Buffalo Navy-Specification Centrifugal Pumps (1940s–1980)

Product Description

Buffalo Pumps, headquartered in North Tonawanda, New York, was a long-established manufacturer of industrial fluid-handling equipment. Among its most widely deployed product lines were centrifugal pumps built to United States Navy specifications — heavy-duty units designed for shipboard use in propulsion systems, cooling circuits, bilge operations, firefighting systems, and auxiliary machinery spaces. These pumps were procured in large quantities from the 1940s through approximately 1980, appearing across virtually every class of naval vessel built or overhauled during that period, including destroyers, aircraft carriers, submarines, cruisers, and support ships.

Navy-specification centrifugal pumps were engineered to meet demanding performance requirements: resistance to saltwater corrosion, tolerance for the mechanical stress of shipboard vibration, and the ability to function reliably in high-temperature environments. Buffalo Pumps’ products earned a strong procurement record with the Navy and with commercial shipyards building vessels to military or marine standards. Beyond naval applications, these pumps also saw widespread use in industrial plants, power generation facilities, refineries, and heavy manufacturing environments throughout the mid-twentieth century.

The pumps were installed as original equipment in new construction and were routinely repaired, overhauled, and replaced during scheduled dry-dock maintenance cycles and unscheduled repairs at sea or in shipyard facilities. This maintenance cycle is central to understanding how workers were exposed to asbestos over decades of service life.

Asbestos Content

Litigation records document that Buffalo Navy-specification centrifugal pumps were manufactured and supplied with internal and external components that contained asbestos-containing materials. The primary asbestos-containing components associated with these pumps included:

  • Gaskets: Compressed asbestos sheet gaskets were used at pump flanges, casing joints, and mating surfaces throughout the assembly. These gaskets provided fluid-tight seals capable of withstanding elevated operating temperatures and pressures.
  • Packing: Braided asbestos packing material was used in stuffing boxes — the gland assemblies through which pump shafts pass — to prevent fluid leakage around rotating shafts. This packing required periodic replacement as part of routine maintenance.
  • Insulation: On shipboard installations, external pipe insulation and lagging applied around pump casings and associated piping frequently incorporated asbestos-containing materials, though such insulation was often applied by shipyard insulators rather than pump manufacturers directly.

Plaintiffs alleged that asbestos was selected for these applications because of its heat resistance, durability, and compatibility with the steam and high-temperature fluid systems in which the pumps operated. Compressed asbestos gasket materials and braided asbestos packing were industry-standard components in industrial pump construction through much of the twentieth century, and litigation records document their consistent presence in Navy-specification pump assemblies supplied by Buffalo Pumps during the covered production period.

How Workers Were Exposed

Workers encountered asbestos-containing materials associated with Buffalo Navy-specification centrifugal pumps primarily during installation, maintenance, and removal activities rather than during normal operation of the pumps themselves. The nature of centrifugal pump service — particularly in shipboard environments — required frequent hands-on intervention by machinists, pipefitters, and other trades personnel.

Gasket removal and replacement was among the most significant exposure tasks documented in litigation records. Compressed asbestos gaskets bonded to metal flanges over time and required mechanical removal using scrapers, wire brushes, and grinding tools. Plaintiffs alleged that this process generated visible dust containing asbestos fibers in the breathing zone of workers performing the task and those working in the immediate vicinity.

Packing maintenance was another recurring source of exposure. Stuffing box packing in centrifugal pumps degrades under normal operating conditions and must be periodically removed and replaced. Litigation records document that workers extracted old asbestos packing using picks and hooks, often generating fibrous debris, and then cut and shaped new asbestos packing material to fit — activities that released airborne fibers.

Shipboard and shipyard environments created conditions that amplified individual exposure events. Machinery spaces aboard naval vessels are confined, with limited ventilation. Overhaul and repair work in dry-dock facilities similarly concentrated workers in enclosed spaces where dust from one trade’s activities could migrate to workers in adjacent areas. Plaintiffs alleged that Navy machinists, boiler technicians, pipefitters, and shipyard workers were regularly present in these environments during pump maintenance, often without adequate respiratory protection.

Industrial plant workers who maintained similar Buffalo centrifugal pumps in power plants, refineries, and manufacturing facilities faced analogous exposure conditions during scheduled turnarounds and unplanned maintenance outages, where gasket and packing changeouts were routine tasks.

Litigation records document that the period from approximately the 1940s through the 1970s saw minimal use of respiratory protective equipment during these tasks. OSHA’s first permissible exposure limits for asbestos were not established until 1971, and even following their adoption, enforcement and compliance in shipboard and heavy industrial environments were inconsistent during the early regulatory period.

Buffalo Pumps is a Tier 2 litigated product. There is no Buffalo Pumps-specific asbestos bankruptcy trust fund established to compensate claimants. Legal claims involving these pumps proceed through the civil tort system rather than through an administrative trust fund claims process.

Civil litigation remains the primary avenue for individuals harmed by asbestos exposure from Buffalo Navy-specification centrifugal pumps. Plaintiffs have pursued claims against Buffalo Pumps and related corporate entities in state and federal courts. Litigation records document claims brought by Navy veterans, shipyard workers, and industrial workers who alleged mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, and related asbestos-caused diseases resulting from work with or around these pumps.

Product identification is an important step in building a claim involving Buffalo pumps. Documentation such as ship service records, Naval Occupational Safety and Health records, discharge papers (DD-214 for veterans), employment records, and co-worker testimony can help establish that a claimant worked aboard a vessel or in a facility where Buffalo Navy-specification centrifugal pumps were installed and maintained.

Secondary defendant claims are also commonly pursued in asbestos litigation involving pumps of this type. Where asbestos-containing gaskets or packing were supplied by third-party manufacturers — such as companies with established asbestos bankruptcy trusts — separate trust fund claims may be available in parallel with civil litigation against pump manufacturers.

Individuals diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, or asbestosis who have a documented history of working with or around industrial or naval centrifugal pumps are advised to consult an attorney experienced in asbestos litigation. Statutes of limitations vary by state and typically begin to run from the date of diagnosis or date of knowledge, making timely legal consultation important.