Maryland Mesothelioma by the Numbers: Sparrows Point, Shipyards, and Baltimore

Maryland’s asbestos burden is concentrated in the Baltimore region. The Bethlehem Steel complex at Sparrows Point operated as both a steel mill and a shipyard for more than a century, from 1887 until the steel plant’s 2012 closure and the earlier 1997 end of shipbuilding. Across that span, thousands of steelworkers, shipfitters, pipefitters, insulators, welders, and boilermakers worked with or around asbestos-containing insulation, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and refractory materials.

Federal and state data tell the story in deaths rather than diagnoses. Between 1999 and 2017, Maryland recorded 916 mesothelioma deaths out of 5,236 total asbestos-related deaths. Baltimore County alone posted a combined asbestos-disease death rate of 9.0 per 100,000, nearly twice the national figure of 4.9 per 100,000.

State and County Data

County-level mesothelioma incidence in Maryland ranges from roughly 0.4 to 0.9 per 100,000 (age-adjusted, 2018-2022) depending on the county. Statewide mesothelioma incidence totals are not published as a single age-adjusted rate in the Maryland EPHT portal, so mortality counts from CDC data are the most reliable statewide measure.

Where Exposure Happened

Maryland’s mesothelioma burden traces to a handful of industrial corridors, most of them on or near the Patapsco River and Chesapeake Bay.

Bethlehem Steel Sparrows Point

Sparrows Point opened in 1887 as the Maryland Steel Company and was acquired by Bethlehem Steel in 1916. At peak, the site was one of the largest integrated steel and shipbuilding complexes in the world. Shipbuilding ran from the early 1890s through 1997. Steelmaking continued until 2012.

Workers at the Sparrows Point shipyard handled asbestos across nearly every vessel they built or repaired. Insulation for boilers, engines, pipes, bulkheads, and decks contained asbestos. Gaskets and packing released dust when cut or replaced. Electrical components often used asbestos insulation. Cramped, poorly ventilated shipboard spaces concentrated exposure for welders, pipefitters, insulators, and machinists. Navy procurement rules required asbestos on vessels through the middle of the 20th century, so every Sparrows Point shipyard worker building Navy or merchant hulls encountered it.

On the steel side, Sparrows Point’s furnaces, rolling mills, and crane systems used asbestos refractories, insulation, and brake linings. Crane-brake litigation alone produced hundreds of Sparrows Point asbestos claims. Those exposures continue to drive Maryland mesothelioma diagnoses and deaths in the 2020s because of the disease’s 20 to 60 year latency.

Port of Baltimore Shipyards

Beyond Sparrows Point, the Port of Baltimore hosted additional shipyards including Key Highway Shipyard and other Patapsco River facilities. The same asbestos-containing materials, insulation, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, were present across these sites, exposing another layer of Maryland shipbuilders, repair crews, and contractors. Baltimore shipyard workers share exposure profiles with those at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and Pittsburgh steel mills, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and other East Coast maritime facilities.

Baltimore-Based Insulation Contractors

Two Baltimore insulation contractors, Porter-Hayden Company and Wallace & Gale Company, installed asbestos products across Maryland industrial, commercial, and school buildings for decades. Both companies later filed for bankruptcy, and both are now represented by asbestos bankruptcy trusts documented in the Maryland asbestos trust funds overview. Their installation histories are the reason Sparrows Point, Loch Raven High School in Baltimore County, and many other Maryland sites appear repeatedly in asbestos court records.

Pre-1980 Maryland Construction

Maryland schools, hospitals, office buildings, and industrial plants built before 1980 routinely used asbestos in pipe and block insulation, floor tiles, roofing, and fireproofing. Insulators, pipefitters, electricians, and construction laborers working on these buildings faced daily exposure. The Busch v. Wallace & Gale Asbestos Settlement Trust case, which involved construction at Loch Raven High School in Baltimore County, is one documented example.

Who Is Most at Risk

• Sparrows Point steel and shipyard workers across roughly a century of operations
• Baltimore Port shipyard workers at Key Highway and other Patapsco River yards
• Insulators, pipefitters, and steamfitters statewide, particularly those who installed Porter-Hayden or Wallace & Gale products
• Boilermakers and machinists at Maryland power plants and industrial facilities
• Construction tradespeople working in pre-1980 schools, hospitals, and commercial buildings
• Family members of Sparrows Point and shipyard workers, exposed by asbestos carried home on work clothes

Legal and Compensation Context

Maryland workers and their families typically recover through a combination of bankruptcy trust claims and traditional lawsuits. The Maryland asbestos trust funds overview covers the Porter-Hayden, Wallace & Gale, and national trusts most relevant to Sparrows Point and shipyard workers. The Maryland verdicts and settlements overview covers documented case outcomes, including the $14.5 million Busch steamfitter verdict and the $1.56 billion Cherie Craft talc verdict in Baltimore City against Johnson & Johnson.