The firm's free job site database, now spanning nearly 100,000 locations, shows where America's asbestos exposure was concentrated and where families are still coming forward decades later.
CHESTNUT HILL, MA / ACCESS Newswire / September 9, 2026 / A new state-by-state analysis of the free Sokolove Law Asbestos Job Site Database finds that documented asbestos exposure sites are heavily concentrated in a handful of industrial states, with California, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, New York, and Illinois together accounting for more than 45% of the nearly 100,000 locations cataloged.
The mesothelioma law firm's database is free to search and requires no registration. It allows workers and their families to look up a former employer or job site by state, city, or company name to find out whether that location has a documented history of asbestos use.
Entries include shipyards, refineries, power plants, steel mills, manufacturing facilities, military installations, and many other types of workplaces.
Here are the top 10 states by documented asbestos work sites:
California: 9,778 job sites
Pennsylvania: 7,829 job sites
Ohio: 7,111 job sites
Texas: 6,641 job sites
New York: 6,463 job sites
Illinois: 5,566 job sites
New Jersey: 4,027 job sites
Michigan: 3,529 job sites
Massachusetts: 3,197 job sites
Indiana: 2,668 job sites
These top 10 states account for 59% of all documented asbestos job sites in the database compiled by Sokolove Law.
Adjusted for population, the picture shifts. West Virginia, which ranks 21st by raw count with 1,433 sites, has roughly 81 documented asbestos job sites per 100,000 residents - nearly 3 times the national rate of about 28 per 100,000.
Why the Concentration Matters
Mesothelioma can take 20 to 50 years to develop after a person's first exposure to asbestos, which means the industrial history captured in the database is only now producing diagnoses. Roughly 3,000 new mesothelioma cases are diagnosed in the United States each year.
"The map of where asbestos was used 50 years ago is the map of where families are getting this diagnosis today," said Ricky A. LeBlanc, Managing Attorney of Sokolove Law. "A retired boilermaker in Ohio or a shipyard worker in California often has no idea that the plant he worked at for 30 years has a documented asbestos history. That's the gap this database was built to close."
Identifying the source of exposure is frequently the hardest part of an asbestos claim. Many of the facilities involved have closed, been demolished, or changed hands multiple times, and the companies that manufactured the asbestos-containing products used on site may have gone through bankruptcy and reorganization under a different name.
"Clients often come to us apologizing because they are having trouble remembering the exact name of all the places they worked in the late 1960s," LeBlanc said. "It helps knowing where they worked, and this tool gives families a place to start that conversation. Of course, we can often confirm that through other documents as well, but again - it's a great place to start."
About the Sokolove Law Asbestos Job Site Database
The Sokolove Law Asbestos Job Site Database is free, requires no account or personal information to search, and covers all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. It is available without restriction at https://www.sokolovelaw.com/asbestos/job-site/.
Not finding an employer in the database doesn't mean there's no claim. Asbestos companies have often merged, reorganized, or changed names, particularly through bankruptcy, so the name a worker remembers may no longer exist on paper. The firm can help families understand their eligibility at no cost.
About Sokolove Law
Sokolove Law is a national personal injury and mesothelioma law firm headquartered in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Since 1979, the firm has helped people across the U.S. pursue justice and compensation in cases involving mesothelioma, birth injury, sexual abuse, nursing home neglect, and dangerous pharmaceuticals and devices, securing over $10 billion total. By helping clients nationwide, Sokolove Law aims to make the legal system accessible to everyone. Learn more at www.sokolovelaw.com.
Media Contact:
Audrey Fisher
Audrey@SokoloveLaw.com
SOURCE: Sokolove Law
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/industrial-and-manufacturing/over-45-of-asbestos-job-sites-are-in-just-6-states-sokolove-law-report-1218701
