Asbestos Exposure and Mesothelioma in Indiana
Many worksites in Indiana, such as oil refineries and steel mills, resulted in asbestos exposure and an elevated risk of developing mesothelioma in workers and their family members. Even if you haven’t worked in a refinery, steel mill, or manufacturing plant in Indiana for many decades, you still could be at risk because it takes time, often decades, for symptoms to develop. Asbestos, originally valued for its heat-resistant properties, has left a harmful legacy—some of those at risk have yet to become ill from exposure.
The experienced legal professionals at MesoLawyersCare have successfully recovered money awards for workers and their families who have been injured (including from mesothelioma) by jobsite exposure to asbestos in Indiana and throughout the nation. While individuals can be exposed to asbestos in a number of ways, such as repairing machinery in manufacturing plants, the following list of worksites in Indiana present elevated risks for exposure to past and present workers and their family members.
1. Amoco Refinery – Whiting, IN
Located on the southwest shore of Lake Michigan, Amoco Refinery is an oil refinery that produces gasoline. In 1889, Standard Oil of Indiana opened the refinery, which later became part of Amoco. By the 1950s, Amoco was the largest oil company in America. Now owned by British Petroleum, the 1,400 acre refinery can produce enough gasoline per day to fuel 7 million cars. Before it was phased out in the 1980s, asbestos was used heavily in oil refineries like the Amoco Refinery because it was effective at insulating from heat. The high temperatures required in oil refining meant pipes, tanks, boilers, furnaces, and pumps were insulated and sealed with asbestos. As asbestos aged, and was replaced, it became airborne which resulted in employees and maintenance workers inhaling toxic asbestos particles which caused deadly diseases, such as mesothelioma. Family members of workers were also put at risk when they were exposed to asbestos dust workers carried home on their clothes.
2. GM Central Foundry – Bedford, IN
GM Central Foundry is located in Bedford, a town in south central Indiana. It is one of the world’s leading aluminum die casting facilities. The GM Central Foundry Bedford Casting operations uses an aluminum die cast process to manufacture transmission casings, converter housings, head, and small engine blocks. These automobile parts are used in Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac cars. GM factories often produced products using asbestos-containing parts such as head gaskets and brake linings. Additionally, the factories used asbestos insulation and gaskets in their heavy equipment and machinery. As a result, auto workers and warehouse employees, brake and clutch assemblers, and machinery maintenance workers were endangered by asbestos exposure as GM failed to warn them of its dangerous likelihood of causing fatal asbestos related illnesses.
3. Bethlehem Steel – Burns Harbor, IN
In 1904, Bethlehem Steel Corporation began operations as a steel and shipbuilding company. In time, Bethlehem Steel became the second largest steel provider in the nation. During World War I and II, the company made steel armor plates for warships, airplane forgings, and cannon forgings. In the 1960s, the company built its large Burns Harbor Steel Mill on the shores of Lake Michigan. Due to financial troubles, the mill was eventually purchased by the International Steel Group in the early 2000s. Many Bethlehem Steel workers who worked at the mill prior to the 1990s were exposed to harmful asbestos used throughout the mill and have suffered from serious asbestos illnesses including mesothelioma. The workers were exposed to asbestos that lined and sealed blast furnaces, piping, ovens, strip mills, and oxygen furnaces.
4. Cummins Engine – Columbus, IN
Cummins Engine Company was founded in 1919 by Clessie Cummins who was a local mechanic in Columbus, Indiana. Cummins Engine built engines for cars, trains, and trucks. Today Cummins also manufactures turbocharges and other pieces for diesel engines, as well as components used in vehicles such as alternators, transfer switches, and power generation systems. Prior to the late1980s, many manufacturing plants like Cummins Engine used asbestos products to provide insulation and gaskets for production lines. Also, diesel engines have historically used asbestos-containing gaskets which put workers at risk of inhaling asbestos fibers. Even those who were indirectly in contact with the fibers, such as family members of Cummins Engine workers, have developed mesothelioma and other illnesses associated with the substance. By no fault of their own, too many of these workers and their family members have been diagnosed with mesothelioma because corporations failed to give proper warnings.
5. Youngstown Sheet & Tube – East Chicago, IN
Headquartered in Youngstown, Ohio in 1900, Youngstown Sheet & Tube was a large steel company. In the 1920s, the company acquired plants in East Chicago, Indiana and became the leading employer in the area. At its peak in the 1970s, the company employee around 10,000 employees just in the Chicago area (at the East and South plants). However, the slump of the steel market in the 1980s and 90s, took its toll on the company which led to bankruptcy and layoffs. Still, thousands of employees working at Youngstown Sheet & Tube facilities before the 1980s were potentially exposed to dangerous levels of asbestos. Asbestos containing materials were incorporated into equipment used in steel production leaving those who worked with, around, or repaired that equipment in danger of developing often fatal asbestos related illnesses.
The attorneys from MesoLawyersCare have recovered more than $10 billion dollars for people diagnosed with mesothelioma. Our firm has successfully represented workers exposed to asbestos at worksites in Indiana, neighboring states and throughout the nation. For more information or a free consultation, fill out the form on this page, have a live chat now with one of our representatives, or call our offices.
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