Steam Trap Stations with Asbestos Insulation — Armstrong International

Product Description

Steam trap stations were engineered assemblies used throughout industrial facilities to manage condensate removal from steam distribution systems. These stations combined multiple components into a single, accessible unit: steam traps, isolation valves, strainers, test valves, and bypass piping, all arranged to allow maintenance without shutting down the broader steam system. Armstrong International, headquartered in Three Rivers, Michigan, was one of the leading manufacturers of steam trap stations and related steam system components throughout much of the twentieth century.

Steam trap stations were deployed extensively in power generation plants, oil refineries, chemical processing facilities, pulp and paper mills, textile plants, and large commercial buildings where steam heating and process steam were central to operations. Because steam traps must function continuously under high-temperature, high-pressure conditions, thermal insulation was applied around the stations and their associated piping to maintain system efficiency, prevent heat loss, and protect workers from contact with hot surfaces. During the decades when these products were most widely installed — roughly from the 1930s through the late 1970s — asbestos-containing insulation materials were the industry standard for such applications. Asbestos was favored because of its resistance to heat, its compressibility around irregular shapes like trap bodies and valve assemblies, and its durability under the thermal cycling that steam systems routinely experience.

Armstrong International built a reputation for engineering quality in steam specialty products. The company’s steam trap stations were sold and installed across a broad range of heavy industrial sectors, making them a common fixture in the facilities where industrial workers spent their careers.

Asbestos Content

Litigation records document that steam trap stations manufactured and sold during the mid-twentieth century were routinely installed with asbestos-containing insulation as part of the overall steam system assembly. While Armstrong International produced the mechanical trap station components themselves, the asbestos exposure risk arose from the insulating materials that were applied to the stations during installation and maintained or replaced throughout their service life.

Plaintiffs alleged that the insulation associated with these steam trap stations contained materials such as asbestos pipe covering, block insulation, and finishing cements — all of which were standard products for high-temperature steam system insulation during the relevant era. The asbestos content of these insulating materials could be substantial, with some formulations containing chrysotile, amosite, or other asbestos fiber types at concentrations that are now well understood to present serious health risks when disturbed.

Plaintiffs further alleged that Armstrong International, as a manufacturer and supplier of steam specialty equipment, had knowledge — or should have had knowledge — of the hazardous nature of the insulation materials associated with its products, and that the company failed to provide adequate warnings to the workers who installed, maintained, and repaired these assemblies. Litigation records also reflect allegations that product literature and installation guidance from steam trap manufacturers did not include warnings about asbestos hazards during the period when the risk was becoming increasingly documented within the scientific and industrial hygiene communities.

How Workers Were Exposed

Industrial workers in facilities where Armstrong International steam trap stations were installed faced potential asbestos exposure through several recurring work activities. Because steam trap stations are active mechanical assemblies requiring regular maintenance — trap testing, strainer cleaning, valve replacement, and trap repair or replacement — workers returned to these assemblies repeatedly throughout their working lives.

Installation: When steam trap stations were initially installed, insulators applied asbestos-containing pipe covering and insulating cement around the trap bodies, valve housings, and associated piping. This work generated significant quantities of airborne asbestos fiber dust, particularly when materials were cut, shaped, or mixed to conform to the irregular geometry of trap station components.

Maintenance and repair: Steam traps have finite service lives and require periodic testing and replacement. Litigation records document that when maintenance workers accessed trap stations for repair, they often had to cut away or break apart existing asbestos insulation to reach the mechanical components beneath. This disturbance of aged, potentially friable insulation materials was a significant source of fiber release.

Nearby trades: Industrial workers who were not directly involved in insulation work could nonetheless be exposed to asbestos fibers released when insulators or pipefitters worked on adjacent steam trap stations. In industrial environments, multiple trades often worked in close proximity, and airborne fibers released during insulation disturbance could travel and settle throughout the work area.

Pipe shops and fabrication: In some facilities, pre-insulated steam trap assemblies were fabricated or modified in central pipe shops before installation, concentrating insulation work — and therefore fiber generation — in enclosed spaces where exposure levels could be elevated.

The health consequences associated with occupational asbestos exposure are well established and recognized by regulatory bodies including OSHA and the EPA. Diseases linked to asbestos exposure include mesothelioma (a cancer of the lining of the lungs, abdomen, or heart), asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis (a chronic scarring of lung tissue), and pleural disease. These conditions typically have long latency periods — often twenty to fifty years between exposure and diagnosis — meaning workers exposed to asbestos at steam trap stations during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s may be receiving diagnoses today.

Because Armstrong International is an ongoing company and not a bankrupt entity, there is no dedicated Armstrong asbestos trust fund established under Section 524(g) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Claims related to asbestos exposure from Armstrong International steam trap stations are therefore pursued through civil litigation in state and federal courts rather than through a trust fund claims process.

Litigation records document that plaintiffs — including industrial workers, pipefitters, maintenance personnel, and their surviving family members — have filed asbestos personal injury and wrongful death claims against Armstrong International and other defendants in the steam system supply chain. Plaintiffs alleged product liability, failure to warn, and negligence as the primary theories of recovery. Cases of this type are typically filed in the jurisdiction where exposure occurred or where the plaintiff resides.

In addition to direct claims against Armstrong International, workers diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases from exposure at steam-intensive industrial facilities may have claims against:

  • Insulation manufacturers whose asbestos-containing products were applied to the steam trap stations (many of which have established Section 524(g) trust funds)
  • Facility owners who maintained asbestos-containing systems without adequate worker protection
  • Other equipment manufacturers whose products were part of the same steam distribution systems

Individuals diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, or other asbestos diseases following work involving steam trap stations should consult an attorney experienced in asbestos litigation. Statutes of limitations vary by state and typically begin running from the date of diagnosis rather than the date of exposure. Preserving employment records, union membership documentation, and a detailed work history is important to supporting any legal claim.