MLGW Suspends Work on Asbestos Discovery

Memphis Light, Gas & Water, or MLGW, the largest three-service utility in the nation, is owned by the people of Memphis, Tennessee and operated under a president and board appointed by the elected mayor of Memphis.

Founded in 1939, MLGW employs about 2,700 people to deliver the three services to 661,426 residents of Memphis and Shelby counties, providing electricity from the Tennessee Valley Authority, or TVA; gas from the Texas Gas Transmission Corporation, CMS Trunkline and ANR Pipeline; and water from its own treatment facility.

Memphis Light, Gas & Water is under contract to a Tennessee-state licensed environmental remediation company, and, in 2008, MLGW's total asbestos liability was estimated (by the contractor) at $242,800.

A recent discovery by MLGW, of asbestos-containing underground gas pipes dating from 1950 through 1989, has led to the suspension of some of its workers while others in the gas delivery department undergo asbestos remediation training.

The 160 employees will each spend about two days engaged in asbestos training based on parameters set by the American Gas Association, according to MLGW spokesman Chris Stanley. The training, scheduled over two weeks to accommodate all 160 gas workers, will acquaint workers with the proper handling of the pipes, which are covered in a one-eighth inch layer of anti-corrosion coating to prevent petroleum degradation.

Such pipes have been found all over Memphis County, and their discovery during the week of Oct. 11 through the 17, by one of the gas workers, led to a work stoppage until all workers involved in replacing said pipes have been properly trained in recognizing and handling asbestos.

The amounts of asbestos are small, according to Stanley, and not of the type to become airborne, but any amount of asbestos can lead to severe illness and even death if it is broken or damaged and the fibers are inhaled or ingested.

The most common, and deadly, illness arising from asbestos fibers is mesothelioma, which largely occurs in the lungs as pleural mesothelioma. This form of cancer has a long dormancy period, sometimes as much as 50 years, during which symptoms are easily confused with persistent pneumonia, allergies or even immune system failures.

Once diagnosed, doctors rarely give patients more than a year to 18 months to live. This is because mesothelial cancers tend to involve large amounts of vital tissue during development. Some, diagnosed early and treated with a regimen of surgery and dual chemotherapies, have been known to survive up to five years.

Asbestos was widely used in construction materials during most of the last century, particularly in insulative materials because it is extremely heat resistant. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limited its use, in 1989, to one percent (by volume or weight) of domestic products, but imported products don't face such limits.

The utility plans to continue doing emergency work on the gas pipes during the period workers are being trained in asbestos handling. Speaking for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, or IBEW (the union that serves workers in the electric, gas and water supply industries), spokesman Bill Hawkins said IBEW officials had not yet met with their counterparts at MLGW.

The Environmental Working Group, or EWG, a nonprofit watchdog agency, found that, from 1998 to 2002, customers of MLGW drank water containing ten pollutants, one of them asbestos.

In fact, thanks to record use of asbestos during most of the last century in everything from insulation to piping, the asbestos legacy - of 20,000 people dying each year from asbestos exposure - threatens to continue unabated for at least the next 30 years.

Sources: Memphis Light, Gas & Water website, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Environmental Working Group

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