Pars Mfg Co — Asbestos-Containing Gaskets and Packing Products

Company History

Pars Mfg Co was an American manufacturer of industrial gaskets and packing materials that supplied components to a range of industrial, mechanical, and construction applications during the mid-to-late twentieth century. The company’s precise founding date has not been established in publicly available records, but court filings document its presence in the industrial gasket and packing market during a period when asbestos-reinforced materials were standard across the American manufacturing sector.

From the 1940s through the early 1980s, asbestos was widely regarded as the preferred reinforcing and sealing material for gaskets and packing products intended for high-temperature, high-pressure environments. Manufacturers operating in this product category — including companies supplying pipefitters, boilermakers, refinery workers, and maintenance personnel — routinely incorporated chrysotile and other asbestos fiber types into their product lines. According to asbestos litigation records, Pars Mfg Co was among the industrial gasket suppliers whose products appeared on American worksites during this era.

Pars Mfg Co is believed to have ceased incorporating asbestos into its products at approximately the same time as much of the broader gasket and packing industry — around the early 1980s — coinciding with tightening federal regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), as well as growing scientific consensus regarding the health hazards of asbestos fiber inhalation. The company does not appear to have established an asbestos bankruptcy trust fund, meaning any claims arising from alleged exposure to its products would proceed through the traditional civil litigation process.

Asbestos-Containing Products

According to asbestos litigation records, Pars Mfg Co manufactured gaskets and packing materials that plaintiffs alleged contained asbestos fiber as a functional component. Gaskets and packing products in this product category typically served as sealing elements in flanged pipe connections, valve stems, pump housings, heat exchangers, boilers, and pressure vessels — applications where the material’s compressibility, chemical resistance, and thermal stability were critical to safe operation.

Plaintiffs alleged that Pars Mfg Co’s gasket and packing products were manufactured to meet the demanding requirements of industrial environments, and that asbestos content was integral to achieving the necessary performance characteristics. Court filings document that these products were distributed to industrial accounts including refineries, chemical processing plants, power generation facilities, shipyards, and general manufacturing operations.

Although specific product names, model numbers, or detailed formulation records for Pars Mfg Co products have not been comprehensively documented in publicly available sources, the general construction of asbestos-containing compressed sheet gaskets and braided or die-formed packing materials in this era is well characterized. Such products typically contained between 10 and 80 percent asbestos fiber by weight, bound with rubber, synthetic resin, or inorganic binder systems. The asbestos fiber used most commonly in industrial gaskets was chrysotile (white asbestos), though amosite and other fiber types appeared in specialty formulations intended for particularly demanding thermal or chemical service conditions.

Individuals researching exposure history involving Pars Mfg Co products are encouraged to consult employment records, union records, facility maintenance logs, and any available product purchase orders or invoices that may identify the specific products used at a given worksite.

Occupational Exposure

Court filings document that workers in several trades and industries alleged occupational exposure to asbestos fibers released during the routine handling, cutting, and installation of Pars Mfg Co gaskets and packing materials. The following occupational groups have appeared in asbestos litigation records in connection with gasket and packing products from this era:

Pipefitters and Steamfitters: Plaintiffs alleged that workers in these trades routinely cut sheet gaskets to fit flanged connections using knives, scissors, or grinding tools, generating respirable asbestos dust in enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces such as equipment rooms, pipe chases, and below-deck shipboard compartments.

Boilermakers: Court filings document allegations that boilermakers removing and replacing gaskets and packing on boiler manholes, handhole covers, and associated piping regularly disturbed asbestos-containing materials, releasing fiber into the breathing zone.

Millwrights and Maintenance Mechanics: Plaintiffs alleged that millwrights and plant maintenance personnel who serviced pumps, compressors, and process equipment were required to remove old gaskets — often using wire brushes, scrapers, or pneumatic tools — before installing new sealing components, a process described in litigation as particularly fiber-generating.

