Barbas Cut Docks

The Barbas Cut Docks in La Porte, Texas is located within a close proximity to a well known and constantly busy seaport in Houston. This fact helped make the facility one of the busiest shipyards in the entire Lone Star State.

Because it was such an often used facility, thousands of people have been employed at the Barbas Cut Docks over the years. In their day to day activities many of these workers came into contact with products that were made out of the naturally occurring mineral, asbestos. Items such as insulation, rubber gaskets and fire proofing materials contained large amounts of the mineral, so it could be found all over ship building and repair yards.

After the 1970's, many manufacturing companies that included asbestos in their goods were forced to either stop using it entirely or deal with strict government regulations for its continued usage. They were hesitant to give up the mineral because it was inexpensive and was ideal as a major ingredient within hundreds of products. The new and mandatory guidelines for asbestos were implemented after the mineral was found to be toxic. Simply spending time around it could lead to several serious health issues.

All throughout the time that the Barbas Cut Docks utilized items that contained asbestos, the shipyard workers and anyone else who spent time at the facility were very likely to breathe in asbestos dust that was knocked off of these goods and released into the air. The dust would become airborne and people often inhaled it in without even knowing. Of course they also weren't aware of the danger that ingesting even small amounts of this poisonous substance brought on.

Victims who spent time working around asbestos often suffered from several health related problems. They included scarring of the lung tissue, difficulty with normal breathing, respiratory disorders, lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma. Many of these conditions are extremely painful and difficult to treat. To make matters worse, they have no cure, and some of them can be fatal.

Many people who worked at Barbas Cut Docks developed serious illnesses from being around asbestos, and some did not survive. It wasn't until the later 1970's that the general public was made aware of the danger they had been facing for years, and the governmental regulations were put in action. Those who were exposed to the mineral often found that they didn't notice symptoms of any negative health issues for several years, so anyone who worked at the La Porte facility may still be at risk and is urged to set an appointment for a medical examination as soon as possible.

Last modified: December 09 2009.