Braided Asbestos Pump Packing (John Crane)

Braided asbestos pump packing manufactured by John Crane is among the most extensively litigated asbestos-containing products in American industrial history. Used across virtually every sector of heavy industry for decades, this packing material exposed generations of workers to respirable asbestos fibers during routine installation, maintenance, and removal operations. Litigation records document thousands of claims filed against John Crane, Inc. by industrial workers who alleged serious asbestos-related disease resulting from occupational contact with these products.

Product Description

John Crane, Inc. — headquartered in Morton Grove, Illinois, and operating as a division of Smiths Group — was one of the dominant manufacturers of industrial sealing products throughout the twentieth century. The company produced a broad line of mechanical seals, gaskets, and packing materials intended for use in pumps, valves, compressors, and rotating shaft equipment across petrochemical, power generation, maritime, paper milling, food processing, and general manufacturing industries.

Braided asbestos pump packing was a core product in the John Crane catalog for much of the twentieth century. Sold under various product lines and grade designations, the packing was engineered to form a compression seal around pump shafts and valve stems, preventing the escape of pressurized fluids, steam, or gases. The braided construction — in which asbestos fibers were woven or twisted together, often combined with lubricants, graphite, or other binders — gave the packing mechanical flexibility while providing heat resistance and chemical durability that synthetic alternatives could not reliably match during the product’s peak years of use.

John Crane packing products were widely distributed through industrial supply channels and were stocked as standard maintenance inventory at refineries, chemical plants, power stations, shipyards, and manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and internationally.

Asbestos Content

Braided asbestos pump packing manufactured by John Crane contained asbestos as a primary structural component. Chrysotile (white asbestos) was the most commonly used fiber type in braided packing of this category, though amosite and other commercial asbestos varieties appear in the historical record for certain product formulations and grades. The asbestos fiber content in braided packing products of this type was typically substantial, as the mineral’s heat resistance, tensile strength, and chemical inertness were the functional properties the product was specifically designed to exploit.

Litigation records document that John Crane’s own internal product documentation, sales catalogs, and technical data sheets from throughout the mid-twentieth century identified asbestos as a material component of numerous packing grades. Plaintiffs in litigation have alleged that despite the company’s awareness of asbestos health hazards — informed by the broader scientific and industrial hygiene literature available from the 1930s onward — adequate warnings were not provided to end users, maintenance workers, or employers about the risks associated with handling, cutting, or removing the packing during service operations.

How Workers Were Exposed

Workers in virtually every sector of industrial production encountered John Crane braided asbestos pump packing as a routine part of their job duties. Exposure did not require specialized knowledge of asbestos or work in a designated asbestos trade — it occurred as an ordinary consequence of maintaining the pumps, valves, and rotating machinery that kept industrial facilities operational.

Litigation records document several recognized exposure pathways for industrial workers:

Installation: New packing was cut to length, shaped, and compressed into stuffing boxes around pump shafts. Cutting and handling the dry braided material released visible and invisible asbestos dust into the breathing zone of the worker performing the task.

Repacking and Maintenance: Pump packing requires periodic replacement as it wears, hardens, or fails to hold a seal. Workers — including pipefitters, millwrights, machinists, pump mechanics, and general maintenance personnel — routinely removed spent packing using picks, hooks, and other tools. This removal process, particularly when the packing had heat-hardened or bonded to metal surfaces, generated significant fiber release. Plaintiffs alleged that this repacking operation was among the most hazardous routine maintenance tasks involving asbestos-containing materials in industrial settings.

Bystander Exposure: Workers in proximity to pump maintenance operations — operators, laborers, supervisors, and others present in the work area — were also exposed to airborne asbestos fibers released during packing removal and installation without themselves performing the task directly.

Product Handling and Storage: Workers responsible for receiving, cataloging, and distributing maintenance supplies handled John Crane packing products and were potentially exposed during those activities.

The industrial settings where this exposure occurred were frequently enclosed or poorly ventilated — pump rooms, engine rooms, below-deck spaces on vessels, and basement mechanical areas — conditions that would have concentrated airborne fiber levels relative to open environments. Plaintiffs have alleged that exposure in these conditions, repeated across years or decades of employment, contributed to the development of asbestos-related diseases including mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, and pleural disease.

John Crane braided asbestos pump packing is a Tier 2 litigated product. John Crane, Inc. has not resolved its asbestos liability through an established Section 524(g) bankruptcy trust fund. The company has instead defended and settled asbestos claims through ongoing civil litigation in courts throughout the United States.

Civil Litigation: Litigation records document that John Crane, Inc. has been named as a defendant in a substantial volume of asbestos personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits filed by industrial workers and their survivors. Plaintiffs have alleged that John Crane knew or should have known of the health hazards associated with asbestos-containing packing products and failed to warn users adequately. Cases have been filed in jurisdictions across the country, including in state courts with established asbestos dockets. Outcomes in John Crane litigation have included both settlements and jury verdicts, with litigation records reflecting active case resolution in multiple jurisdictions over many decades.

Who May Have a Claim: Industrial workers employed in refining, chemical processing, power generation, maritime operations, paper and pulp manufacturing, food processing, and general manufacturing who regularly maintained pumps, valves, or rotating equipment may have been exposed to John Crane asbestos packing. Workers in pipefitting, millwright, machinist, pump mechanic, and general industrial maintenance roles are among those identified in litigation records as having sustained documented occupational exposure.

Steps to Take: Individuals diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or other asbestos-related conditions who worked in industrial environments where John Crane pump packing was used should consult with an attorney experienced in asbestos litigation. Documentation of employment history, job duties, and product identification — through coworker testimony, employer records, or facility maintenance logs — supports the development of a civil claim. Survival actions and wrongful death claims may be available to the families of deceased workers.

Because John Crane remains a solvent defendant outside the trust fund system, claims against the company proceed through traditional civil litigation rather than through a structured administrative claims process.