Walworth Company: Asbestos-Containing Valves and Steam Traps

Company History

Walworth Company was a long-established American manufacturer of industrial valves, fittings, and flow-control equipment. Operating across multiple decades of the twentieth century, Walworth supplied products to some of the most demanding industrial environments in the United States, including oil refineries, petrochemical plants, power generation facilities, shipyards, and heavy manufacturing operations. The company’s valves and steam traps were considered standard equipment in high-temperature, high-pressure piping systems, making Walworth a recognized name among pipefitters, steamfitters, boilermakers, and the mechanical contractors who specified and installed flow-control components on American jobsites.

Walworth’s product lines were engineered for durability under extreme operating conditions — conditions that, for much of the mid-twentieth century, made asbestos-containing materials a common component in valve construction. Internal gaskets, packing materials, and insulating components in industrial valves and steam traps of that era routinely incorporated chrysotile or other asbestos fiber types because of their heat resistance, compressibility, and resistance to chemical degradation. Walworth products were sold and distributed nationally, and according to asbestos litigation records, they appeared on jobsites across a wide range of industries throughout the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.

Walworth Company is believed to have phased out asbestos-containing components in its products by approximately the early 1980s, consistent with broader industry trends following mounting regulatory scrutiny from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) during that period.

Asbestos-Containing Products

According to asbestos litigation records, Walworth Company manufactured and sold industrial valves and steam traps that contained asbestos-based internal components during the mid-twentieth century. Plaintiffs alleged that asbestos was incorporated into several functional parts of these products, including:

  • Valve stem packing: Braided or compressed asbestos packing was commonly used to create pressure seals around valve stems in gate valves, globe valves, ball valves, and plug valves. This packing was designed to be compressed by a gland nut and could release asbestos fibers during installation, adjustment, and removal.

  • Gaskets and flange seals: Court filings document allegations that asbestos-containing sheet gaskets were used in Walworth valve bodies and bonnet assemblies, as well as at flanged connections. These gaskets were required to withstand steam temperatures and pressures without failure, making asbestos a preferred material at the time.

  • Steam trap components: Walworth’s steam trap product lines, used extensively in steam distribution and condensate return systems, are alleged in litigation records to have incorporated asbestos gaskets and sealing materials within the trap body and at connection points.

  • Insulating materials: Plaintiffs alleged that some Walworth valve configurations, particularly those used in high-temperature steam service, were sold with or routinely used in conjunction with asbestos insulating wraps, blankets, or cement applied directly to valve bodies and adjacent piping.

It should be noted that asbestos content in mid-century industrial valves was frequently a function of third-party component suppliers as well as the valve manufacturer’s own design specifications. According to asbestos litigation records, replacement packing and gasket materials used to service Walworth valves in the field also frequently contained asbestos, meaning that workers who maintained or repaired these valves — even years after original installation — faced potential exposure through replacement parts that may not have been manufactured by Walworth directly.

Occupational Exposure

Workers who installed, operated, maintained, or removed Walworth valves and steam traps on industrial jobsites may have encountered asbestos-containing materials as a routine part of their work. The trades most frequently associated with Walworth valve exposure in asbestos litigation records include:

  • Pipefitters and steamfitters, who cut, fit, and connected valve assemblies within steam and process piping systems and were responsible for repacking valve stems and replacing gaskets during maintenance cycles
  • Boilermakers, who worked on steam systems in power plants and industrial facilities where Walworth valves were standard components
  • Millwrights and plant maintenance workers, who serviced in-place valve assemblies over the operational life of industrial equipment
  • Refinery and chemical plant workers, who encountered Walworth valves as part of process piping in petroleum and chemical manufacturing environments
  • Shipyard workers, including pipefitters and marine engineers, who installed and maintained valve systems aboard naval and commercial vessels

Court filings document that the act of repacking a valve stem — a routine maintenance task performed throughout the service life of any valve — created a particularly significant exposure pathway. Workers would remove old, compressed asbestos packing material using picks or similar tools, a process that could generate visible asbestos dust in confined spaces with limited ventilation. New asbestos packing was then cut, shaped, and compressed into the valve stuffing box. Plaintiffs alleged that this type of work was performed repeatedly, often without respiratory protection, by pipefitters and maintenance personnel throughout the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and into the 1970s.

Similarly, gasket removal — which required scraping or grinding deteriorated asbestos sheet gasket material from flange faces — is documented in asbestos litigation records as a source of significant fiber release. This work was performed both during routine maintenance and during major overhauls of steam and process systems.

Because steam traps are installed throughout steam distribution systems and require periodic inspection and servicing, workers in power generation, paper mills, food processing plants, hospitals, and institutional facilities also encountered Walworth steam trap components as part of recurring maintenance work.

Bystander exposure is also documented in court filings. Workers in adjacent trades — insulators, laborers, painters, and others present in the same work areas — were allegedly exposed to airborne asbestos fibers generated by valve packing and gasket work performed nearby.

Trust Fund / Legal Status

Walworth Company is classified as a Tier 2 manufacturer for purposes of this reference: the company has been named as a defendant in asbestos personal injury litigation, but no Walworth Company asbestos bankruptcy trust fund has been established as of the time of this writing. This means that individuals seeking compensation for asbestos-related illness allegedly connected to Walworth products cannot file a trust fund claim against a Walworth-specific bankruptcy estate.

According to asbestos litigation records, Walworth has been named as a defendant in civil lawsuits brought by workers and their families alleging that exposure to asbestos in Walworth valves and steam traps contributed to the development of mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, and other asbestos-related diseases. Plaintiffs alleged negligence and product liability on grounds including failure to warn workers of the hazards associated with asbestos-containing components. These allegations have not been established as legal findings applicable universally, and the resolution of individual claims has varied.

Because no Walworth-specific trust fund exists, individuals with claims potentially involving Walworth products would pursue compensation through the civil litigation system rather than through a trust fund claims process. Additionally, claims arising from the same occupational history may involve multiple manufacturers — other valve and fitting manufacturers, gasket suppliers, insulation manufacturers, and others who appear in the same exposure history. Many of those companies have established asbestos bankruptcy trusts that accept claims from workers who can document qualifying product exposure.

If you or a family member developed mesothelioma, lung cancer, or asbestosis after working with or around industrial valves, steam traps, or related piping components — and Walworth products were part of that work history — the following information is relevant:

  • No Walworth asbestos trust fund currently exists. Compensation related to Walworth product exposure, if pursued, would be sought through civil litigation rather than a trust claim filing.
  • Other trust funds may apply. Workers who handled Walworth valves also typically worked alongside products from other manufacturers — gasket makers, packing suppliers, and insulation companies — many of which have established asbestos trusts. An experienced asbestos attorney can evaluate the full exposure history and identify all potentially applicable trust fund claims.
  • Documentation matters. Employment records, union membership history, co-worker testimony, and facility records that identify specific products used on the job all support both trust fund claims and civil litigation.
  • Statutes of limitations apply. Deadlines for filing asbestos claims vary by state and by claim type. Workers and families are encouraged to consult with an attorney experienced in asbestos litigation as early as possible after a diagnosis.

Walworth Company products were present on American industrial jobsites for decades, and according to asbestos litigation records, workers across multiple trades encountered asbestos-containing components in the course of ordinary work with those products. A thorough review of occupational history with qualified legal counsel is the appropriate first step for anyone seeking to understand their options.