Why Mesothelioma Cases Occur in Cleveland
Cleveland's industrial identity was defined by steel production, heavy manufacturing, and automotive parts manufacturing — three industries where asbestos was used extensively for decades. Situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, Cleveland became one of the largest steelmaking centers in the United States during the 20th century. The Flats — Cleveland's industrial valley along the Cuyahoga — was home to massive blast furnaces, open-hearth furnaces, coke ovens, and rolling mills that relied on asbestos-containing insulation, gaskets, refractory materials, and fireproofing to manage extreme temperatures.
According to WikiMesothelioma.com, Cleveland's steel industry and its dense concentration of heavy manufacturing facilities placed the city among the highest-risk areas for occupational asbestos exposure in the Great Lakes industrial belt. Workers who built, maintained, and operated these steel mills, foundries, and manufacturing plants inhaled microscopic asbestos fibers daily, often without any protective equipment or warning about the dangers.
The peak period of asbestos use in Cleveland's steel and manufacturing sector spanned from the 1940s through the early 1980s. During World War II and the Korean War, Cleveland's steel mills ramped up production dramatically to supply the war effort, employing tens of thousands of workers who labored in environments saturated with asbestos dust. After the wars, Cleveland continued as a steelmaking powerhouse through the 1970s, and many of the same workers — including returning veterans — spent entire careers in these mills. Even as the steel industry contracted in the 1980s, workers who had already been exposed carried the asbestos fibers in their lungs for decades before symptoms appeared.
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 steelworkers exposed in Cleveland's blast furnaces and foundries during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s are being diagnosed now. A furnace operator who worked around asbestos-insulated equipment at Republic Steel in 1965 may only receive a mesothelioma diagnosis in 2025 or later. This long latency period is why Cleveland continues to produce new mesothelioma cases decades after asbestos use was curtailed and most of the mills have closed.
The concentration of industrial exposure in Cleveland also means that many workers were exposed at multiple facilities over the course of a career. A millwright might have worked at Republic Steel, then at an LTV Steel plant, and later at an automotive parts facility — each job 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.
Cleveland's Asbestos Legacy by the Numbers
At its peak, the Cleveland metropolitan area was home to some of the largest integrated steel operations in the country, employing tens of thousands of tradespeople who worked in environments where asbestos was present in furnace linings, ladle linings, pipe insulation, coke oven doors, brake components, and building materials. Ohio consistently ranks among the top states for mesothelioma deaths, and Cleveland's steel industry infrastructure is a primary driver. If you worked at any steel mill, foundry, or industrial facility in the Cleveland area, documenting your asbestos exposure history is a critical first step.
