Asbestos in Refineries

Heaters and furnaces were lined with refractory materials and insulated with asbestos products. Distillation columns, reactors and storage tanks carried thick insulation. Thousands of feet of steam and process piping were wrapped in asbestos pipe covering. Pumps, valves, flanges and heat exchangers used asbestos gaskets and packing to seal joints against heat and pressure. Protective gear such as gloves and blankets sometimes contained asbestos too. Each piece of equipment needed regular maintenance, so exposure was ongoing rather than limited to construction. Hot equipment often cracked insulation, and maintenance crews patched it constantly. Refractory work inside furnaces added more dust.

A turnaround is a planned shutdown when units are opened, inspected and repaired. During these periods, hundreds or thousands of workers could be on site, many employed by outside contractors. Insulation was stripped, gaskets were scraped off flanges and replaced, and new insulation was applied. Dust spread across work areas where many trades overlapped. Contractors sometimes moved between several refineries in a region, so a single worker might have exposure at multiple sites over a career. Long shifts and overtime during turnarounds meant many hours of exposure packed into a few weeks. Workers often ate and rested near the units where they worked.

Refinery employment can be documented through company records, union dispatch records and Social Security earnings histories that list employers. Because many refineries have appeared in earlier asbestos cases, information about products used at specific sites may already be available to investigators. Coworkers can confirm what equipment you worked on. If you worked for a contractor, list both the contractor and each refinery site, along with the units you remember and the types of work performed. Photos, safety cards and site badges can help confirm dates. Even a rough list of units, such as crude, cat cracker or coker, gives investigators a starting point.

1. 1

   List each refinery where you worked and the units or areas you remember.

2. 2

   Record the contracting companies that employed you during turnarounds.

3. 3

   Describe tasks such as gasket scraping, insulation removal or furnace repair.

4. 4

   Request your Social Security earnings record to confirm employers and years.