Like so many other states, Michigan has had problems with asbestos exposure in its power generating facilities. Defoe Shipyard and Eldean Shipyard are two sites where shipbuilders may have been exposed to asbestos. This access to deep inland waters provides plenty of space for shipbuilding activities within the state and its immediate neighbors. In addition to being divided in two by Lake Michigan, the State of Michigan is bordered by three other Great Lakes, making it the state with the largest inland coastline in the country (according to the NOAA). Some of the jobsites where steelworkers became exposed to asbestos include the Great Lakes Steel Mill, the Detroit Grey Iron Foundry, the Michigan Steel Foundry, and National Steel. Given the high heat involved in melting, molding, and tempering steel, asbestos was often used in protective gear and in the machines and products used to manipulate the metal. Michigan has a significant number of steel mills, foundries, and metalworking shops to support the car-making industry. In addition to Ford, other Michigan car manufacturers that exposed their employees to the deadly material include General Motors, Chrysler, Plymouth, the Continental Motor Company, and the Hudson Motor Car Corporation. Automobile plants are asbestos-heavy industries and represent the majority of asbestos exposure sites in Michigan. automotive industry for well over a century since Henry Ford started the Ford Motor Company in that city. Automobiles:ĭetroit has been the epicenter of the U.S. Lake Michigan also has some shipyards where asbestos has been used heavily in the past. Michigan is perhaps best known for its status as a motor vehicle manufacturing center, which historically has used a lot of asbestos in products like brake pads, clutches, and gaskets. Asbestos in Workplaces Asbestos Use Across Michigan Industries

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan has a higher mesothelioma mortality rate, but the Lower Peninsula has a higher population density with more mesothelioma cases (Source: Journal of the American Medical Association)Ġ2.

There are 9 known asbestos mines and natural deposits in Michigan (Source: USGS).

Michigan has an above-average mesothelioma death rate of about 9.3 people per million annually (Source: CDC).

From 1999-2015, 1,573 Michigan residents died from mesothelioma.

Michigan is part of the Rust Belt area of the United States, which tends to have a higher amount of asbestos exposure and a greater incidence of mesothelioma than other states.

Statistics Michigan Mesothelioma and Asbestos Statistics

Grand blanc tank plant