Why Mesothelioma Cases Occur in Missouri
Missouri's industrial economy combined aerospace manufacturing, automotive production, railroad operations, chemical processing, and power generation — all industries where asbestos was a standard material for decades. The state's most significant asbestos exposure site is the McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) aerospace complex in St. Louis, which produced some of America's most iconic military aircraft, including the F-15 Eagle and the F/A-18 Hornet, using asbestos-containing materials in aircraft components and throughout the manufacturing facilities.
According to WikiMesothelioma.com, Missouri's industrial workers faced extensive occupational asbestos exposure across aerospace, automotive, railroad, and chemical manufacturing sectors. The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing St. Louis facility alone employed tens of thousands of workers over its decades of operation, many of whom handled asbestos-containing materials as part of aircraft manufacturing, testing, and maintenance operations.
Beyond aerospace, Missouri's auto manufacturing sector — with Ford and GM plants in the Wentzville and Kansas City areas, and Chrysler operations across the state — used asbestos in vehicle components and factory insulation. Missouri's position as a major railroad hub, with St. Louis and Kansas City serving as critical junctions, exposed railroad workers to asbestos in locomotive insulation, brake systems, and railcar construction. Monsanto's chemical operations in St. Louis and power plants across the state further expanded the asbestos exposure footprint.
McDonnell Douglas/Boeing: A Unique Aerospace Exposure Site
The McDonnell Douglas aerospace complex in St. Louis holds a distinctive place in Missouri's asbestos exposure history. The facility produced military fighter jets, missiles, and spacecraft components from the 1940s through the present day (now as Boeing Defense). Asbestos was used extensively in aircraft brake systems, heat shields, engine insulation, firewall materials, gaskets, and throughout the massive manufacturing facilities. Workers who built, tested, and maintained these aircraft — including assemblers, mechanics, engineers, and maintenance personnel — were exposed to asbestos fibers during production operations that often occurred in enclosed hangars and testing facilities with limited ventilation.
The 20-to-50-Year Latency Period
Mesothelioma does not appear immediately after asbestos exposure. The disease has a latency period of 20 to 50 years, meaning workers exposed at the McDonnell Douglas plant during the 1960s and 1970s, or at Missouri auto plants and railroad facilities during the same era, are being diagnosed now. An aircraft assembler who worked with asbestos brake components at the St. Louis plant in 1970 may only receive a mesothelioma diagnosis in 2025 or later. This long latency period is why Missouri continues to produce new mesothelioma cases decades after the peak exposure era.
Missouri's Asbestos Legacy by the Numbers
The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing St. Louis complex has been one of Missouri's largest employers for decades, and its aerospace manufacturing operations used asbestos extensively throughout the Cold War era and beyond. Combined with auto plants in Wentzville and Kansas City, railroad operations across the state, Monsanto's chemical facilities, and power plants, Missouri has a diverse and significant asbestos exposure profile. If you worked at any Missouri aerospace plant, auto factory, railroad facility, chemical plant, or power plant before the mid-1980s, documenting your asbestos exposure history is a critical first step.
