Durez Plastics & Chemicals / Occidental Chemical

Company History

Durez Plastics & Chemicals was founded in 1938 and headquartered in North Tonawanda, New York, a manufacturing corridor along the Niagara River that became home to a dense concentration of industrial chemical and plastics operations in the mid-twentieth century. The company established itself as a significant producer of phenolic-resin compounds — synthetic thermosetting materials prized in American industry for their heat resistance, electrical insulating properties, and dimensional stability under mechanical stress.

Phenolic resins, first commercialized in the early twentieth century under the trade name Bakelite, found wide application across sectors ranging from electrical equipment manufacturing to automotive components to consumer appliance production. Durez grew within this expanding market by developing specialty formulations tailored to industrial molding operations and electrical-grade applications. By the postwar decades, Durez compounds were being supplied to fabricators and component manufacturers throughout the United States.

The company was subsequently acquired by Occidental Petroleum Corporation, the Los Angeles-based energy and chemical conglomerate, and its chemical operations were folded into what became Occidental Chemical Corporation. This corporate transition is relevant to exposure history research because it affects the chain of legal liability and successor-company responsibility that attorneys and claimants must trace when evaluating potential claims arising from Durez product use.

Durez’s documented use of asbestos as a filler and reinforcing agent in its phenolic molding compounds continued through approximately 1975, after which reformulation and regulatory pressure led to the phase-out of asbestos-containing formulations. The period of peak concern for occupational exposure spans roughly from the late 1940s through the mid-1970s.

Asbestos-Containing Products

According to asbestos litigation records, Durez Plastics & Chemicals manufactured and sold phenolic molding compounds that contained asbestos as a functional filler component. Asbestos — particularly chrysotile and, in some industrial-grade formulations, amphibole varieties — was incorporated into thermoset resin systems for several practical manufacturing reasons: it improved heat deflection temperatures, reduced shrinkage during molding, enhanced electrical arc resistance, and added mechanical strength to finished molded parts.

Court filings document that the following Durez product lines are associated with asbestos-containing formulations:

Durez Asbestos-Filled Phenolic Molding Compound This category of product represents the most directly documented source of asbestos exposure associated with Durez. Plaintiffs alleged that these molding compounds were sold to industrial fabricators and were processed in facilities where workers mixed, charged, and molded the material using compression or transfer molding equipment. The mechanical handling of granular or flake-form phenolic compound prior to and during the molding cycle generated airborne particulate that, according to plaintiffs, included respirable asbestos fibers.

Durez Electrical Grade Phenolics Phenolic compounds formulated for electrical applications were commonly used to produce switch housings, circuit breaker components, terminal boards, and insulating parts for motors and transformers. According to asbestos litigation records, electrical-grade phenolic formulations from multiple manufacturers during this era frequently incorporated asbestos to meet performance specifications around arc resistance and thermal stability. Plaintiffs alleged that Durez electrical-grade products fell within this category.

Durez Thermoset Resins Thermoset resin systems supplied by Durez were used as base materials by downstream manufacturers and compounders. Court filings document that some of these resin systems were used in conjunction with asbestos-containing filler packages, either compounded by Durez directly or combined at the point of use by industrial customers.

The asbestos content in phenolic molding compounds of this era typically ranged from a small percentage by weight up to significant filler loadings, depending on the performance specification of the end product. The fibrous nature of asbestos reinforcement — as opposed to particulate mineral fillers — meant that handling and processing these materials could release fiber bundles capable of becoming airborne.

Occupational Exposure

The workers most likely to have encountered Durez asbestos-containing phenolic compounds were those employed in plastics molding plants, electrical component manufacturing facilities, and industrial fabrication shops that purchased phenolic molding compound in bulk and processed it on-site.

Molding Plant Workers According to asbestos litigation records, workers at compression and transfer molding operations were among the most directly exposed population. The molding process typically involved handling bulk compound — often supplied in granular, powder, or pre-form tablet configurations — loading it into heated mold cavities under pressure, and then removing and trimming the finished parts. Each stage of this process, particularly the handling of loose compound and the grinding or trimming of molded flash, could generate dust containing asbestos fibers. Plaintiffs alleged that ventilation controls at many mid-century molding facilities were inadequate to reduce fiber exposure to safe levels.

