Yarway Control Valves with Asbestos Gaskets

Product Description

Yarway Corporation manufactured a broad line of industrial control valves, steam traps, sight flow indicators, and related fluid-handling equipment from the early twentieth century through the latter decades of the 1900s. The company was a well-established supplier to the power generation, petrochemical, shipbuilding, and heavy manufacturing industries, markets where high-temperature steam and process fluids demanded valves capable of withstanding extreme pressure and heat cycles over decades of continuous service.

Yarway control valves were designed to regulate the flow of steam, condensate, hot water, and various industrial process media. They were installed throughout boiler rooms, turbine halls, refineries, marine engine spaces, and chemical processing plants across the United States and internationally. Because these valves were intended for demanding thermal environments, their internal sealing components — including body gaskets, bonnet gaskets, and packing materials — required materials capable of maintaining a reliable seal at elevated temperatures. From the 1920s through approximately 1980, asbestos-containing gaskets served that function in a significant portion of Yarway valve production.

The valves themselves were sold under a variety of product lines and configurations, ranging from small control valves to larger industrial service units. Many remained in service long after manufacture, meaning workers encountered original asbestos-containing components well into the 1980s and beyond during routine maintenance and overhaul activities.

Asbestos Content

Litigation records document that Yarway control valves produced during the relevant manufacturing period incorporated asbestos-containing gaskets and packing materials as internal sealing components. The asbestos fiber type associated with these products is chrysotile, the most widely used form of asbestos in industrial gasket and packing manufacturing throughout the twentieth century.

Chrysotile asbestos was selected for its well-documented thermal resistance, compressibility, and chemical durability. In valve applications, asbestos-reinforced gasket sheet material was cut or stamped to fit valve body flanges, bonnet joints, and other sealing surfaces. Braided or compressed asbestos packing was similarly used around valve stems to prevent leakage under pressure.

Plaintiffs alleged that the asbestos content of these gaskets and packing materials was not adequately disclosed to the workers who regularly handled, cut, installed, or removed them. Litigation records document claims that Yarway, like many industrial valve manufacturers of the era, did not provide warnings commensurate with the known hazards of asbestos fiber release during routine service operations on its products.

It is important to note that replacement gaskets installed in Yarway valves over the years may have been sourced from third-party gasket manufacturers. Workers were therefore potentially exposed to asbestos from both original Yarway components and aftermarket replacement materials used during the valve’s service life.

How Workers Were Exposed

Asbestos fiber release from valve gaskets and packing is closely associated with maintenance and repair activities rather than with passive operation of the equipment. Industrial workers who serviced, overhauled, or replaced components in Yarway control valves were most directly at risk of asbestos exposure.

Gasket removal was among the most significant exposure events. When a valve was opened for inspection or repair, the compressed asbestos body or bonnet gasket typically required breaking free from the sealing surfaces. Workers used wire brushes, scrapers, grinding wheels, and pneumatic tools to clean the flange faces of hardened gasket residue. These operations released respirable asbestos fibers into the breathing zone of the worker performing the task and into the surrounding work area, where bystander workers could also inhale airborne fibers.

Packing replacement presented similar hazards. Valve stem packing was routinely removed and replaced during preventive maintenance cycles. Handling braided asbestos packing — pulling it from the stuffing box, cutting new lengths, and pressing it into place — could dislodge and release chrysotile fibers.

Gasket fabrication was also an exposure source in facilities that cut their own gaskets from sheet stock. Workers who received bulk asbestos sheet gasket material and cut replacement gaskets to size using knives, scissors, or die-cut presses generated fiber-laden dust during cutting operations.

The trades and settings most prominently represented in litigation records include:

• Power plant workers who maintained steam distribution valves in boiler rooms and turbine buildings
• Refinery and chemical plant maintenance workers who regularly overhauled process control valves
• Shipyard workers and merchant mariners who serviced valve systems aboard vessels where Yarway products were commonly specified
• Industrial pipefitters and steamfitters who installed and maintained valve systems across heavy manufacturing facilities
• General industrial maintenance mechanics who performed valve overhaul work in plants where Yarway valves were part of the installed infrastructure

Plaintiffs alleged that repeated, cumulative exposures over the course of careers lasting decades constituted the primary mechanism of asbestos-related disease in this occupational population. Because many Yarway valves remained installed and in service for twenty or thirty years or more after manufacture, workers continued encountering original asbestos-containing gaskets long after the manufacturing period ended.

Documented Trust Fund / Legal Options

Yarway Corporation does not have a dedicated asbestos bankruptcy trust fund associated with its products. Yarway has not filed for bankruptcy protection under the framework established by the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust and subsequent asbestos bankruptcy proceedings. Accordingly, there is no pre-established trust submission process available for claims arising from Yarway valve products.

Litigation is the documented legal pathway for individuals injured by exposure to asbestos in Yarway control valves. Litigation records document that personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against Yarway and its corporate successors by workers and surviving family members alleging asbestos-related diseases including mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, and pleural disease.

Individuals pursuing claims related to Yarway valve asbestos exposure should be aware of several practical considerations:

• Statute of limitations periods for asbestos personal injury claims vary by state and generally begin running from the date of diagnosis, not the date of exposure. Prompt consultation with legal counsel is important.
• Product identification is a central element of asbestos litigation. Documentation supporting the presence of Yarway valves at specific job sites — including employment records, union records, plant maintenance logs, and co-worker testimony — strengthens the basis for a claim.
• Companion trust fund claims may be available concurrently. Workers exposed to Yarway valve gaskets were frequently exposed to asbestos from other products in the same work environments. Claims against trusts established by bankrupt gasket manufacturers, insulation manufacturers, or other valve manufacturers may be available in parallel with litigation against Yarway.
• Legal representation by attorneys with established asbestos litigation practices is the standard approach to pursuing claims of this type.

Workers diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or other asbestos-related conditions who have a documented history of servicing or working near Yarway control valves should consult a qualified asbestos attorney to evaluate their legal options.