Before the 1980s, asbestos was widely used throughout the brewing and distilling industries, putting the health and lives of thousands of workers at risk. The carcinogenic mineral was a key component of beverage filtration systems, equipment insulation, and the brick-and-mortar brewery and distillery structures themselves.[1] Many of the workers who spent time working in these buildings, as well as their family members, have been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, and other asbestos-related diseases.
Breweries, Distilleries, and Asbestos
One of the biggest challenges of the brewing industry has long been finding an effective filtration method that produces clear, impurity-free beverages. Over hundreds of years, filtration technology has advanced: Eventually, paper filters reinforced with asbestos fibers became the industry standard. Though this innovation was unquestionably durable and produced the desired results, most of them contained as much as 50% chrysotile asbestos. Even more concerning, pure carded asbestos fibers were sometimes used directly in beer and wine filtration processes.[1]
Historical records show that asbestos began being used in beer filtration in the 1910s, and the use of asbestos filtration has been credited for the success of bottling beer. At the time, industry experts opined that the best beer was achieved when asbestos fibers were added to the pulp’s washing process at least once weekly. By the early 1970s, approximately 900 tons of asbestos were used for filtration or to make filters across various industries each year, with beverages representing a significant portion of that number.[1]
Beyond the filtration process, brewery and distillery facilities were constructed using many of the same asbestos-containing materials found in other industrial buildings of the era, and the brewing equipment was insulated with the toxic mineral. Asbestos was used to strengthen cement and asbestos-containing insulation and other materials were standard for building brewing facilities up until the time that the mineral’s dangers became public knowledge in the early 1980s. The mineral’s heat and chemical resistance made it just as valuable for insulating brewing equipment, where temperature control was critical to the production process, as it was for insulating the buildings.
How Brewery and Distillery Workers Were Exposed to Asbestos
Brewery and distillery workers faced constant occupational exposure to asbestos from the multiple ways it was used within their work environment. The most direct exposure came from the handling and replacement of asbestos-containing filters, which were continuously used and needed to be switched out constantly. Some facilities required filter replacements as often as 100 times per day, while pure carded asbestos fiber filters had to be replaced after each use.[”1”] According to EPA data from 1979, asbestos was used in varying percentages of active beverage producers, including 30% of wine producers, 10% of beer producers, and 25% of other distilling producers. These frequent replacements released invisible asbestos fibers into the air every time they were handled, making it nearly impossible for nearby workers to avoid inhaling or ingesting them.[2]
Workers were also exposed to asbestos from the buildings and equipment in which they worked. When asbestos-containing materials in these facilities deteriorated with age or were disturbed during renovations or maintenance, they released more of the dangerous fibers into the air.
While asbestos fibers may look soft and fluffy, when they’re viewed under a microscope you can see that the particles have sharp, needle-like ends. These can become stuck in the lining of the mesothelium, the organ that lines the cavities holding the lungs and the abdomen, and once in the body, these toxic fibers can cause cell damage and inflammation. This damage can lead to the scarring typical of asbestosis or genetic mutations that develop into malignant mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer.
Because of the presence of asbestos in both the production processes and facility structures, virtually all brewery and distillery workers were at risk of exposure. The positions within these industries that were at highest risk included:
- Brewers
- Brewery staff
- Engineers
- Maintenance staff
- Construction workers
- Filter operators
- Production workers
- Quality control personnel
- Warehouse workers
- Administrative staff (due to building exposure)
Secondary Asbestos Exposure to Brewery and Distillery Workers’ Family Members
As was true of other industries where asbestos was used, brewery and distillery workers frequently brought asbestos fibers home on their dusty work clothes, hair, and skin. Tragically, this secondary exposure has led to many family members who never worked directly with the carcinogen developing the same deadly diseases. Many cases of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses have been diagnosed in their spouses who laundered their work clothes and their children who greeted them, ate with them, and sat on their laps when they came home each night.
Studies Confirm High Levels of Asbestos Used in Brewery and Distillery Process
In 1982, the Environmental Protection Agency published a comprehensive report analyzing the fiber released from specific asbestos products. The report focused on a wide range of industries and the materials that they used, including asbestos-containing beverage filters. The report found that the filters were made on a conventional papermaking machine and contained chrysotile asbestos, and that their primary use was by the beer, wine, and liquor industries. The report noted that as recently as 1979, about 30 percent of the wine, 10 percent of the beer, and 25 percent of the distilling producers in the United States used some form of asbestos filtration, with the life span of these filters varying from one-time applications to being used until they were clogged and no longer effective at filtering out undesirable materials.[2]
Another report published in the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health reported on asbestos-related pleural thickenings in Japanese sake brewers. The authors noted that previous studies had identified Italian distillers diagnosed with pleural thickenings following exposure to asbestos in the filtration process, and the authors of this article also found 17 cases of asbestos-related pleural thickenings among 235 chest X-ray films of male workers at different sake breweries.[3]
Which Companies Exposed Brewery and Distillery Workers to Asbestos?
