Oregon Mesothelioma Attorney Directory

Oregon's asbestos exposure history is linked to its shipbuilding heritage, timber industry, and industrial operations along the Columbia River and Willamette Valley. The Kaiser Shipyards in Portland and Vancouver (across the river in Washington) were among the largest shipbuilding operations during World War II, employing over 90,000 workers who built Liberty ships and other vessels using massive quantities of asbestos insulation and fireproofing. The Portland waterfront shipyards continued commercial vessel construction and repair after the war. Oregon's timber industry, the backbone of its economy for decades, operated sawmills and paper mills throughout the state where workers were exposed to asbestos insulation on boilers, kilns, and processing equipment. The Georgia-Pacific and Weyerhaeuser operations in the state used asbestos products. The Trojan Nuclear Power Plant near Rainier, which operated from 1976 to 1992, was built with asbestos materials. Portland General Electric and PacifiCorp operated power plants with asbestos insulation. The Umatilla Chemical Depot, a former chemical weapons storage facility, and other military installations in the state contained asbestos. Naturally occurring asbestos is found in some areas of southern Oregon. Oregon allows two years from diagnosis for personal injury claims but provides three years for wrongful death, and the state's courts have handled numerous asbestos cases stemming from the shipyard era.