The small town of Vienna, WV is one step closer to completing the cleanup of an abandoned Johns Manville plant. The former fiberglass production facility sits on 33 acres of land and has been an eyesore for the local residents since it was shut down in 2008. This has been an ongoing project that started in 2014 when the Vienna City Council approved an ordinance allowing the City to purchase the property from the previous owner, a development firm. Vienna’s mayor and a city council member had the opportunity to walk through the property with a remediation specialist. It was clear that the previous owners had improperly demolished structures, leaving piles of asbestos-contaminated debris behind. The debris has been successfully removed, but there are still structures on the site that will eventually be removed, including a smokestack, an office building, and a small warehouse. Residents would eventually like to repurpose a large portion of the area for residential use.
Johns Manville Still Faces Claims Decades Later
Johns Manville manufactures insulation and roofing materials and was once the world’s largest asbestos manufacturer. Manville manufactured and sold asbestos-containing construction and insulation products for more than 125 years. Production of these products ceased in 1985 after facing thousands of asbestos-related lawsuits, such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma. A few years prior, in 1982, the company voluntarily became the largest company in US history at the time to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy. This process led to the creation of the Manville Trust in order to pay for asbestos-related injuries.
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Despite the fact that Johns Manville stopped asbestos production, the company still faces constant claims from former workers. If you were an employee of Johns Manville and recently diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, speak with an experienced attorney right away. Fill out our contact form to start filing your claim or call 1-800-720-4981.
