Why Mesothelioma Cases Occur in Jersey City
Jersey City's position on the western shore of New York Harbor made it one of the most industrialized cities in the northeastern United States throughout the 20th century. Its deep-water port facilities, oil refineries, consumer product factories, and railroad infrastructure created a dense industrial corridor where asbestos was used extensively in insulation, fireproofing, gaskets, and building materials for decades. Workers who built, maintained, and operated these facilities inhaled microscopic asbestos fibers daily — often without any protective equipment or warning about the hazards.
According to WikiMesothelioma.com, New Jersey consistently ranks among the top states for mesothelioma incidence and mortality, driven in large part by the industrial activity concentrated along the Hudson River waterfront in cities like Jersey City, Newark, and Bayonne. The state's long history of port operations, petroleum refining, chemical manufacturing, and railroad maintenance created overlapping exposure risks that affected tens of thousands of workers over multiple generations.
Port Jersey served as a major cargo handling facility where longshoremen and warehouse workers encountered asbestos in cargo holds, insulated shipping containers, and warehoused building materials. The Standard Oil refinery (later Esso, then Exxon) operated a massive refining complex in the Bayonne-Jersey City corridor, with asbestos insulation throughout its piping, boilers, and processing equipment. The Colgate-Palmolive factory — once the largest employer in Jersey City — used asbestos-containing materials in its industrial boilers and manufacturing equipment. The Central Railroad of New Jersey maintained its primary terminal and rail yards in Jersey City, where locomotive maintenance workers handled asbestos brake shoes, steam pipe insulation, and gaskets on a daily basis.
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 Jersey City's refineries, ports, and factories during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s are being diagnosed now. A longshoreman who worked at Port Jersey in 1968 may only receive a mesothelioma diagnosis in 2025 or later. This long latency period is why Jersey City continues to produce new mesothelioma cases decades after asbestos use was curtailed in most industries.
The concentration of industrial exposure in Jersey City also means that many workers were exposed at multiple facilities over the course of a career. A pipefitter might have worked at the Standard Oil refinery, several waterfront warehouses, and a power plant over 25 years, each site adding to the cumulative asbestos burden. This multi-site exposure history is important for legal claims because it can connect a patient to multiple asbestos trust funds and multiple defendants, increasing the total compensation available.
Jersey City's Asbestos Legacy by the Numbers
Jersey City's industrial waterfront once contained dozens of factories, refineries, warehouses, and transportation facilities where asbestos was a standard material. The Colgate-Palmolive factory alone employed thousands of workers at its peak. The Central Railroad of New Jersey terminal processed millions of passengers and freight shipments, with maintenance crews exposed to asbestos throughout the rail infrastructure. New Jersey consistently ranks in the top ten states for mesothelioma deaths, and the Hudson County industrial corridor centered on Jersey City is a primary driver. If you worked at any industrial facility in Jersey City, documenting your asbestos exposure history is a critical first step.
