by JONATHAN SHARP
Long after the last asbestos plant closed its doors and the military stopped using asbestos in its ships and bases, Kentucky’s veterans, workers, and their families continued to pay the price for their exposure. From factories to the former shipyards that employed thousands of Kentuckians, the toxic legacy of asbestos exposure lives on in the lungs, medical files, and death certificates.
Yet, despite decades of evidence that link asbestos exposure to mesothelioma and other chronic conditions, America still operates in the dark. Instead of clear, documented records, we have a “shadow registry of exposure” — a hidden, fragmented network of asbestos records buried in trust funds, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) files, and sealed settlements. For over fifty years, the very people who built, served, and cared for this country have lived and died within this shadow system, their illnesses recorded but never connected. It’s time to bring those records into the light.
The Uncomfortable Truth
A real registry would expose both government and corporate negligence, quantifying deaths and linking them to specific federal and industrial sites. It would show how many Kentuckians were poisoned at factories, in military bases such as Fort Campbell, or in naval shipyards along the coast.
Between 1999 and 2017, Kentucky recorded more than 3,100 asbestos-related deaths, with nearly 580 linked directly to mesothelioma and 237 connected to asbestosis. In the small community of Pike County, there were 38 asbestos-related deaths, further underlining the importance of tracking the at-risk veterans.
Today, the asbestos trust fund system functions as a kind of secret registry. These funds, created to compensate victims, hold hundreds of thousands of records, but they are closed to the public, designed for legal settlements rather than public health. The information that could save lives remains locked behind confidential agreements. And without national tracking, those responsible remain protected.
The Shadow Registry of Exposure
For decades, the U.S. maintained a shadow registry of exposure scattered across settlements, VA archives, and corporate records. The data already exists, but the political will to connect it is missing.
More than 60 asbestos trust funds currently contain invaluable data about where and when Americans were exposed, yet all remain sealed. Meanwhile, the VA and the Department of Defense (DoD) possess medical files and service records documenting thousands of mesothelioma deaths among veterans, but they failed to establish a centralized database to track them. Even the CDC’s studies on secondary exposure, such as washing asbestos-contaminated uniforms, have never evolved into actionable data systems.
This lack of transparency means Kentuckians who were exposed during their military service, working at TVA plants, in construction, or in manufacturing remain invisible in the public record.
The Ones Who Were Left Out
Roughly 30 percent of all mesothelioma cases involve veterans, and Kentucky’s veteran population has been hit hard. From those who served on asbestos-laden Navy vessels to those stationed on bases where asbestos was used as a building block for all their infrastructure, countless veterans were exposed. Yet, the VA – which built registries for Agent Orange and burn pits exposure – has never created one for asbestos. A Mesothelioma Registry under the VA and DoD collaboration could finally ensure early screenings, accurate diagnosis, and fair compensation for the affected veterans.
Kentucky’s economy was built on industries that relied heavily on asbestos, such as power plants, auto manufacturing, and construction. OSHA may have regulated asbestos exposure since 1972, but it never tracked legacy exposure. As a result, millions of workers remain uncounted in any federal health record. A National Occupational Exposure Registry under the CDC could finally document these histories, preserving data that could help identify high-risk populations.
The damage didn’t stop at the gates of factories or military bases. The families of workers and military personnel were exposed indirectly through laundry covered in asbestos dust or through contaminated base housing. Spouses who developed mesothelioma or peritoneal cancers from secondary asbestos exposure are rarely recognized as victims. A Secondary Exposure Module within the CDC’s surveillance programs could correct that injustice.
The Path Forward
We don’t need to build a new bureaucracy because these registries already exist, hidden across the VA, the CDC, and the DoD. All we need is the courage and accountancy to connect the dots.
Creating a Mesothelioma Registry under VA-DoD collaboration, alongside a National Occupational Asbestos Exposure Registry operated by the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), would finally bring the truth into daylight. Moreover,
by allowing companies and federal contractors to release historical employment rosters without penalty, the government could finally verify decades of exposure that are now hidden.
Banning asbestos protects the future, but unless we track those already exposed, the past will keep killing silently. Our veterans, workers, and their families deserve better than a shadow registry. They deserve recognition, accountability, and a fighting chance at life.
Jonathan Sharp is the CFO of the Environmental Litigation Group P.C., a law firm in Birmingham, Alabama, that provides legal services to victims exposed to toxic chemicals.
