Mesothelioma and asbestos exposure in South Carolina

Documented asbestos exposure in South Carolina

We list only sites where asbestos is documented by a government agency or published research. Many other workplaces in South Carolina 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.

Navy work at the former Charleston Naval Shipyard

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.

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 filing deadlines

South Carolina allows three years for personal injury, counted from when the person knew, or by reasonable diligence should have known, that they had a claim (S.C. Code 15-3-530(5) and 15-3-535). Wrongful death actions must be brought within three years of the death (15-3-530(6)), by the executor or administrator for the benefit of the spouse and children or other heirs (15-51-20), and any settlement needs court approval (15-51-41 and 15-51-42). Personal injury claims survive to the personal representative (15-5-90). The eight-year outer limit for claims about improvements to real property (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)).

Deadlines and discovery rules change and depend on the facts. Confirm them with a lawyer licensed in South Carolina. Compare other states in our national table.

Treatment in South Carolina

NCI lists one designated cancer center in South Carolina that sees patients:

Nearby NCI-designated centers in North Carolina and Georgia are listed on our treatment centers page.

VA health care in South Carolina

Veterans with asbestos-related illness can get care through VA. These VA health care systems serve South Carolina; each system's page lists its medical centers and clinics:

• VA Charleston health care
• VA Columbia South Carolina health care

For benefits, see veterans and VA benefits or our veteran claim help form.

Workers' compensation

Work-related illness may fall under South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission. Each state's system has its own notice and filing deadlines. NCI notes that federal civilian employees and longshore and harbor workers have separate federal programs through the U.S. Department of Labor.

Other states

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