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Mesothelioma and asbestos exposure in South Carolina

South Carolina's history of shipbuilding, textiles, and federal industry means many residents worked around asbestos. This page collects documented sites, the state's legal deadlines, and where to find care.

Last reviewed October 27, 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.

In short

  • Documented sources: a Charleston asbestos textile plant studied by NIOSH researchers for decades; Navy work at the former Charleston Naval Shipyard; and Department of Energy contractor work at the Savannah River Site.
  • Deadlines: three years for personal injury from when you knew or should have known of the claim, and three years from death for wrongful death (S.C. Code 15-3-535 and 15-3-530(6)).
  • Care: Hollings Cancer Center at MUSC in Charleston is the state's NCI-designated cancer center.
  • Former Savannah River Site contractor workers may be able to file with the U.S. Department of Labor's EEOICP program.
  • Work-related illness may also fall under the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission.

Documented exposure in South Carolina

We list only sites where asbestos use is documented by a government agency or published research. Many other workplaces in the state likely used asbestos-containing insulation and equipment, but we do not name a site unless we can point to a record.

A Charleston asbestos textile plant (1896 to 1977)

Researchers including NIOSH scientists have followed workers from a South Carolina asbestos textile plant for decades. According to the published studies, the plant produced asbestos products beginning in 1896 and asbestos textiles beginning in 1909, used mainly chrysotile asbestos, and stopped using asbestos by the end of 1977. The 2007 follow-up of 3,072 workers, followed through 2001, found higher than expected death rates from lung cancer and asbestosis, and a strong relationship between how much asbestos workers were exposed to and their risk. The studies do not name the company, and neither do we.

The Charleston Naval Complex in North Charleston was home to the Charleston Naval Shipyard and Naval Base. The Navy now manages environmental cleanup at the site. NCI notes that the shipbuilding industry used asbestos to insulate boilers, steam pipes, and hot water pipes, and VA lists shipyard work among the military occupations with asbestos exposure. In 2012, South Carolina environmental regulators halted part of the demolition work at the former base after steam pipes being removed were found to be wrapped in asbestos insulation, according to news reports at the time.

Navy veterans and civilian shipyard workers from Charleston should read veterans and VA benefits and asbestos exposure.

Savannah River Site (Aiken, Allendale, and Barnwell counties)

The Savannah River Site is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) facility. The U.S. Department of Labor's Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program (EEOICP) covers illnesses caused by toxic substances, including asbestos, among DOE contractor and subcontractor employees under Part E of the law. The Department of Labor's own procedure manual uses the Savannah River Site and asbestos as its worked example, and its Site Exposure Matrices list buildings and job categories at the site where asbestos was present. Former workers and survivors can ask the Department of Labor about filing.

South Carolina deadlines

Claim Deadline Code section
Personal injury 3 years from when you knew, or by reasonable diligence should have known, of the claim 15-3-530(5), 15-3-535
Wrongful death 3 years from the date of death 15-3-530(6)
Survival claim Survives to the estate's personal representative 15-5-90

The construction-related eight-year outer limit in 15-3-640 does not apply to injuries from exposure over time to a toxic substance that was not discoverable when it happened (15-3-670(C)). Laws change; confirm with a South Carolina lawyer. More detail: statute of limitations and wrongful death.

Treatment in South Carolina

Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston is the only NCI-designated cancer center in the state. Nearby NCI-designated centers in North Carolina and Georgia are listed on our treatment centers page. Veterans can also seek care through the VA health system.

Workers' compensation

The South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission administers the state's system for work-related injury and occupational disease. Rules and time limits apply. NCI notes that federal civilian employees and longshore and harbor workers have separate federal programs through the U.S. Department of Labor.

A template for other states

This page is the model for state pages we plan to add. Each will list only documented exposure sites, the state's deadlines quoted from its official code, its NCI-designated centers, and its workers' compensation agency.

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Common questions

I worked at a South Carolina mill. Does that mean I was exposed?

Not necessarily. Most textile mills processed cotton or synthetic fibers, not asbestos. Exposure in mills and plants more often came from pipe and boiler insulation, gaskets, and equipment maintenance. Your specific job and site matter, and a lawyer or doctor can help you sort it out.

Where do South Carolina asbestos cases get filed?

It depends on the facts, including where exposure happened and where the companies involved are based. South Carolina's circuit courts hear civil cases, and federal courts may also have jurisdiction. A lawyer will advise on the right court.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws and deadlines differ by state and change; confirm anything that matters with a licensed attorney in your state. No one can promise how a claim will turn out.

Sources

  1. Follow-up study of chrysotile textile workers: cohort mortality and exposure-response, a South Carolina asbestos textile plant, 1916 to 1977 (Hein et al., Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2007, via NIH PubMed Central)
  2. Exposures and mortality among chrysotile asbestos workers, Part II (Dement et al., 1983, NIH PubMed)
  3. Charleston Naval Complex environmental restoration program (Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command)
  4. EEOICP procedure manual, chapter 2-0700: establishing toxic substance exposure, with the Savannah River Site asbestos example (U.S. Department of Labor)
  5. Site Exposure Matrices for DOE facilities (U.S. Department of Labor)
  6. Discovery of asbestos halts work at old Navy base (Associated Press via Live 5 News, September 21, 2012)
  7. S.C. Code Title 15, Chapter 3: limitations (South Carolina Legislature)
  8. S.C. Code Title 15, Chapter 51: wrongful death (South Carolina Legislature)
  9. Find an NCI-designated cancer center: South Carolina (National Cancer Institute)
  10. South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission
  11. Asbestos fact sheet: shipbuilding, textiles, and other trades (National Cancer Institute)

Related pages

  • Statute of limitations: How filing deadlines for mesothelioma claims work across states, when the clock starts, and the South Carolina rules under S.C. Code 15-3-530 and 15-3-535.
  • Wrongful death claims: How wrongful death and survival claims work when a loved one has died of mesothelioma, who brings them, and how South Carolina law handles them.
  • Treatment centers: How to find a cancer center with mesothelioma experience, the full list of NCI-designated clinical and comprehensive cancer centers, and questions to ask.
  • Veterans and VA benefits: How VA disability compensation works for veterans with asbestos-related illness, the evidence VA asks for, survivor benefits, and where to get free help.