Compressed Asbestos Sheet — Crane Co.

Product Description

Compressed asbestos sheet, sometimes referred to as compressed asbestos fiber (CAF) sheet or sheet packing, was a widely used industrial material produced and distributed by Crane Co., a Chicago-based manufacturer with a long history in the flow-control and industrial equipment industries. Crane Co. manufactured and supplied compressed asbestos sheet as a component material integral to its extensive product lines, which included industrial valves, pumps, pipe fittings, and associated mechanical systems.

The material itself was a dense, flat sheeting product engineered to withstand the demanding conditions found in industrial environments — high pressures, elevated temperatures, and exposure to corrosive fluids and steam. Compressed asbestos sheet was sold both as a finished product and as a fabricated component embedded within Crane Co.’s valve and pump assemblies, where it served primarily as a sealing and gasketing material.

Crane Co. was among the most prominent manufacturers and distributors of industrial valves and pumps in the United States throughout much of the twentieth century. The company’s product catalog reached across virtually every major industrial sector, including petrochemical refining, power generation, shipbuilding, steel production, and commercial construction. Because compressed asbestos sheet was a foundational material in the company’s gasketing and packing applications, its distribution was extraordinarily broad, and it appeared in industrial facilities, refineries, power plants, and shipyards across the country for decades.

Asbestos Content

Compressed asbestos sheet derives its name and function from its primary constituent material: asbestos fiber, compressed and bound together with rubber binders, fillers, and in some formulations, additional reinforcing materials. Chrysotile asbestos was the most commonly used fiber type in these sheet products, though other asbestos varieties, including crocidolite and amosite, appeared in certain formulations depending on the required temperature and chemical resistance specifications of the end application.

The asbestos content in compressed asbestos sheet products was substantial by definition — the fiber content was not incidental but was the structural and functional basis of the material’s performance characteristics. Asbestos fibers provided the thermal stability, compressibility, and chemical resistance that made these sheets suitable for use in gaskets, valve stem packing, pump seals, and flange connections throughout demanding industrial systems.

Crane Co. incorporated compressed asbestos sheet into gaskets used in its Crane-brand valves and pumps, where the material was cut, stamped, or otherwise fabricated into ring or custom-profile gaskets designed to seal flanged pipe joints and internal valve components. Litigation records document that Crane Co. both manufactured products containing this material and distributed compressed asbestos sheet for use by third-party fabricators and maintenance operations.

How Workers Were Exposed

Workers who encountered compressed asbestos sheet in the course of their industrial employment faced significant asbestos exposure risks, particularly during activities that disturbed or degraded the sheet material. Because the product’s function was inherently mechanical — serving as a compressible seal between metal surfaces under fluctuating pressures and temperatures — it was subject to routine installation, inspection, and replacement throughout the service life of the valves, pumps, and piping systems in which it was installed.

Exposure scenarios documented in litigation records include:

Gasket cutting and fabrication. Workers who cut compressed asbestos sheet to size using knives, rotary cutters, die-punch presses, or grinders generated airborne asbestos fibers directly. Dry-cutting operations were particularly hazardous, as they fractured and released asbestos fibers with minimal dust suppression.

Gasket removal and replacement. Maintenance workers, pipefitters, millwrights, and boilermakers who removed old, compressed gaskets from flanged joints frequently scraped, wire-brushed, or ground the degraded material from metal seating surfaces. This process — necessary to achieve a clean, leak-free seal for replacement gaskets — released significant quantities of asbestos-containing dust.

Valve and pump maintenance. Crane Co. valves and pumps containing asbestos packing and internal gaskets required periodic overhaul. Mechanics and industrial maintenance workers who disassembled these units for repacking or repair disturbed asbestos-containing internal components in the process.

Bystander exposure. Workers in proximity to gasket fabrication or removal activities — including other tradespeople working in the same plant areas, helpers, and supervisors — were also exposed to airborne fibers without directly handling the material themselves.

Plaintiffs alleged in litigation that compressed asbestos sheet distributed and incorporated into products by Crane Co. was used without adequate warnings about the health hazards of asbestos inhalation, despite the existence of scientific literature documenting those risks well before such products were ultimately phased out of industrial use. Plaintiffs further alleged that workers in refineries, power plants, shipyards, chemical plants, and other heavy industrial settings were exposed to asbestos released from Crane Co. compressed asbestos sheet products over extended working careers.

Industrial workers generally — across trades including pipefitters, maintenance mechanics, boilermakers, millwrights, and plant operators — are among the occupational categories documented in litigation as having encountered this material in the field.

Asbestos-related diseases associated with occupational exposures to compressed asbestos sheet and similar materials include mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, and pleural disease. These conditions typically have long latency periods, often manifesting decades after the initial exposure occurred.

Crane Co. has been a defendant in asbestos personal injury litigation for many years. Litigation records document that the company has faced claims from workers alleging exposure to asbestos through its compressed asbestos sheet products and asbestos-containing valves, pumps, and gasket materials. Plaintiffs alleged that Crane Co. knew or should have known of the hazards of asbestos-containing products and failed to adequately warn workers who used or encountered those products.

As of the time of this writing, Crane Co. remains a solvent company and has not established an asbestos bankruptcy trust fund. Claims against Crane Co. are therefore pursued through the civil tort litigation system rather than through a pre-established trust fund mechanism.

Individuals diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestos lung cancer, asbestosis, or related diseases who believe their illness may be connected to exposure to Crane Co. compressed asbestos sheet or related products should consider the following steps:

  • Consult an asbestos attorney. Experienced asbestos litigation counsel can evaluate work history, product identification, and medical records to assess the viability of a claim.
  • Document occupational history. Detailed records of employers, job sites, and specific tasks involving asbestos-containing materials are essential to building a claim. Former co-workers, union records, and Social Security earnings records may assist in reconstruction.
  • Identify all potential defendants. Because compressed asbestos sheet was used alongside many other asbestos-containing products in industrial environments, exposure may involve multiple manufacturers. An attorney can help identify all potentially responsible parties, including those with active bankruptcy trusts.
  • Observe applicable statutes of limitations. Asbestos claims are subject to filing deadlines that vary by state and typically begin running from the date of diagnosis or the date a plaintiff knew or should have known of the connection between their illness and asbestos exposure.

Litigation records document that Crane Co. has resolved claims brought by asbestos-exposed workers and their families in a number of jurisdictions. Workers and surviving family members with documented exposure to Crane Co. asbestos-containing products should seek qualified legal counsel to understand their options.