Pittsburgh Corning Corporation

Pittsburgh Corning Corporation manufactured pipe and block insulation products containing amosite asbestos from its founding in 1937 until it ceased asbestos use in 1972. The company’s flagship product, Unibestos, was installed across American industrial, commercial, and institutional jobsites for more than three decades. Workers who handled or worked near Unibestos insulation were exposed to amosite asbestos fibers — a fiber type classified by health researchers as among the most hazardous of the commercially used asbestos varieties. Pittsburgh Corning filed for bankruptcy protection in 2000 and has since established an active asbestos personal injury trust to compensate eligible claimants.

Company History

Pittsburgh Corning Corporation was formed in 1937 as a joint venture between two major American industrial companies: PPG Industries, Inc. (then Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company) and Corning Incorporated. The venture was created to develop and manufacture cellular glass insulation products, with manufacturing centered in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area.

By the early 1940s, Pittsburgh Corning had incorporated asbestos — specifically amosite, a brown amphibole fiber mined primarily in South Africa — into its insulation product lines. Amosite was valued in industrial insulation applications for its high heat resistance and durability. Pittsburgh Corning’s Unibestos line became widely specified for high-temperature pipe systems in power plants, refineries, chemical processing facilities, shipyards, and institutional buildings.

The company continued manufacturing asbestos-containing insulation products through 1972, when it ceased incorporating asbestos into its product formulations. As asbestos-related disease claims mounted over subsequent decades, Pittsburgh Corning faced substantial litigation. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2000. After years of proceedings, Pittsburgh Corning’s reorganization plan was confirmed, establishing a dedicated asbestos personal injury trust to resolve present and future claims.

Asbestos-Containing Products

Pittsburgh Corning Corporation manufactured the following documented asbestos-containing products:

Unibestos Pipe and Block Insulation

Unibestos was Pittsburgh Corning’s primary asbestos-containing product line and was sold in multiple configurations throughout the company’s production period. Laboratory analysis and product documentation establish that Unibestos pipe and block insulation contained approximately 40% amosite asbestos by composition. Amosite fibers are amphibole in structure — straight, needle-like fibers that, once inhaled, resist removal by the body’s natural clearance mechanisms and can remain lodged in lung tissue and pleural lining for decades.

Unibestos block insulation was used to insulate flat or irregular surfaces, including boiler casings, turbine housings, and large-diameter industrial equipment. It was manufactured in pre-formed sections designed for field cutting and fitting.

PC Unibestos Sectional Pipe Covering

PC Unibestos sectional pipe covering was manufactured in pre-molded half-shell sections designed to fit standard pipe diameters. Sections were applied directly to bare pipe surfaces and secured with wire or banding material before a finish jacket was applied. The product was specified for steam, condensate, and process piping systems operating at elevated temperatures.

Because sectional pipe covering required on-site cutting, fitting, and trimming to accommodate fittings, flanges, and valves, workers who installed or removed the product generated significant quantities of airborne asbestos-containing dust during normal work operations.

Occupational Exposure

Workers across a broad range of trades and industries encountered Pittsburgh Corning’s Unibestos products during installation, maintenance, and removal operations conducted from the late 1930s through the 1970s and beyond. Because asbestos-containing insulation was not commonly removed and replaced after its initial installation, bystander and maintenance exposures continued at many facilities well into the 1980s and 1990s.

Trades with documented Unibestos exposure histories include:

  • Pipefitters and steamfitters who specified, cut, and installed Unibestos sectional pipe covering on new construction and retrofit projects
  • Insulators who applied and finished Unibestos block and pipe insulation on industrial systems
  • Boilermakers who worked in close proximity to insulated boiler systems during installation and maintenance
  • Millwrights and maintenance mechanics who removed and replaced Unibestos insulation to access underlying pipe and equipment for repair
  • Shipyard workers who installed or worked near pipe insulation systems aboard naval vessels and commercial ships
  • Power plant workers — including operators, laborers, and tradesmen — at coal-fired and nuclear generating stations where Unibestos was widely specified for high-pressure steam systems
  • Refinery and chemical plant workers who encountered Unibestos on process piping throughout their careers
  • Construction laborers who worked in the general vicinity of insulation work without direct involvement in the trade

Because amosite fibers are not visible to the naked eye and Unibestos insulation appeared as an ordinary beige or gray material, workers frequently had no awareness that they were being exposed to asbestos during routine operations.

