The Nicolet Company/Keasby & Mattison made several products with asbestos, including pipe insulation. The company faced thousands of lawsuits over mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer due to exposure through its products. Victims can now make claims through an Armstrong asbestos trust fund.
Nicolet/Keasby & Mattison History and Asbestos
Nicolet has a long and complicated corporate history. Over more than 100 years, it evolved from a pharmaceutical company to a construction materials company and was acquired multiple times by similar companies.
- The original company, Keasbey & Mattison, was founded in 1873 by business partners Dr. Richard V. Mattison and Henry G. Keasbey. The two men set up a production facility in the small town of Ambler, Pennsylvania, in 1881 and began the company to make pharmaceuticals.
- It wasn’t long afterward that the inventive Mattison discovered that they could mix the laxative medicine milk of magnesia with asbestos to produce an effective insulating material. They began making it as insulation for pipes and, by 1886, had switched from making medicines to manufacturing the insulation along with other construction materials.
- Within a couple of decades, the company expanded and became a leading producer of asbestos materials in the U.S. At this time, it also shortened its name to K & M.
- In addition to construction products and insulation, Nicolet and K & M made auto parts with asbestos.
- By 1934, K & M sold to a British company called Turner & Newall, another company that already made asbestos products. Turner & Newell, in turn, was sold to Nicolet Industries and CertainTeed Corporation in the 1960s.
- Both companies operated at the Ambler facility, making construction products and automobile parts. Many of these products, both under the Nicolet and CertainTeed brands, were made with asbestos.
By 1987, the company’s lawsuits became overwhelming, and it filed for bankruptcy. Eventually, the brands became divisions of Armstrong World Industries.
How Did Nicolet and Keasby & Mattison Use Asbestos?
Asbestos was commonly used in most construction products when Nicolet and K & M made them. It was so popular because it was readily available, affordable, and added insulation and strength to materials.
Nicolet, K & M, and Turner & Newall all took advantage of asbestos’s properties to make effective construction materials and insulation materials.
Asbestos was also useful in certain automotive parts, especially brake and clutch linings. These parts generated a lot of heat from friction, which could cause them to fail, and asbestos protected against this.
Nicolet/Keasby & Mattison Asbestos Products
The company began using asbestos for pipe insulation. Still, over many years, it expanded its product line to include many different construction products, many of them made with asbestos:
- Block insulation
- Cement air ducts
- Insulating cement
- Asbestos shingles
- Asbestos cement structural sheets
- Asbestos cloth
- Asbestos lumber
- Asbestos billboard
- Asbestos paper
- Asbestos textiles
- Gaskets
- Siding
- Roofing shingles
- Boiler jackets
- Pipe insulation
- Asbestos rope packing
- Sprayed limpet asbestos
Nicolet also made automotive parts, some of which were likely to contain asbestos at one point. The mineral was most commonly used in linings in brakes and clutches.
Some of the brand names of the company’s products that contained asbestos include:
- Ambler
- Amblerex
- Bestfelt
- Century
- Insupanel
- Kay-Therm
- Kolor-Mate
- Linabestos
- Monobestos
- Sheetflextos
- TexMo
- Waltile
- Zebra
Who Was Exposed to Nicolet/Keasby & Mattison Asbestos?
All the asbestos used in K & M and Nicolet products posed a risk to anyone exposed. The tiny fibers of asbestos minerals can easily come loose, especially when handled and disturbed. These fibers can then become part of the dust in the air, leading to unintentional inhalation.
Nicolet/Keasby & Mattison Employees
Anyone who worked in the Ambler factory was put at risk for asbestos exposure. Whether they handled asbestos directly or worked near people handling asbestos, this could cause fibers to come loose and expose anyone working in the facility.
Construction Workers
Workers in other industries and for other employers could have been exposed to Nicolet and K & M asbestos products. Workers on construction projects were at particular risk of exposure:
- Drywall installers
- Laborers
- Electricians
- Plumbers
- Carpenters
- Insulation workers
- Demolition workers
- Roofers
- HVAC workers
Mechanics
Auto mechanics also risked exposure if they worked with or handled Nicolet products containing asbestos. For example, a mechanic replacing brakes on a car could have been exposed to the asbestos dust that built up in the brakes due to friction.
Secondhand Exposure
Family members of these workers were also in danger because their loved ones may have brought asbestos fibers home on their clothing and tools. This is known as secondhand or secondary asbestos exposure.
Lawsuits and Asbestos Trust
In the 1970s and 1980s, Nicolet and CertainTeed began to see lawsuits from these former workers and their families. They were exposed and later diagnosed with mesothelioma or other illnesses.
Many of the cases involved K&M insulation exposure, but because Nicolet and CertainTeed had acquired the company, they became liable.
Lawsuits Against Armstrong
Eventually, Armstrong World Industries was liable for all cases related to K & M or Nicolet. A landmark case determined this liability and opened the door for other victims of asbestos exposure to sue more companies. Keith Edwin Gibson sued Armstrong over Keasby & Mattison insulation.
A U.S. District Court allowed the case because Nicolet was the successor to K&M’s asbestos liabilities, and Armstrong acquired Nicolet.
Lawsuit Over Secondhand Exposure
Another notable case came from Mary Samsel, a woman diagnosed with lung cancer at forty-seven. She had grown up in Ambler, and her father worked at the Nicolet cement plant. She came to work with him on several occasions.
When she was diagnosed with lung cancer, doctors found asbestos fibers in her lung tissue. She settled with the company for an undisclosed amount of compensation.
Asbestos Trust Fund
Because of many more lawsuits like these, Nicolet filed for bankruptcy in 1987. When Armstrong World Industries eventually acquired the company, it took over liability for asbestos victims.
Armstrong created a trust, the Armstrong World Industries Asbestos Trust, in 2006, funded with over $2 billion to compensate victims of exposure.[1]
The current payment percentage for both expedited and individual reviews is 13.5%[2]
Superfund Site in Ambler
The Ambler facility operated for decades using asbestos and other chemicals. In the 1970s, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) discovered that Nicolet was dumping its toxic waste in the area.
The EPA fined the company over a million dollars but bankruptcy prevented it from actually paying that fine. The mess was so bad that toxic waste was found to a depth of thirty feet in some spots.
The EPA listed it as a Superfund site, and cleanup began in 2009. Before the designation, the dump area had been used as a playground, although it shut down in the 1980s because of contamination from asbestos.[3]
If You Were Exposed to Nicolet/Keasby & Mattison Asbestos Products
Victims of asbestos exposure from Nicolet, K & M, and CertainTeed products can file claims for compensation through the Armstrong Trust. It is active and accepts valid claims for medical compensation and other damages.
If you believe your asbestos illness is related to Nicolet or Keasby & Mattison products, contact a mesothelioma lawyer. They can review your case for free and determine the best course of action, giving you the best chance of a successful claim.
