Fisher Controls: Asbestos-Containing Valves and Steam Traps

Company History

Fisher Controls is an American manufacturer with a long history of producing industrial flow control equipment, including valves, regulators, actuators, and related process control components. The company operated as an independent manufacturer for much of the twentieth century before becoming part of larger industrial conglomerates. Fisher Controls products were sold under the Fisher brand and were recognized throughout the petrochemical, refining, power generation, and manufacturing industries as standard equipment for controlling steam, gas, and liquid flow in process systems.

During the postwar industrial expansion of the 1940s through the 1970s, Fisher Controls products were installed across virtually every category of heavy American industry. Refineries, chemical plants, paper mills, shipyards, and electrical generating stations relied on Fisher-branded valves and steam traps as core components of pressurized piping systems. The widespread use of these products across decades of industrial construction placed Fisher Controls components in proximity to large numbers of tradespeople, including pipefitters, steamfitters, millwrights, boilermakers, and industrial maintenance workers.

Like many manufacturers of fluid handling equipment during this era, Fisher Controls incorporated asbestos-containing materials into certain products as a standard engineering practice. Asbestos was valued in valve and steam trap applications for its resistance to heat, pressure, and chemical degradation — properties that made it an attractive packing and gasket material in high-temperature, high-pressure service environments. According to asbestos litigation records, this practice continued in some product lines through approximately the early 1980s, consistent with broader industry patterns that preceded tightened federal regulation of asbestos in the workplace.

Asbestos-Containing Products

According to asbestos litigation records, Fisher Controls manufactured or supplied valves and steam traps that incorporated asbestos-containing internal components, most commonly in the form of valve packing, stem packing, and gasket materials used to maintain pressure seals within the valve body assembly.

Valve Packing and Stem Packing

Plaintiffs alleged that Fisher Controls valves used in steam and high-temperature service were assembled with braided asbestos packing material packed around the valve stem to prevent leakage at the stuffing box. This type of packing was a conventional feature of industrial valves designed for steam service through much of the mid-twentieth century. Court filings document that workers who regularly operated, adjusted, repacked, or maintained Fisher Controls valves in steam service environments encountered this material. The act of removing worn packing, cutting new packing rings, and driving packing into a stuffing box could release respirable asbestos fibers, particularly when the old packing had dried and deteriorated under service conditions.

Valve Body and Bonnet Gaskets

Plaintiffs alleged that Fisher Controls valves incorporated asbestos-containing flat sheet gaskets at body-to-bonnet connections and at flange joints. Court filings document that these gaskets were subject to removal and replacement during routine valve maintenance, overhaul, and repair. Scraping hardened gasket material from metal mating surfaces — a necessary preparatory step before installing replacement gaskets — has been identified in occupational health literature as a task with significant fiber release potential.

Steam Trap Internal Components

According to asbestos litigation records, certain Fisher Controls steam traps used in industrial piping systems contained asbestos-containing seat gaskets and internal sealing components. Steam traps are mechanical devices installed in steam distribution systems to discharge condensate and non-condensable gases while retaining live steam. They are subject to regular inspection and periodic replacement in industrial maintenance programs. Plaintiffs alleged that the servicing and replacement of Fisher Controls steam trap components brought maintenance workers and pipefitters into contact with deteriorated asbestos-containing materials.

It is important to note that the internal packing and gasket materials used in valves and steam traps were sometimes supplied by third-party manufacturers rather than produced in-house by the valve maker. In litigation, questions of product identity and the precise sourcing of asbestos-containing components have been raised and contested. The presence of asbestos in Fisher Controls products, as described in this article, reflects allegations and records from asbestos litigation and should not be read as a judicial determination of liability.

