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Reynolds Aluminum Plant

In 1919, the U.S. Foil Company was opened in Louisville, Kentucky by the nephew of R.J. Reynolds, the tobacco magnate. Richard S. Reynolds, Sr. opened the company which began its business by producing lead and tin foil wrappers for cigarette and candy companies. Between 1924 and 1928, the U.S. Foil Company bought several other companies and become known as Reynolds Metal. New York City played host to the headquarters for the company starting in 1931 and then they were moved to Richmond, Virginia in 1938.

Reynolds Metal introduced aluminum siding in 1945 and then, in 1947, developed its most popular product, Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil. The company also developed several other aluminum based products like buses and other motor vehicles, none of which became overly popular. It also came up with an aluminum submarine that participated in some important work.

The actual Reynolds Aluminum Plant is located in Longview, Washington and opened at the beginning of World War II. By the end of the war, the factory was producing in excess of a quarter million tons of aluminum a year. Between 1945 and 1960 the popularity of aluminum rose as aluminum siding, aluminum cans and other products were put to more and more use. By 1991, Reynolds was recycling more aluminum than it actually produced. When it was operating at its top capacity, the plant employed over 900 people and had a yearly payroll of over $25 million. Up until the year 2000, Reynolds Metal Company was the third largest aluminum manufacturer. It was bought out by Alcoa in 2000, which made that company the largest producer in America.

Alumina, which is the material from which aluminum is formed, must be heated to very high temperatures in the production process. Up until the mid 1970s, asbestos was used as an insulator in many industries that used heat as part of their manufacturing process. The Reynolds Aluminum Plant was no exception. Asbestos is a natural mineral that's found all over the world. It has many beneficial characteristics that made it very useful in this kind of work. It's resistant to heat and flame, can withstand contact with most chemicals, doesn't conduct electricity, deadens sound and since it comes in the form of long, thin fibers, is very easy to work with. It was also very cheap.

Most of the time, asbestos was used as an insulator. Linings for high temperature refractory furnaces, coverings for steam pipes and smelters, and the insulation materials used in boilers all had asbestos as a main ingredient. Other products used in the construction of the plant most likely had asbestos added as well. The mineral was often added to products like ceiling and floor tiles, wall boards and cement blocks. One of the saddest things about the use of asbestos is that the very products made to protect the workers from heat and fire caused so many problems. Asbestos fibers can be woven into a cloth. This cloth was often used to make protective suits, aprons, gloves and hoods worn by workers.

Asbestos becomes dangerous when it becomes airborne. The mineral is known to be friable, which means it breaks apart and crumbles easily, especially as the material in which it was embedded aged. When the protective suits would become worn, the asbestos was set free to float around inside the clothing and workers would inhale it all day long. Even if workers didn't have to wear the suits, they were still exposed to asbestos as it floated through the air in the plant. Even office workers who had no direct contact with asbestos were likely to be exposed, as the ventilation systems moved the dust throughout the entire building. The dust produced by the crumbling of asbestos contains millions of microscopic asbestos fibers. These fibers are then inhaled and swallowed by anyone in the area.

Once the fibers enter the body, they begin to do irreparable damage to the body. The most common result of asbestos exposure is a medical condition known as asbestosis. The fibers that enter the lungs have no where to go. As the lungs expand and contract while the individual is breathing, the fibers scratch up the inside of the lungs. When they heal, a scar tissue is formed that can't pull the oxygen from the air. Once the damage has reached a certain point, the victim can't catch their breath. There are treatments available that are most affective with early detection of the disease. There is no known cure however.

Mesothelioma is the other condition that is directly related to asbestos exposure. Eventually, it is possible for the fibers to work their way into the mesothelium, which is a lining that covers and protects most of the vital organs in the body. Tumors may eventually form that affects the ability of the organ to function. Mesothelioma also has the tendency to metastasize quickly and spread cancer to other parts of the body. Six to eighteen months is the typical lifespan of a patient diagnosed with this deadly cancer. Again, there is no cure and the effectiveness of treatments has a lot to do with how early the cancer is discovered.

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