Mesothelioma: The case of Fort Pierce, Florida

Mesothelioma: The case of Fort Pierce, Florida

The city of Fort Pierce serves as a county seat of St. Lucie County and is bordered by the Indian River and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is branded the ‘Sunrise City’ and is home to a population of about thirty seven thousand (37000) people. Fort Pierce is known for its many water activities and has both natural and artificial reefs making for perfect fishing and diving.

In the early twentieth (20^th) century, the city was an attractive seaport and drew many businesses and residents to it. As businesses and people flocked to the area the demand for power generation emerged. The Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant owned and operated Florida Power Plant & Light Company and they were one of the first to answer the call for power generation in the city. The plant is located on a three thousand three hundred acre piece of land which is also a wildlife preserve. Cape C.  Fort Municipal Power Plant also generated power in the city but closed down a few years ago.

Asbestos Exposure

The city’s active utility and power generating industries used asbestos products over the years and therefore put workers at risk of asbestos exposure.

The Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance has compiled job sites, from information taken from a number of sources, in Fort Pierce that identify where asbestos exposure was known to have occurred. Two examples are:

• Cape C. Fort Pierce Municipal Power Plant and
• Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant

The following job sites have been identified as harboring asbestos containing materials in the city:

• A. Doby Building Products
• New Smyrna
• Cherokee Products Company
• Fort Pierce Utility Auth.
• Hutcheson Island Power Plant
• Fort Pierce Power Plant
• City of Fort Pierce
• Municipal Power Plant

The above list does not limit asbestos containing materials only to the areas mentioned, there may be other areas that have asbestos containing materials on their job sites.