Read the video transcript
Did you work with Universal Oil Products (UOP) catalytic reforming (Platforming? According to publicly filed asbestos litigation records, it allegedly contained asbestos. Here is what it was, who was exposed, and who is responsible. Universal Oil Products (UOP) catalytic reforming (Platforming, sold from the 1940s until the 1980s. Plaintiffs allegedly worked with or around UOP catalytic reforming (Platforming / Rheniforming) reactor asbestos-fabric shell lagging and asbestos-packed catalyst charging valve seats. Allegedly asbestos-fabric shell lagging on UOP Platforming and Rheniforming reactor vessels and asbestos-packed valve seats on catalyst charging and withdrawal valves — released fiber during hot-work tie-ins, catalyst change-outs, and turnaround re-lagging by insulators, pipefitters, and refinery boilermakers. Workers allegedly exposed around this product included Refinery insulators, Refinery pipefitters, Refinery boilermakers, and Refinery turnaround contractors. Asbestos claims are brought against the companies that made the products. If you worked with or around Universal Oil Products (UOP) catalytic reforming (Platforming 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
Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that Universal Oil Products (UOP) licensed and supplied catalytic reforming units — including the Platforming and Rheniforming processes — with reactor vessels that carried asbestos-fabric shell lagging on the hot exterior and with asbestos-packed valve seats on catalyst charging and withdrawal valves at the reactor top and bottom heads. The asbestos-fabric lagging allegedly held skin temperatures down on the fixed-bed reformer reactor shells running at high hydrogen-partial-pressure service, and the asbestos-packed valves allegedly sealed against catalyst attrition dust during charging and withdrawal.
Plaintiffs alleged that UOP catalytic reforming reactors remained in service across U.S. refineries from the late 1940s through the 1980s and required periodic catalyst change-out, hot-work tie-ins, and turnaround re-lagging.
Workers Exposed
Plaintiffs allegedly exposed to UOP catalytic reforming reactor asbestos-containing components include:
- Refinery insulators stripping and re-lagging asbestos-fabric on Platforming and Rheniforming reactor shells
- Refinery pipefitters and steamfitters tying in reactor inlet and outlet transfer lines
- Refinery boilermakers and vessel welders performing reactor internals hot-work
- Refinery turnaround (TAR) contractors and shutdown crews during catalyst change-outs
- Refinery outside operators and process operators charging and withdrawing catalyst
- Refinery instrumentation and electrical (E&I) technicians on reactor thermocouple and skin-temperature TC work
- Refinery millwrights and mechanical maintenance
Free Case Review — Attorney Advertising
If You Worked at UOP
If you or a family member worked at UOP 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.
- ✓ Free case evaluation — no obligation
- ✓ No attorney fee unless the case resolves in your favor
- ✓ Trust fund claims and civil lawsuits pursued simultaneously
O'Brien Law Firm — Attorney Advertising. Visiting this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. No fee unless a financial recovery is made.