Almost every brewery and distillery used asbestos filters and facilities for a time, from small local breweries to some of the country’s biggest and best-known brewers and distilleries. Many of the buildings that once housed these businesses have been targeted for demolition or renovation but have had to undergo significant asbestos remediation.
Breweries where asbestos was used in the brewing process or in their structure may include:
- Acme Brewing Company (California)
- Adolph Coors Co. Brewery (Colorado)
- Akron Brewing Company (Ohio)
- Alewerks Brewery (Virginia)
- American Brewing Company (Indiana)
- Anchor Brewing Company (Pennsylvania)
- Anheuser Busch Brewery (California)
- Anheuser Busch Brewery (Florida)
- Anheuser-Busch Brewery (Georgia)
- Anheuser Busch Brewery (Michigan)
- Anheuser Busch Brewery (Missouri)
- Anheuser Busch Brewery (Ohio)
- Anheuser Busch Brewery (Texas)
- Anheuser Busch Brewery (Virginia)
- Antillian Brewery (North Carolina)
- Arizona Brewing Company (Arizona)
- August Wagner Breweries, Inc. (Ohio)
- August Wagner Breweries, Inc. (Pennsylvania)
- Balboa Brewing Company (California)
- Ballantine Brewing Company (New Jersey)
- Barrett Brewing Company (Ohio)
- Bartels Brewing Company (Pennsylvania)
- Bartholomae and Leicht Brewing Company (Illinois)
- Bartholomae and Roesing Brewery (Illinois)
- Bavarian Brewing Company (Kentucky)
- Bemis and Mc Avoy Brewing Company (Illinois)
- Beverwyck Breweries (New York)
- Blatz Brewing Company (Wisconsin)
- Blitz Weinhard Brewery (Oregon)
- Bohemia Brewery (Illinois)
- Bosch Brewing Company (Michigan)
- Bruckman Brewery (Ohio)
- B Schade Brewing Company (Washington)
- Buckeye Brewing Company (Ohio)
- Budweiser Brewery (California)
- Budweiser Brewery (Florida)
- Budweiser Brewery (New York)
- Budweiser Brewery (Ohio)
- Budweiser Brewery (New Hampshire)
- Budweiser Brewery (New Jersey)
- Budweiser Brewery (Texas)
- Buffalo Brewing Company (California)
- Burger Brewery (Ohio)
- Burgermeister Brewery (California)
- Burlington Brewing Company (Wisconsin)
- Busch Brewery (Ohio)
- Cambridge Brewing Company (Ohio)
- Carling Brewing Company (Georgia)
- Carling Brewing Company (Massachusetts)
- Carling Brewing Company (Ohio)
- Carling National Breweries, (Georgia)
- Carlings Brewery (Maryland)
- Chattanooga Brewing Company (Tennessee)
- Claussen Brewing Company (Washington)
- Clyffside Brewing Company (Ohio)
- Colombia Brewers Industries (Colorado)
- Colombia Brewers Industries (New York)
- Colombia Brewers Industries (North Carolina)
- Colombia Brewers Industries (Vermont)
- Colombia Brewers Industries (Washington)
- Columbia Brewing Company (Connecticut)
- Columbia Brewing Company (Missouri)
- Connecticut Breweries Company (Connecticut)
- Consumers Brewery Company (New Jersey)
- Coors Brewery (Colorado)
- Cremo Brewing Company (Connecticut)
- Cumberland Brewing Company (Maryland)
- Dawsons Brewery (Indiana)
- Dayton Breweries Company (Ohio)
- Decatur Brewing Company (Illinois)
- Des Moines Brewing Company (Iowa)
- Diebolt Brewing Company (Ohio)
- Dixie Brewing Company (Louisiana)
- Dobler Brewing Company (New York)
- Donora Brewing Company (Pennsylvania)
- Duquesne Brewing Company (Pennsylvania)
- Ebling Brewing Company (New York)
- Edelbrau Brewing Company (New York)
- Elizabeth Brewing Company (New Jersey)
- Empire Brewing Company (Missouri)
- Enterprise Brewing Company (Massachusetts)
- E. N. Voight Brewing Company (Michigan)
- Ernest Brothers Brewing Company (Illinois)
- Falls City Brewing Company Inc. (Kentucky)
- Falstaff Brewery (Texas)
- Falstaff Brewery (California)
- Fidelio Brewery (New York)
- Fitzgerald Brothers Brewing Company (New York)
- F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company (Maryland)
- F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company (Minnesota)
- F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company (New York)
- F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company (Pennsylvania)
- Fort Pitt Brewing Company (Pennsylvania)
- Frankenmuth Brewery (Michigan)
- Fred Heim Brewing Company (Missouri)
- Fred Krug Brewing Company (Nebraska)
- Fremont Brewing Company (Nebraska)
- Fresno Brewing Company (California)
- F.W. Cook Brewing Company (Indiana)
