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Did you work with GE Substation Oil-Filled Power Transformers? According to publicly filed asbestos litigation records, it allegedly contained asbestos. Here is what it was, who was exposed, and who is responsible. GE Substation Oil-Filled Power Transformers, made by General Electric Company, sold from the 1940s until the 1970s. General Electric substation oil-filled power transformers allegedly used asbestos-fiber compressed-sheet gaskets on radiator-to-tank flanges and manhole seals, exposing substation transformer mechanics during radiator work and oil leak repairs, according to publicly filed asbestos litigation records. Allegedly asbestos-fiber compressed sheet gaskets used at radiator-to-tank flanges, manhole covers, conservator connections, and pressure-relief seats on oil-filled substation transformers, according to publicly filed asbestos litigation records. Workers allegedly exposed around this product included Substation Electricians, Substation Transformer Mechanics, and Utility Power Plant Electricians. Asbestos claims are brought against the companies that made the products. If you worked with or around GE Substation Oil-Filled Power Transformers 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
General Electric allegedly manufactured a large share of U.S. utility substation transformers, from small distribution units up through 500 kV auto-transformers, at Pittsfield MA, Rome GA, and Shreveport LA plants, according to publicly filed asbestos litigation records. The oil-filled tank design used bolt-on radiator banks for convection cooling, and each radiator header flange, manhole cover, hand-hole plate, conservator connection, and pressure-relief device seated on a compressed-sheet gasket that allegedly contained asbestos fiber (chrysotile bonded in nitrile or SBR). Substation mechanics chasing oil leaks on aging GE transformers routinely allegedly broke down radiator flanges, scraped baked gasket residue off cast-iron mating surfaces with wire brushes and gasket scrapers, and installed replacement gaskets from GE service kits — releasing gasket dust into the switchyard air on containment pads.
Workers Exposed
Substation transformer mechanics, GE field-service technicians, IBEW substation electricians, utility maintenance foremen, and demolition/scrap crews allegedly encountered airborne fibers when removing and replacing GE radiator gaskets, manhole gaskets, and pressure-relief seats. Power plant electricians handling generator step-up transformers built by GE allegedly faced identical exposure.