Frances Barras of
Mrs. Barras's husband, Louis Barras, was a refinery worker at the Beaumont DuPont facility between 1957 and 1985. She washed her husband's dusty work clothes, not knowing that they were covered with asbestos fibers. Mrs. Barras now suffers from asbestos-related pleural mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer that attacks the lining of the lungs.
Mrs. Barras has sued the asbestos manufacturers, like Union Carbide, Anchor Packing Company, Guard-Line, Ingersoll-Rand and Owens-Illinois, that provided products to the DuPont facility and exposed her husband to asbestos without providing proper warnings that would have allowed him to protect himself and his family.
She also has sued her husband's employer, DuPont, because DuPont knew or should have known of the danger of asbestos exposure as well. It has been widely publicized in industry literature since the early part of the century that providing showers and laundry services on site could prevent workers from carrying home industrial toxins to their spouses and children.
Baron & Budd attorney Ben DuBose said, "If DuPont had required use of these simple services, it would have protected Mrs. Barras as well as the families of other DuPont workers."
The case, which was filed on February 11, has been assigned to