Refinery and Chemical Plant Workers: According to asbestos litigation records, workers at petroleum refineries and chemical processing facilities alleged cumulative exposure to asbestos-containing gaskets and packing materials used throughout process piping systems, where maintenance cycles required frequent gasket replacement under conditions of heat and pressure.

Power Plant Workers: Plaintiffs employed at coal-fired and nuclear power generating stations alleged exposure to asbestos gaskets and packing used in turbine systems, feedwater lines, and high-pressure steam headers.

Shipyard Workers: Court filings document allegations from shipyard tradesmen who installed and maintained machinery and piping systems aboard naval and commercial vessels during World War II and the postwar construction boom, a period when asbestos-containing gaskets and packing were virtually universal in marine applications.

The health hazards associated with asbestos fiber inhalation are well established in the medical and regulatory literature. Prolonged or repeated exposure to respirable asbestos fibers has been linked to mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, and other serious diseases, with latency periods that frequently extend 20 to 50 years between initial exposure and clinical diagnosis. Regulatory agencies including OSHA and the EPA have recognized that no safe threshold for asbestos fiber inhalation has been identified.

Workers and family members who believe they may have been exposed to asbestos-containing products manufactured by Pars Mfg Co or other gasket and packing suppliers during this era should discuss their exposure history with a qualified physician and, if applicable, an attorney with experience in asbestos-related disease claims.

Pars Mfg Co does not appear to have filed for asbestos-related bankruptcy, and no Pars Mfg Co asbestos trust fund has been identified in publicly available trust fund records maintained by the RAND Corporation, plaintiff attorney databases, or federal bankruptcy court filings. This distinguishes Pars Mfg Co from a number of larger asbestos defendants — including manufacturers such as Johns Manville, Owens Corning, and Armstrong World Industries — who resolved their asbestos liabilities through Chapter 11 reorganization and the creation of federally supervised compensation trusts.

Because no trust fund exists, individuals asserting claims based on exposure to Pars Mfg Co products would generally pursue recovery through civil tort litigation in the court system. According to asbestos litigation records, Pars Mfg Co has appeared as a named defendant in asbestos personal injury actions. Plaintiffs alleged that the company manufactured and distributed asbestos-containing gaskets and packing products, that those products released respirable asbestos fibers under foreseeable conditions of use, and that the company knew or should have known of the associated health hazards during the relevant exposure period. Court filings document that these claims were litigated in the context of multi-defendant asbestos dockets alongside other gasket manufacturers, raw fiber suppliers, and premises defendants.

Whether Pars Mfg Co remains an active defendant in ongoing asbestos litigation, and the current status of any pending or resolved claims against the company, should be confirmed through consultation with a licensed asbestos litigation attorney who can access current court docket information and defendant status databases.

Summary: What Exposed Workers and Families Should Know

If you or a family member worked as a pipefitter, boilermaker, refinery worker, maintenance mechanic, or in any trade that involved handling compressed sheet gaskets or braided packing products, you may have encountered asbestos-containing materials from Pars Mfg Co or similar industrial suppliers during the 1940s through the early 1980s.

Key points to understand:

  • No asbestos trust fund exists for Pars Mfg Co. Claims cannot be filed through a trust fund process; potential legal remedies would be pursued through civil litigation.
  • Statutes of limitations apply. Deadlines for filing asbestos-related personal injury or wrongful death claims vary by state and generally begin running from the date of diagnosis or discovery of the disease, not the date of exposure. Prompt legal consultation is important.
  • Documentation matters. Employment records, union cards, Social Security work history reports, co-worker affidavits, and facility records that place a claimant at a specific worksite during specific dates are central to establishing exposure history in litigation.
  • Multiple defendants are common. Asbestos personal injury cases typically involve claims against numerous product manufacturers and premises defendants, and compensation may be available from trust funds established by other companies even if Pars Mfg Co itself has no trust.

An attorney experienced in asbestos litigation can evaluate whether a civil claim against Pars Mfg Co or other defendants is appropriate based on your individual exposure history and diagnosis.