G.S. Blodgett Corporation has been providing commercial cooking materials and equipment since the late 1800s and today is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of commercial ovens.[1] Between the 1950s and 1980s, the company manufactured pizza ovens and other high-heat equipment that incorporated asbestos-containing components. Exposure to the asbestos in Blodgett’s ovens has been linked to many cases of malignant mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
G. S. Blodgett Corporation History and Asbestos
G.S. Blodgett Corporation was founded in 1848, when Gardner S. Blodgett, a 29-year-old plumber, founded the company in Burlington, Vermont, after a local tavern owner sought his help to fix an oven that was cooking meat unevenly. Blodgett and his partner designed a wood-burning stove that addressed the problem, and the stove’s success prompted orders from neighboring tavern owners. By 1854, Blodgett had patented his improved baking oven and officially established the G.S. Blodgett and Company.[2]
The company flourished until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1860, when Blodgett joined the Union Army. Serving as assistant quartermaster of volunteers, he outfitted the First Vermont Cavalry and played a significant role in developing the U.S. National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Upon returning to civilian life, he resumed operations and expanded his business, experimenting with new oven types, including convection, deck, and conveyor ovens. He quickly positioned the company as a leader in the commercial cooking and baking industry.[2]
In the 1890s, Blodgett hired John S. Patrick, who became integral to the company’s operations. Patrick eventually purchased Blodgett’s interest, marking the beginning of three generations of Patrick family leadership. The company expanded its product line and grew, adding a new division dedicated to commercial frying equipment. The majority of the company’s clients were located on the East Coast, particularly in major cities like New York and Boston. Although the Great Depression impacted many businesses, Blodgett weathered the storm, launching another successful division, producing char broilers and frying equipment for the commercial market.[2]
Blodgett continued growing in the 1940s, with much of the company’s business responding to wartime demand. The U.S. government contracted with Blodgett to supply ovens for use near battlefields. The Blodgett ovens received praise for their reliability under harsh conditions, leading to an increase in military contracts throughout the war, and the company continued growing into the 1950s, when they introduced a popular line of pizza ovens.[3]
By 1958, Blodgett had established its first foreign distributorship, and in the decades that followed, the company grew rapidly, supplying ovens to a clientele ranging from schools and hospitals to bakeries and military installations.[2]
Blodgett ovens and cooking equipment have been relied upon for decades by restaurants ranging from small local establishments to large fast-food chains, including Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. Today, G.S. Blodgett Corporation is a global leader in commercial cooking equipment. Its convection ovens, char broilers, conveyor ovens, and fryers are widely used in over 50 countries worldwide.[2]
How Did Blodgett Corporation Use Asbestos?
The popular commercial pizza ovens that Blodgett Corporation introduced in the 1950s were highly regarded for their ability to cook pizzas evenly, without their crusts being burned in some areas and undercooked in others. This feature was due to the inclusion of a special baking stone made of a product referred to as transite being used as the company’s oven decks.[4]
Transite is an asbestos mixture of concrete that was created by Johns Mansville in the 1920s and manufactured by that company until the 1980s. Used in applications as wide-ranging as siding on houses, piping, HVAC ducts, and gutter systems, it was highly durable and renowned for its heat-resistant properties. The asbestos mixed easily with concrete and, once added, made it less permeable.[5]
Though transite was strong, it could become friable with repeated exposure to heat and scraping. It typically contained chrysotile asbestos in concentrations ranging from 20-50%.[”5”] Blodgett incorporated transite in the pizza oven decks it produced from 1956 to 1986,[6] and it may have used asbestos in other forms as an insulator and sealant in its convection ovens, conveyor ovens, ranges, and steamer ovens.
Who Was at Risk of Asbestos Exposure from Blodgett Corporation’s Equipment?
As was true of many products made using asbestos, there was a significant risk of occupational exposure to the carcinogenic material in anyone who produced, maintained, or used the contaminated equipment. Blodgett employed hundreds of workers in its manufacturing plants, and any of those employees involved in the manufacturing process of those ovens faced the risk of inhaling asbestos fibers. The same is true for anybody who installed or maintained the equipment, as well as those who used it on a day-to-day basis as part of their jobs, ranging from institutional users and the military to mom-and-pop pizza shops and chain restaurants. The company’s client base included:
- Army installations
- Bakeries
- Food manufacturers
- Hospitals
- Hotels
- Navy installations
- Pizza Shops
- Schools
- Sports complexes
- Restaurants
Workers using Blodgett ovens faced potential asbestos exposure through everyday use, routine maintenance, and wear and tear over time. Cleaning the oven decks to remove baked-on food debris had the potential for releasing asbestos dust into the air, and the same is true for anybody who disassembled or manipulated the ovens while performing routine maintenance or repairs. Secondary exposure to all of these workers’ family members also presented a risk as they could be sickened by asbestos fibers carried into their homes on clothing or hair.
Asbestos Lawsuits Against G.S. Blodgett Corporation
Blodgett Corporation has been named in many personal injury lawsuits filed by people who were exposed to the company’s asbestos-containing products and later diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma. Among them are:
- Patricia Pritchard was a food service worker diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma as a result of her workplace exposure to asbestos. She blamed her illness on exposure to the carcinogenic material in Blodgett pizza ovens she worked with at the Plaza Restaurant in Rome, New York.[6]
- Ottavio Belvedere and his wife filed a personal injury lawsuit alleging negligence, strict liability, and loss of consortium against G.S. Blodgett after he was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Mr. Belvedere blamed his illness on exposure to Blodgett ovens he had installed in his restaurant. As part of his deposition testimony, he recalled that in 1989, he had complained to a Blodgett representative that the new ovens he had purchased and had installed in his restaurant were burning the bottoms of pizzas, and that the representative said that it was because the new ovens did not have the asbestos stones that the old ones had contained.[7]
- A 56-year-old pizzeria worker filed suit against Blodgett Corporation after being diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma. In his filing, he submitted that he had been tasked with cleaning the transite blocks within the Blodgett Pizza ovens to clean off baked-on food debris and that his efforts had resulted in dust that he had inhaled.
What to Do If You Were Exposed to Asbestos in G.S. Blodgett Corporation Products
Exposure to G.S. Blodgett Corporation’s asbestos-containing pizza ovens, as well as other high-heat cooking equipment manufactured by the company, has been connected to numerous personal injury claims. Due to the long latency period of asbestos-related diseases, it is expected that many more people who worked in restaurants, bakeries, and pizza shops, as well as in the military and institutional settings, will be diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases in the coming decades. There are also significant concerns that people working in food service settings with G.S. Blodgett Corporation ovens manufactured prior to 1986 may be at risk from legacy asbestos that remains in equipment installed years ago.
If you worked in food service with a G.S. Blodgett Corporation oven, you’re strongly encouraged to notify your physician or healthcare professional of your history of asbestos exposure so that they can monitor your health for any troubling symptoms in the future. Regular screening and early diagnosis of asbestos-related diseases is the best way to improve your treatment options and outcome.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, or any other asbestos-related illness and you have a history of working with or around G.S. Blodgett Corporation’s products, you may be eligible to file a personal injury lawsuit against the company and others, seeking compensation and justice for the harm that you’ve suffered. An experienced asbestos attorney can help you understand your legal options. They will answer all of your questions, listen to your concerns, explain the legal process, and determine your eligibility to seek compensation for your damages.
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