state, Satterley & Kelley, PLLC attorneys have investigated and handled claims covering power generation sites across Kentucky and the surrounding region.
Kentucky Law and Your Rights as an Asbestos Exposure Victim
Kentucky law provides legal protections and remedies for workers and family members who have developed mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. But they won’t do you any good if you don’t take advantage of them.
1. Kentucky’s One-Year Statute of Limitations
Under Kentucky law, you generally have one year from the date of your diagnosis or from when you knew or reasonably should have known that your illness was caused by asbestos to file a legal action against those responsible.
Kentucky courts strictly enforce this deadline. Missing it can prevent you and your family from obtaining compensation, no matter how strong your case or how ill you’ve become.
If you or a family member is diagnosed with mesothelioma or an asbestos-related cancer, contact our office as soon as you can, so we can start working on your case.
2. Workers’ Compensation May Be Available, But Won’t Cover All Your Losses
A workers’ compensation claim against a current or former employer is worth discussing with your attorney. But the benefits are limited, given the harm an asbestos-related disease does to you and your family physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially.
A civil asbestos lawsuit brought against the companies responsible for your asbestos exposure can potentially provide you with a much wider range and greater amount of compensation.
Satterley & Kelley, PLLC Lawyers Are Here to Help in Your Time of Need
We understand how an asbestos-related disease like mesothelioma impacts you and your family. Fear, anger, financial pressure, and grief are common emotions among the clients we’ve served.
The Satterley & Kelley Law Firm has handled thousands of asbestos-related injury and wrongful death claims. We know these plants, how they were managed, the products that caused this harm, the applicable laws, and how they can help those sickened by asbestos.
We are your boots on the ground if you or someone you love suffers from an asbestos-related illness in Kentucky. To reach our Louisville office, call 502-589-5600 or toll-free at 855-385-9532. You may also complete our contact form for a free initial consultation.