Was Improved Machinery (IMPCO) Refiner — asbestos documented in litigation?

Improved Machinery (IMPCO) Refiner — is documented in public asbestos litigation records as a manufacturer whose products contained asbestos during the mid-twentieth century. Workers in industrial facilities, power plants, refineries, shipyards, and commercial construction who handled or worked near these products may have experienced occupational exposure.

Which trades had the most exposure?

Pipe coverers and insulators, pipefitters, boilermakers, millwrights, and maintenance workers are among the trades most frequently documented in asbestos exposure claims. Workers who cut, fitted, or removed asbestos-containing products — and those working in close proximity during that work — typically had the highest fiber concentrations.

How long do workers have to file an asbestos claim?

Statutes of limitations for asbestos personal injury claims vary by state, typically ranging from one to five years from the date of an asbestos-related diagnosis. The clock generally starts at diagnosis, not exposure — mesothelioma can have a latency period of 20 to 50 years. An asbestos attorney can identify the deadlines that apply to your specific situation.

Can workers file claims related to Improved Machinery (IMPCO) Refiner — asbestos exposure?

Yes. Workers diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, or asbestosis after exposure to Improved Machinery (IMPCO) Refiner — products may pursue claims through civil litigation. An experienced asbestos attorney can assess available defendants, applicable trust funds from co-defendants, and the states where claims can be filed most effectively.

Can family members file secondary exposure claims?

Spouses, children, and household members who developed asbestos-related disease through contact with contaminated work clothing brought home by an exposed worker may be eligible for secondary (household) exposure claims. Wrongful-death claims can also be filed by surviving family members of workers who died from asbestos-related disease.

Paper-Mills

Improved Machinery Company (IMPCO) refiner and pulp-washer asbestos-packed shaft seals and asbestos-cement drainer covers

⚖ Litigation Record1950s-1980sPlaintiffs allegedly encountered chrysotile braided asbestos packing seated in the shaft stuffing boxes of IMPCO refiners and pulp-washer drums, and asbestos-cement drainer covers fitted over the vacuum-drainer decks, released as airborne fiber when refiner operators, pulp-washer tenders, and mill millwrights repacked shaft seals and broke, cut, or drilled drainer covers during shutdowns.

Overview Product Facts Trades

Litigation Record: Information below reflects allegations in publicly filed asbestos litigation — plaintiff allegations, not findings of fact.

Read the video transcript

Did you work with Improved Machinery Company (IMPCO) refiner and pulp-washer asbestos-packed shaft seals and asbestos-cement drainer covers? According to publicly filed asbestos litigation records, it allegedly contained asbestos. Here is what it was, who was exposed, and who is responsible. Improved Machinery Company (IMPCO) refiner and pulp-washer asbestos-packed shaft seals and asbestos-cement drainer covers, sold from the 1950s until the 1980s. Plaintiffs allegedly identified Improved Machinery Company (IMPCO) refiners and pulp washers as a source of asbestos-packing and asbestos-cement drainer-cover exposure across U.S. pulp mills. Plaintiffs allegedly encountered chrysotile braided asbestos packing seated in the shaft stuffing boxes of IMPCO refiners and pulp-washer drums, and asbestos-cement drainer covers fitted over the vacuum-drainer decks, released as airborne fiber when refiner operators, pulp-washer tenders, and mill millwrights repacked shaft seals and broke, cut, or drilled drainer covers during shutdowns. Workers allegedly exposed around this product included Refiner operators, Pulp-washer tenders, Paper mill millwrights, and Pulp mill mechanics. Asbestos claims are brought against the companies that made the products. If you worked with or around Improved Machinery Company (IMPCO) refiner and pulp-washer asbestos-packed shaft seals and asbestos-cement drainer covers 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

Improved Machinery Company (IMPCO), based in Nashua, New Hampshire, was a mid-century U.S. supplier of pulp-refining, pulp-washing, and stock-preparation equipment to kraft and sulfite mills. Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that IMPCO refiners and pulp-washer drums used chrysotile braided asbestos packing in the shaft stuffing boxes to seal the high-temperature, high-consistency stock service, and that vacuum-drainer decks in the pulp-washer line were fitted with asbestos-cement drainer covers that plaintiffs allegedly cut, drilled, and broke to service the drainer internals.

According to publicly filed allegations, this asbestos configuration was carried forward across IMPCO’s refiner and washer product lines from the 1950s through the early 1980s and appeared in kraft and sulfite mills across the U.S. Northeast, Southeast, and Pacific Northwest.

Workers Exposed

Publicly filed asbestos complaints have allegedly identified the following trades as exposed to IMPCO refiner and pulp-washer materials:

Refiner operators aligning plates and running-in shaft packing
Pulp-washer tenders monitoring drainer decks and washer drums
Paper mill millwrights repacking refiner and washer shaft stuffing boxes
Pulp mill mechanics cutting, drilling, and replacing asbestos-cement drainer covers
Pulp mill maintenance electricians pulling motor leads on refiner drives
Insulators wrapping refiner casings and adjacent hot lines

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If You Worked at Improved Machinery (IMPCO) Refiner

If you or a family member worked at Improved Machinery (IMPCO) Refiner and were exposed to asbestos-containing materials at this facility — and were diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or another asbestos-related disease — you may have a legal claim. Time-sensitive filing deadlines apply.

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Product Facts

Trade NameImproved Machinery Company (IMPCO) refiner and pulp-washer asbestos-packed shaft seals and asbestos-cement drainer covers

Years Produced1950s-1980s

Asbestos ContentPlaintiffs allegedly encountered chrysotile braided asbestos packing seated in the shaft stuffing boxes of IMPCO refiners and pulp-washer drums, and asbestos-cement drainer covers fitted over the vacuum-drainer decks, released as airborne fiber when refiner operators, pulp-washer tenders, and mill millwrights repacked shaft seals and broke, cut, or drilled drainer covers during shutdowns.

CategoryPaper-Mills Gaskets-Packing

Trust FundNo active trust

Exposed Trades & Occupations

Refiner operatorsPulp-washer tendersPaper mill millwrightsPulp mill mechanics

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Were You Exposed to an Asbestos-Containing Product?

If you have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease and were exposed to asbestos-containing products, you and your family may have a legal claim. An attorney experienced in product liability and asbestos claims can evaluate your case — at no cost to you.

Living with a diagnosis?

If you were diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, a filing deadline may already be running. You may have a legal claim now — and claims can often be pursued even if the company is out of business.

Lost a loved one to mesothelioma?

Surviving spouses and children may pursue a wrongful-death claim and asbestos-trust recovery on a loved one's behalf — a separate deadline that can run from the date of passing.

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No attorney fee unless the case resolves in your favor
Personal-injury and wrongful-death claims both evaluated
Statutes of limitations may limit the time you have to act
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