- Gambrinus Brewery Company (New York)
- Garden City Brewery (Illinois)
- General Brewery Company (California)
- Genesee Brewing Company (New York)
- Gerhard Lang Brewery (New York)
- Goebel Brewing Company (Michigan)
- Goetz Brewery (Missouri)
- Golden West Brewing Company (California)
- Gottfried Brewing Company (Illinois)
- Gould Brewing Company (Florida)
- Grace Brothers Brewery (California)
- Grand Rapids Brewing Company (Michigan)
- Gund Brewing Company (Ohio)
- Gunther Brewing Company (Maryland)
- Hamms Brewery (California)
- Hamms Brewery (Maryland)
- Hamms Brewery (Minnesota)
- Hampden Brewing Company (Indiana)
- Hampden Brewing Company (Massachusetts)
- Harry Mitchell Brewing Company (Texas)
- Harvard Brewing Company (Massachusetts)
- H. Clausen and Sons Brewing Company (New York)
- Heidelberg Brewing Company (Kentucky)
- Heidelberg Brewing Company (Washington)
- Heilmann Brewery (Maryland)
- Heilmann Brewery (Minnesota)
- Hensler Brewing Company (New Jersey)
- Herancourt Brewing Company (Ohio)
- Highland Brewing Company (Pennsylvania)
- Highlander Brewery (Montana)
- Hittleman Brewing Company (New York)
- Horlacher Brewing Company (Pennsylvania)
- Housman Brewing Company (Wisconsin)
- Huebner-Toledo Breweries Company (Ohio)
- Hyde Park Breweries (Missouri)
- International Breweries (Ohio)
- Jas. Hanley Brewing Company (Rhode Island)
- John Gund Brewing Company (Wisconsin)
- Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company (Tennessee)
- Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company (Wisconsin)
- Jung Brewing Company (Ohio)
- Keystone Brewers (Pennsylvania)
- Kingsbury Brewery (Wisconsin)
- Kolnile Brewing Company (Pennsylvania)
- Latrobe Brewing Company (Pennsylvania)
- Lexington Brewing Company (Kentucky)
- Liebmann Breweries (New York)
- Lion Brewery (Michigan)
- Loewers V. Gambrinus Brewery Company (New York)
- Los Angeles Brewing Company (California)
- Lucky Lager Brewing Company (California)
- Lyon and Sons Brewing Company (New Jersey)
- Malcolm Brewing Company (New York)
- Manhattan Brewing Company (Illinois)
- Manor Brewing Company (New York)
- Mathie Brewing Company (California)
- M.K. Goetz Brewing Company (Missouri)
- Miller Brewery (California)
- Miller Brewery (Ohio)
- Miller Brewery (Texas)
- Miller Brewing Company, Inc. (Georgia)
- Mohawk Valley Brewing Company (Pennsylvania)
- Narragansett Brewing Company (Rhode Island)
- National Brewery (Maryland)
- National Brewing Company (Arizona)
- Northamerican Brewing Company (New York)
- Northern Brewing Company (Wisconsin)
- Old Reading Brewery (Pennsylvania)
- Olympia Brewing Company (Washington)
- Pabst Brewing Company (California)
- Pabst Brewing Company (Georgia)
- Pabst Brewing Company (Illinois)
- Pabst Brewing Company (Minnesota)
- Pabst Brewing Company (New Jersey)
- Pabst Brewing Company (New York)
- Pabst Brewing Company (Wisconsin)
- Park Brewing Company (Rhode Island)
- Pasto Brewery (Colorado)
- Pearl Brewing Company (Texas)
- Peoples Brewing Company (Indiana)
- Peter Fox Brewing Company (Illinois)
- Pfeiffer Brewing Company (Michigan)
- Philadelphia Brewing Company (Pennsylvania)
- Phillip Schillinger Brewing Company (Alabama)
- Phoenix Brewing Company (Kentucky)
- Pioneer Brewing Company (Illinois)
- Pittsburgh Brewing Company (Pennsylvania)
- Potosi Brewery (Wisconsin)
- Prima Bismarck Brewing Company (Illinois)
- Rainier Brewery (Washington)
- Red Top Brewing Company (Ohio)
- Regal Amber Brewing Company (California)
- Renner Brewing Company (Ohio)
- Rheingold Brewery (New Jersey)
- Rheingold Brewery (New York)
- Rock Island Brewing Company (Illinois)
- Rocky Mount Brewery (Colorado)
- Rolling Rock Brewery (Pennsylvania)
- Ruppert Brewery (New York)
- San Diego Brewing Company (California)
- Shaeffers Brewery (Minnesota)
- Schantz and Schwind Brewing Company (Ohio)
- Schlitz Brewery (New York)
- Schlitz Brewery (Tennessee)
- Schlitz Brewery (Texas)
- Schlitz Brewery (Wisconsin)
- Schlitz Brewing Company (California)
- Schlitz Brewing Company (North Carolina)
- Schlitz Brewery Winston Salem, NC
- S. Liebmann’s Sons Brewing Company (New York)
- Southern Brewing Company (Florida)
- Springfield Brewing Company (Massachusetts)
