Steel Mills & Asbestos Exposure

When the industrial properties of asbestos were first introduced just before the Civil War it was considered a miracle mineral.  It is tough, resilient, yet sufficiently pliable in some forms to allow the mineral fibers to be woven.  Asbestos will not burn in any flame and has excellent insulation properties as well.  It is the perfect raw material for insulation around industrial sites that use heat, in ship engine rooms, and with large boilers used to heat buildings with hot water or steam.

The Dangers of Asbestos Exposure

It is also a potent carcinogen that has affected tens of thousands of people who worked around asbestos installations that gave off fibers from worn or stressed asbestos materials.  Because asbestos can be woven it was utilized for all manner of insulation fabric, including aprons, gloves and clothing to protect people who worked in places like refineries, chemical plants – and steel mills.  Scores of individuals who handled manufactured steel and steel products developed asbestosis or asbestos cancer, also
known as mesothelioma.  Because mesothelioma can take forty years to develop after asbestos exposure, many retired steel workers are getting sick today.

Asbestos and Steelworkers

The rise and fall of the steel industry in the United States coincided with a similar curve illustrating the fate of the asbestos industry.  Asbestos production was at its peak in the 1950s, as was American steel production.  The hundreds of steel mills and fabrication shops used asbestos as insulation for buildings, furnaces, forges, and other steel processing equipment.  Thousands of workers were fitted out with asbestos clothing or gloves or aprons to protect them from heat exposure.  Thousands more working in fabricating shops had similar experiences because asbestos gloves, aprons and hats were worn by welders and steel finishers just as they were by steel workers operating blast furnaces and rolling mills.

Bankruptcy Protection for the Steel Companies

Many of the American steel giants of the twentieth century have filed for bankruptcy because of foreign competition that offered cheaper steel produced quickly.  There were also bankruptcy filings because of massive environmental problems spawned by obsolete mills and manufacturing facilities, and because of lawsuits filed by steelworkers over asbestos exposure.  Bankruptcy does not protect a steel company from paying liability damages for asbestos exposure, it only delays the process.

Bethlehem Steel and LTV are two major firms that sought bankruptcy protection.  Bethlehem was not only a steel company; it was a major manufacturer of ships during World War II and beyond.  Sailors and shipyard workers are two of the most vulnerable professions for asbestos cancer.  Steel workers are also high in the ranks of the most vulnerable professions to asbestos cancer and asbestosis.

Legal Rights of Steelworkers with Asbestos Diseases

Sometimes it is difficult to follow businesses that have closed or sought bankruptcy protection and then been acquired by other companies.  There has been a great deal of consolidation in the steel industry, making it difficult to trace companies by old names.  If you would like to see a list of steel bankruptcies dating back to 1997 you can find one here. 

If you have developed an asbestos related disease and would like to speak with an attorney about your rights to compensation, fill out the brief form on this page or give us a call.  One of our attorneys will be in touch, one who is experienced in damage claims against steel companies, bankrupt or not.