Electricians and Electrical Component Workers Workers who fabricated or installed electrical components made from phenolic materials — including switchgear assemblers, motor winders, and maintenance electricians — may have had secondary contact with Durez electrical-grade phenolic parts. Cutting, drilling, grinding, or sanding hardened phenolic components could release asbestos fibers that had been locked into the resin matrix during molding.

Mixing and Compounding Employees In facilities where phenolic compounds were blended or custom-formulated, workers who handled raw asbestos fiber or asbestos-laden resin systems prior to compounding would have faced the highest potential fiber concentrations. Court filings document allegations that some Durez compounds were delivered in forms requiring on-site mixing or blending before processing.

Toolmakers and Die Setters Mold maintenance workers who cleaned, repaired, or adjusted compression molds used with asbestos-filled phenolics may have accumulated residual compound dust on equipment surfaces, creating a secondary exposure pathway during maintenance activities.

The latency period for asbestos-related disease — the time between first exposure and clinical diagnosis — typically ranges from ten to fifty years. Workers exposed to Durez phenolic compounds during peak production years in the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s may be presenting with diagnoses today, and family members who laundered work clothing contaminated with phenolic dust may also face elevated risk under the pattern of documented secondary (para-occupational) asbestos exposure recognized in the medical literature.

Trust Fund / Legal Status

No Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Has Been Established

Durez Plastics & Chemicals and its successor entity, Occidental Chemical Corporation, have not established a dedicated asbestos bankruptcy trust fund. Occidental Chemical has not undergone the Chapter 11 reorganization process that characterizes companies — such as Johns Manville, Armstrong World Industries, or Owens Corning — that resolved mass asbestos liability through the trust fund mechanism under 11 U.S.C. § 524(g).

According to asbestos litigation records, claims arising from alleged exposure to Durez asbestos-containing phenolic compounds have been pursued through conventional civil litigation rather than trust fund claim submissions. Plaintiffs alleged exposure at molding plants and electrical component manufacturing facilities, naming Durez and, where applicable, its corporate successor as defendants in personal injury actions involving asbestos-related diagnoses including mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis.

Because Occidental Chemical is a subsidiary of the ongoing Occidental Petroleum Corporation — a large, solvent enterprise — the litigation pathway rather than a trust fund process is the operative route for claimants. This distinction has practical significance: trust fund claims are processed administratively with documented exposure criteria and payment schedules, whereas civil litigation requires active legal proceedings, discovery, and either settlement negotiation or trial resolution.

For Workers and Families

If you or a family member worked at a plastics molding facility, an electrical component manufacturer, or any industrial operation that processed phenolic molding compound and received a diagnosis of mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease, reviewing employment records, purchasing records, and Material Safety Data Sheets from your workplace may help establish whether Durez products were in use during your employment period.

An experienced asbestos attorney can evaluate the available documentation, identify Durez and any co-defendant product manufacturers whose materials were present at the same worksite, and determine whether a civil claim against Occidental Chemical or other responsible parties is viable. Because statutes of limitations for asbestos personal injury claims vary by state and begin running from the date of diagnosis (not exposure), promptly consulting with qualified legal counsel is important.

Relevant exposure documentation to preserve or obtain includes: pay stubs and employment verification letters, union membership records and trade certifications, co-worker witness statements, purchasing invoices or material specifications identifying Durez compounds by name, and any industrial hygiene surveys conducted at the facility.

Durez Plastics & Chemicals operated as a manufacturer of phenolic molding compounds containing asbestos from the late 1930s through approximately 1975. According to asbestos litigation records, its products were used at industrial molding and electrical fabrication facilities across the United States. The company was acquired by Occidental Petroleum and has not established a bankruptcy trust; legal claims are pursued through civil litigation against the corporate successor, Occidental Chemical Corporation.