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Did you work with B.F. Sturtevant Company industrial fans, blowers, forced-draft and induced-draft units, mechanical-draft heating apparatus, and marine ventilators, historically supplied with asbestos-containing gaskets, insulation, and packing? According to publicly filed asbestos litigation records, it allegedly contained asbestos. Here is what it was, who was exposed, and who is responsible. B.F. Sturtevant Company industrial fans, blowers, forced-draft and induced-draft units, mechanical-draft heating apparatus, and marine ventilators, historically supplied with asbestos-containing gaskets, insulation, and packing, sold from 1878 until 1975 (asbestos era). Plaintiffs alleged that B.F. Sturtevant fans, blowers, and mechanical-draft heating apparatus were originally supplied with asbestos-containing gaskets and packing, and used with asbestos-lagged ductwork in boiler-draft service. PRODUCT — Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that B.F. Sturtevant industrial fans, blowers, forced-draft (FD) and induced-draft (ID) units, and mechanical-draft heating apparatus supplied through the asbestos era were assembled with asbestos-containing sheet gaskets at casing splits, housing flanges, inlet cones, and outlet transitions; with asbestos-containing rope/braided packing at shaft glands; and, on hot-service and boiler-draft applications, were installed and re-installed with asbestos-containing external lagging on hot ductwork and casings. Alleged fiber-release activities included scraping dried asbestos gaskets during bearing rebuilds, cutting replacement gaskets from sheet stock, and stripping asbestos lagging on FD/ID fans and connecting breechings. Workers allegedly exposed around this product included Millwright, HVAC Service Technician, Sheet Metal Worker, and Boilermaker. Asbestos claims are brought against the companies that made the products. If you worked with or around B.F. Sturtevant Company industrial fans, blowers, forced-draft and induced-draft units, mechanical-draft heating apparatus, and marine ventilators, historically supplied with asbestos-containing gaskets, insulation, and packing and were later diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease, you may have a legal claim against the manufacturer. This is educational information from an independent publisher — not a law firm — and is not legal advice.
Product Description
Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that B.F. Sturtevant Company of Hyde Park, Massachusetts — one of the oldest and largest U.S. industrial fan and blower builders, later absorbed into Westinghouse — supplied centrifugal and axial fans, blowers, forced-draft (FD) and induced-draft (ID) units for boilers, mechanical-draft heating and ventilating apparatus, and marine ventilation fans through the asbestos era. Allegedly, Sturtevant fans and blowers were assembled at the factory with asbestos-containing sheet gaskets at the casing splits, housing flanges, inlet cones, and outlet transitions, and with asbestos-containing rope or braided packing at the shaft glands.
Plaintiffs further alleged that on boiler forced- and induced-draft service, refinery and utility applications, and process-heater installations, Sturtevant fans were connected to hot ductwork and breechings that were externally lagged with asbestos block, pipe covering, and insulating cement, and that maintenance rebuilds required breaking out embrittled asbestos gaskets and cutting replacement gasket material from asbestos sheet stock. Plaintiffs alleged that HVAC mechanics, sheet metal workers, millwrights, boilermakers, and maintenance mechanics scraped dried asbestos gaskets and stripped adjacent asbestos lagging during fan rebuilds, releasing chrysotile fiber into the breathing zone.
Workers Exposed
- Millwrights and maintenance mechanics rebuilding bearings and shafts on Sturtevant FD/ID fans
- Sheet metal workers cutting into asbestos-lagged fan casings, transitions, and connecting ductwork
- HVAC service technicians servicing Sturtevant mechanical-draft heating apparatus
- Boilermakers working on Sturtevant boiler-draft fans and connecting breechings
- Insulators stripping and reinstalling asbestos block and pipe covering on hot fan casings
- Pipefitters and electricians working through insulated fan rooms and mechanical spaces