Diseases associated with occupational amosite asbestos exposure include:

  • Mesothelioma (pleural and peritoneal)
  • Asbestos-related lung cancer
  • Asbestosis
  • Pleural plaques and pleural thickening

Mesothelioma, a malignant cancer of the pleural lining surrounding the lungs, has a latency period commonly ranging from 20 to 50 years between first exposure and clinical diagnosis. Workers exposed to Unibestos in the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s may be receiving diagnoses today.

Pittsburgh Corning Corporation Asbestos PI Trust

Following its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in April 2000, Pittsburgh Corning Corporation completed a reorganization that established the Pittsburgh Corning Corporation Asbestos PI Trust to resolve asbestos personal injury and wrongful death claims against the company. The trust operates under a Trust Distribution Procedure (TDP) that defines eligible disease categories, required documentation, and payment levels for qualifying claimants.

The trust accepts claims from individuals diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases who can demonstrate exposure to Pittsburgh Corning’s asbestos-containing products — including Unibestos pipe insulation and PC Unibestos sectional pipe covering — during the period in which those products were manufactured and distributed.

Eligible disease categories recognized by asbestos personal injury trusts generally include:

  • Mesothelioma
  • Lung cancer (with qualifying asbestos exposure documentation)
  • Other asbestos-related cancers
  • Asbestosis
  • Other non-malignant asbestos-related conditions

How to File a Claim

Claims against the Pittsburgh Corning Corporation Asbestos PI Trust are filed through the trust’s administrative process. Claimants are not required to file a separate lawsuit against Pittsburgh Corning to access trust compensation — the trust exists specifically to provide an administrative resolution pathway.

To submit a claim, claimants or their legal representatives generally must provide:

  1. Medical documentation of an asbestos-related diagnosis, including pathology reports, imaging studies, or a treating physician’s written diagnosis
  2. Exposure documentation establishing that the claimant worked with or in proximity to Pittsburgh Corning’s Unibestos products — this may include employment records, union records, co-worker affidavits, or the claimant’s own sworn statement describing jobsite conditions
  3. Identifying information including work history, employers, and jobsite locations where Pittsburgh Corning products were present
  4. Claim forms required by the trust’s administrative process

Claim values under a trust’s TDP are determined by disease category, the trust’s current payment percentage, and individual case factors such as the severity of illness and the degree of documented exposure. An attorney experienced in asbestos trust claims can assist claimants in identifying all trusts for which they may be eligible and in preparing documentation that accurately reflects their exposure history.

Summary: Your Options if You Were Exposed to Unibestos

If you or a family member worked with or around Pittsburgh Corning’s Unibestos pipe and block insulation and has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease, you may be eligible to file a claim against the Pittsburgh Corning Corporation Asbestos PI Trust without initiating litigation.

Because many workers were exposed to products from multiple manufacturers over the course of their careers, you may also have claims against other active asbestos trusts. An attorney who handles asbestos cases can review your complete work history to identify every trust for which a claim may be filed.

Asbestos-related claims are subject to statutes of limitations that vary by state and typically begin running from the date of diagnosis, not the date of exposure. If you have received a recent diagnosis, consulting with an asbestos attorney promptly preserves your ability to pursue all available compensation.

Pittsburgh Corning’s trust exists because the company accepted responsibility for the harm caused by decades of Unibestos manufacturing. Workers and families affected by those products are encouraged to explore their eligibility.