Orange Industrial Exposure Map
● Critical ● High ● Moderate
Major Asbestos Exposure Sites
| Facility | Industry | Risk Level | Active Period | Est. Workers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DuPont – Orange Chemical Plant | Chemical manufacturing / neoprene | Critical | 1940s–present (asbestos use 1940s–1985) | ~3,000 peak |
| Levingston Shipbuilding – Orange Shipyard | Shipbuilding / barge construction | Critical | 1940–1990s (asbestos use throughout) | ~4,000 peak (WWII) |
| Consolidated Western Steel – Orange | Steel manufacturing | Critical | 1940s–1980s | ~2,000 peak |
| Firestone Tire & Rubber – Orange | Rubber / chemical manufacturing | High | 1940s–1980s | ~1,500 peak |
| Gulf States Utilities – Orange Power Plant | Electric power generation | High | 1930s–present (asbestos use through 1985) | ~800 peak |
| Port of Orange – Industrial Marine | Marine / port operations | Moderate | 1920s–present | ~400 peak |
Levingston Shipbuilding: Sabine River Shipyard Asbestos
Levingston Shipbuilding Company operated one of the major inland-coastal shipyards on the Gulf of Mexico, building barges, towboats, and light industrial vessels from its Orange, Texas facility on the Sabine River. During World War II, the yard employed up to 4,000 workers building vessels for the war effort — and like all wartime shipyards, Levingston’s facilities were saturated with asbestos insulation in pipe systems, boilers, engine rooms, and crew quarters.
Shipyard workers have among the highest mesothelioma rates of any occupational group. The combination of ship construction (spray-applied asbestos insulation in confined vessel spaces) and the general plant infrastructure created compound exposure. Former Levingston workers should document both the shipyard work itself and any maintenance work done at the DuPont or Consolidated Western Steel facilities nearby.
DuPont Orange: Chemical Manufacturing Exposure
DuPont’s Orange plant was one of the company’s major neoprene and specialty chemical manufacturing facilities. DuPont has been a significant defendant in asbestos litigation nationally, and its Orange facility used asbestos insulation throughout its process equipment, pipe systems, and boiler plant from its opening through the mid-1980s. DuPont’s own internal documents, produced in litigation, have shown company awareness of asbestos health dangers while asbestos-containing materials continued to be used at its facilities.
Cross-Border Exposure: Texas and Louisiana Claims
Orange’s location on the Texas-Louisiana border created a unique labor market in which workers moved fluidly between Texas and Louisiana industrial facilities throughout their careers. Workers who began in Orange and later worked at Lake Charles, Louisiana refineries — or vice versa — have exposure histories spanning both states. The state where the exposure occurred determines the applicable statute of limitations; Texas gives 2 years from diagnosis, while Louisiana gives only 1 year. Workers with cross-border exposure histories should consult an attorney promptly to protect all possible claims.