Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. — Asbestos Product Reference

Company History

Chicago Bridge & Iron Company (CB&I) stands as one of the most significant industrial construction and engineering firms in American history. Founded in Chicago, Illinois, the company built its reputation across more than a century of large-scale industrial projects, including the design and construction of storage tanks, pressure vessels, refineries, chemical processing facilities, and liquefied natural gas infrastructure. Over the course of the twentieth century, CB&I expanded from its Midwestern origins into a global engineering contractor, completing projects across oil and gas, petrochemical, power generation, and water treatment industries throughout the United States and abroad.

CB&I’s reach on American jobsites was substantial. The company functioned not only as a general contractor but also as a fabricator and installer, placing its workers—and the workers of subcontractors—in direct contact with a wide range of industrial materials common to construction in the mid-twentieth century. Like many large industrial contractors of its era, CB&I operated extensively during the decades when asbestos-containing materials were considered standard components of industrial insulation systems, particularly in high-heat and high-pressure environments such as refineries and chemical plants.

The company is believed to have ceased substantial use of asbestos-containing materials in its construction operations by approximately the early 1980s, coinciding with federal regulatory actions that increasingly restricted asbestos use in occupational settings, including guidelines issued under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Asbestos-Containing Products

According to asbestos litigation records, CB&I’s work involved the installation and use of pipe insulation and related thermal insulation materials that plaintiffs alleged contained asbestos. Court filings document that workers employed on CB&I projects encountered asbestos-containing pipe covering, block insulation, and fitting insulation in the course of routine construction and maintenance work at industrial facilities.

Plaintiffs alleged that pipe insulation applied during the construction of refineries, chemical processing plants, and storage facilities included materials with significant asbestos content. In large-scale industrial construction of the 1940s through 1970s, asbestos-containing pipe insulation was widely regarded as the industry-standard solution for protecting high-temperature piping systems. Calcium silicate, magnesia, and other pipe-covering products frequently contained asbestos fibers, and court filings from litigation involving CB&I reflect allegations that such materials were present on the company’s worksites.

According to asbestos litigation records, CB&I workers and co-workers at CB&I-managed project sites encountered asbestos during activities including the cutting, fitting, and application of pipe insulation sections; the removal and replacement of insulation during maintenance and turnaround operations; and the general disturbance of previously installed insulation in enclosed or confined spaces. These activities are recognized under industrial hygiene research as among the highest-risk scenarios for asbestos fiber release and inhalation.

It is important to note that, as a contractor rather than a manufacturer of asbestos-containing products, CB&I’s documented role in litigation has generally involved the specification, procurement, and installation of asbestos materials manufactured by third parties. Plaintiffs alleged that CB&I directed or supervised work in which asbestos-containing insulation was routinely handled without adequate protective measures during the periods at issue.

Occupational Exposure

The industrial worksites on which CB&I operated during the mid-twentieth century represent some of the environments most closely associated with occupational asbestos exposure in American history. Refineries, petrochemical complexes, liquefied natural gas facilities, and power generation plants all relied heavily on high-temperature piping systems requiring extensive thermal insulation. According to asbestos litigation records, workers at these facilities—including pipefitters, insulators, boilermakers, ironworkers, laborers, and maintenance personnel—experienced repeated and often prolonged contact with asbestos-containing pipe insulation throughout their working careers.

Court filings document that exposure occurred not only to workers directly handling insulation but also to so-called bystander workers—tradespeople working in adjacent areas while insulation was being cut, applied, or disturbed by others. In the industrial construction environment, multiple trades often worked simultaneously in close quarters, meaning that asbestos fiber release from one work activity could affect workers with no direct involvement in insulation tasks.

Plaintiffs alleged that during peak periods of CB&I’s industrial construction activity—broadly the 1950s through the late 1970s—respiratory protection was either absent, inadequate, or not routinely enforced at project sites. Industrial hygiene practices that are now understood as essential to controlling asbestos fiber concentrations, such as wet-cutting methods, enclosed work areas, and supplied-air respirators, were not standard practice at many large construction sites during those decades.

The latency period of asbestos-related diseases is a critical factor for workers and families researching CB&I exposure history. Mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, and pleural disease typically do not present clinically until ten to fifty years after the initial exposure event. Workers who handled pipe insulation on CB&I projects in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s may only now be receiving diagnoses linked to those historical exposures.

Occupational groups with documented or alleged exposure histories connected to CB&I worksites through litigation records include:

  • Pipe insulators and insulation mechanics who applied and removed pipe-covering materials
  • Pipefitters and plumbers who worked alongside insulation crews
  • Boilermakers and vessel erectors in refinery and chemical plant environments
  • Ironworkers and structural workers present during active insulation work
  • General construction laborers assigned to cleanup and site maintenance
  • Maintenance and turnaround workers who disturbed previously installed insulation systems during plant shutdowns

Court filings document that exposures at CB&I-managed construction and maintenance sites often occurred over the course of entire careers, as workers were employed on successive CB&I projects at facilities across multiple states.

Trust Fund / Legal Status

Chicago Bridge & Iron Company does not have a dedicated asbestos bankruptcy trust fund. CB&I has not filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 as a result of asbestos liabilities, and no asbestos settlement trust has been established in the company’s name through the federal bankruptcy process.

According to asbestos litigation records, CB&I has been named as a defendant in civil asbestos personal injury litigation filed on behalf of workers and their families. Plaintiffs alleged that the company bore responsibility for exposures that occurred during construction and maintenance operations at industrial facilities where its employees and subcontractor workers encountered asbestos-containing pipe insulation and related materials. Court filings document that these cases have proceeded through the civil tort system rather than through a bankruptcy reorganization process.

For individuals and families researching potential CB&I exposure, the relevant legal avenue is a civil asbestos personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit filed against CB&I directly, in addition to claims that may be available against the manufacturers of the specific asbestos-containing products used on CB&I projects. Many of those product manufacturers—including producers of pipe insulation and related thermal insulation materials—did file for bankruptcy and establish asbestos trust funds. Workers who can document exposure to specific insulation products on CB&I worksites may be eligible to file claims against one or more of those manufacturer trusts, separate from and in addition to any direct litigation involving CB&I.

If you or a family member worked on Chicago Bridge & Iron construction or maintenance projects and has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease, here is what the available record indicates:

  • No CB&I asbestos trust fund exists. Claims against CB&I itself must be pursued through civil litigation in the tort system.
  • Third-party trust fund claims may be available. The pipe insulation and thermal insulation products alleged to have been present on CB&I worksites were manufactured by companies that include entities which later filed for bankruptcy and created asbestos compensation trusts. Identifying the specific products present on your worksite is a key step in determining trust fund eligibility.
  • Employment and exposure documentation matters. Work history records, union membership records, co-worker testimony, and project documentation connecting an individual to specific CB&I jobsites during the relevant decades can support both civil claims and trust fund filings.
  • Latency is a recognized factor. Diagnoses occurring today may be legally connected to exposures that occurred decades ago. Statutes of limitations in asbestos cases generally run from the date of diagnosis, not the date of exposure, though rules vary by jurisdiction.
  • Consulting an asbestos attorney is advisable. An attorney experienced in asbestos litigation can evaluate the specific exposure history, identify applicable defendants and trust funds, and advise on the appropriate legal strategy for each individual situation.

Workers who spent careers in the refinery, petrochemical, and industrial construction sectors—the core environments of CB&I’s operations—represent a population that asbestos researchers and clinicians recognize as carrying elevated lifetime risk for asbestos-related disease. Thorough documentation of jobsite history is the essential first step toward understanding available legal and compensation options.