- Stagmaier Brewing Company (Pennsylvania)
- Standard Brewing Company (Louisiana)
- Stanton Brewery (New York)
- Sterling Brewers (Indiana)
- Strohs Brewery Company (Michigan)
- Strohs Brewery Company (Minnesota)
- Stroh Schlitz Brewery (Texas)
- Storz Brewing Company (Nebraska)
- Sweeney Brewery (Vermont)
- Sweeney Brewery (Washington)
- Terre Haute Brewing Company (Indiana)
- Theodore Hamm Brewing Company (Maryland)
- Theodore Hamm Brewing Company (Texas)
- Toledo Breweries Company (Ohio)
- Tube City Brewing Company (Pennsylvania)
- United States Brewing Company (Illinois)
- Walter Brewing Company (Colorado)
- Weibel Brewing Company (Connecticut)
- Welz and Zerweck Brewing Company (New York)
- Westchester County Brewery (New York)
- Wiedermann Brewing Company (Kentucky)
- Winter Brewery (Pennsylvania)
- Zang Brewing Company (Colorado)
Lawsuits Filed by Brewery and Distillery Workers
Several former brewery and distillery employees diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases, as well as maintenance personnel exposed to asbestos while working in or around brewing facilities, have filed lawsuits against asbestos companies over the years. One of the most notable was the case of Gerald Lorbiecki, who died of malignant mesothelioma after having worked as a union steamfitter in Wisconsin. Among the places that he worked was Pabst Brewing Company, where he worked from the 1970s to the early 2000s. After his death his widow assumed his personal injury lawsuit as a wrongful death claim, alleging negligence and violations of Wisconsin’s safe place statute. The jury awarded him almost $200,000 for medical and funeral expenses, $5 million for pain and suffering, and $1.35 million for the widow’s loss of companionship. The jury also awarded $20 million in punitive damages against Pabst for intentionally violating the worker’s right to a safe workplace. Though the punitive damages amount was reduced after Pabst pointed to the state’s limits on punitive damages, the widow appealed. The eventual assessment owed by Pabst was over $13 million.[4]
Lawsuits based on exposure to asbestos in breweries and distilleries can be filed against the manufacturers and suppliers of asbestos-containing materials used in building construction as well as in the brewing process. They may also be filed against the workplace itself by outside contractors.
Help for Brewery and Distillery Workers Diagnosed with Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, and other asbestos-related diseases are life-changing. Fortunately, brewery or distillery workers diagnosed with these conditions, as well as any of their household members who experienced secondary exposure, have options. By meeting with an experienced asbestos lawyer, you can quickly find out whether you are eligible for any of the many legal remedies available from the responsible companies.
The options for mesothelioma victims range from filing personal injury lawsuits seeking compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering, or filing a claim against the trust funds that companies facing significant asbestos liabilities established as part of their bankruptcy process. Both of these possibilities can provide financial relief: Most personal injury lawsuits resolve in settlements, and while asbestos trust funds generally pay less than filing a lawsuit, they have the advantage of being resolved more quickly in a process that is much less adversarial.
Consulting with a mesothelioma lawyer who specializes in asbestos litigation will be your most valuable step in helping you identify all of the next steps available to you. They possess extensive information about the hundreds of companies that manufactured, sold, or distributed asbestos that ended up in the brewery or distillery where you worked, and following your consultation, you’ll have a much clearer sense of the process of filing a lawsuit and preparing a claim against the asbestos trust funds, as well as how much time you have before the legal deadlines called statutes of limitations expire in your case. An asbestos attorney will give you all the information you need about how to pursue compensation and the benefits doing so would provide to both you and your family members.