Occupational Exposure

The occupations most frequently identified in asbestos litigation records as potentially exposed to Fisher Controls valves and steam traps include:

  • Pipefitters and steamfitters, who installed, tested, adjusted, and maintained valve assemblies in steam and process piping systems throughout industrial facilities
  • Millwrights, who performed mechanical maintenance and overhaul of process equipment including control valves in chemical and manufacturing plants
  • Boilermakers, who worked in boiler rooms and steam generating systems where valve and steam trap maintenance was routine
  • Industrial maintenance workers and mechanics, employed at refineries, paper mills, utilities, and manufacturing facilities who performed valve repacking and steam trap replacement as part of regular preventive maintenance programs
  • Insulation workers, who worked in close proximity to valve and steam trap assemblies on insulated piping systems and were sometimes involved in removing insulation to access valves for service
  • Shipyard workers, whose vessel construction and repair work involved extensive steam system installation and maintenance in confined spaces where fiber concentrations could be elevated

Court filings document that Fisher Controls valves and steam traps were installed in a broad range of industrial environments including petroleum refineries, chemical processing facilities, electric power generating stations, pulp and paper mills, steel mills, and naval and commercial shipbuilding facilities. The duration and intensity of potential exposure varied depending on the worker’s specific trade, the frequency of valve maintenance tasks, the age and condition of the equipment, and whether effective engineering controls or respiratory protection were in use at the time.

Asbestos-containing valve packing and gasket materials do not generally present a significant hazard when undisturbed and sealed within an assembled valve body under normal operating conditions. The exposure risk identified in litigation records is associated with maintenance and repair activities — specifically, those tasks that require disassembly of valve components, removal of old packing or gasket material, and preparation of mating surfaces. These activities were performed repeatedly over the working careers of many tradespeople in industrial settings throughout the mid-twentieth century.

Fisher Controls is classified as a Tier 2 manufacturer for purposes of this reference — meaning that asbestos-related claims involving Fisher Controls products have been pursued through civil litigation, but Fisher Controls has not established a dedicated asbestos bankruptcy trust fund as of the time of this writing. This distinguishes the company from manufacturers such as Johns-Manville, Armstrong World Industries, or Owens Corning, which reorganized under Chapter 11 bankruptcy and established Section 524(g) trusts to compensate claimants.

Because no Fisher Controls asbestos trust fund exists, individuals who believe they were exposed to asbestos through Fisher Controls products and who have developed a related illness — such as mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease — would generally need to pursue claims through direct civil litigation rather than trust fund submission.

According to asbestos litigation records, Fisher Controls has been named as a defendant in asbestos personal injury cases filed by workers who alleged exposure through valve and steam trap maintenance activities. As with most multi-defendant asbestos cases, claims involving Fisher Controls are typically filed alongside claims against other manufacturers whose products were present at the same worksite. An experienced asbestos attorney can assess which defendants are appropriate for a given case based on the worker’s documented exposure history, trade, and work locations.

Summary: What Workers and Families Should Know

If you or a family member worked as a pipefitter, steamfitter, millwright, boilermaker, or industrial maintenance worker at a refinery, power plant, chemical facility, shipyard, or similar industrial site between approximately the 1940s and early 1980s, and your work involved repacking valves, replacing steam trap components, or removing and installing valve gaskets, you may have encountered asbestos-containing materials in Fisher Controls products.

Key points:

  • Fisher Controls has been named in asbestos litigation in connection with valves and steam traps alleged to contain asbestos packing and gasket materials.
  • No Fisher Controls asbestos bankruptcy trust fund exists; compensation for exposure claims is pursued through civil litigation.
  • Diseases linked to occupational asbestos exposure — including mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis — can take decades to develop after initial exposure, meaning workers from the 1950s through the 1980s may only recently have received a diagnosis.
  • An attorney who handles asbestos cases can review your work history, identify all potentially responsible product manufacturers, and advise on whether and how to proceed with a claim.

This article is intended as a factual reference resource for workers, families, and legal professionals researching historical asbestos exposure. It does not constitute legal advice, and the information presented reflects allegations and records from asbestos litigation rather than judicial findings of liability against Fisher Controls.