Boise Cascade Corporation began as a lumber company in 1957 and grew into the third-largest forest products company in the United States. Boise Cascades’s factories and mills were heavily contaminated with asbestos, and the company used the toxic material in many of the products that it sold, exposing both employees and others who used the materials to the risk of mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other asbestos-related diseases.
The History of Boise Cascade
In 1956, Robert V. Hansberger joined Boise Payette as president. The company had been one of Idaho’s top lumber producers since 1931, but had depleted much of its timberland resources during the post-World War II building boom. At the same time, Cascade Lumber, founded in 1902 by George S. Rankin, owned valuable timberland at the headwaters of the Yakima River and operated several retail lumberyards in Washington state. Hansberger recognized that combining the firms would both replenish Boise Payette’s timber supply and create a raw materials base substantial enough to support expansion into different products. He successfully negotiated a merger in 1957 that created Boise Cascade.
By 1958, the newly formed company had built a kraft pulp and paper mill in Wallula, Washington, as well as corrugated container plants in both Wallula and Burley, Idaho. Over the next five years, the company’s paper and wood production capacity expanded rapidly. At the same time, it began introducing new building material products, many of which incorporated asbestos.[1]
By the 1960s, the company was expanding rapidly, with operations throughout the Pacific Northwest and facilities in locations across Washington and Oregon. By 1969, it had become the third-largest forest products company in the United States, offering products for residential construction, mobile home manufacturing, recreational vehicle production, publishing, and cruise management.
Boise Cascade experienced several restructurings. The cyclical nature of the paper industry presented many challenges, and the 1990s were especially difficult. Rising demand for paper in 1986 led the company and its competitors to expand production capacity, but by 1990, this response had created oversupply and excess capacity, driving down prices and profits. The recession that followed was another blow, as Boise Cascade had invested significant resources into newsprint and uncoated business papers — the paper grades that the recession affected the most.[1]
Making matters worse, at the same time, the Pacific Northwest began imposing restrictions on timber harvesting. With substantial debt incurred from the earlier expansion projects, including a $550 million modernization of its International Falls, Minnesota, paper mill, Boise Cascade reported a net loss of $79 million in 1991, followed by losses of $227 million in 1992.[1]
Things turned around for the company in 1995. After paper prices increased, it recorded its first profitable year since 1990. That same year, it sold its consistently profitable office products subsidiary. In 2003, the company acquired OfficeMax and temporarily took on that name, and the following year, it sold its non-office products business to a private equity firm, including rights to the “Boise Cascade” name itself. Today, the company exists as Boise Cascade Co. and is still manufacturing and selling wood products and building materials, but its history of asbestos use continues to cost its former workers and customers their health. Though it had stopped using the material in the 1980s, by the early 2000s, it had been named in more than 400 asbestos-related lawsuits, with cases arising from occupational exposure among former workers, as well as those who’d used its asbestos-containing building materials.
What Boise Cascade Products Contained Asbestos?
Boise Cascade’s expansion into products beyond the lumber business coincided with the period when asbestos was at its highest use in American manufacturing. The company incorporated the toxic material in many of its building materials. Among its most popular asbestos-containing products was its innovative Insulite siding, which didn’t require scrubbing or sanding before painting. This was a unique selling point at the time. The Insulite product line was fabricated using a combination of sawdust, pulp, and other lumber derivatives, with asbestos added for its fire-resistance and insulation.
As the company expanded through the 1960s, the number of products it sold that were made with asbestos grew to include:
- Ceiling tiles
- Cement sheets
- Latex-coated gaskets
- Laminate flooring
- Insulating paper
- Pipe insulation
- Packing materials
- BSC White Paper Products
- Asbestos sheets
As was true of many industrial facilities constructed before the 1970s, the buildings that housed Boise Cascade’s manufacturing processes were built using asbestos-containing materials. This was particularly true of pipe coverings and insulation.
In the 1970s, the first evidence of asbestos health risks began to emerge, but the company continued producing asbestos-containing materials. It wasn’t until 1980, when the hazards of the mineral became widely known and manufacturers began facing increasing regulatory scrutiny, that Boise Cascade began developing and selling products that substituted other materials for asbestos.
Who Was at Risk from Boise Cascade Asbestos?
Employees who worked at Boise’s plants, as well as construction workers and other users of Boise Cascades’ products, were at significant risk of asbestos exposure. There was asbestos-insulated equipment throughout the company’s plants, including pumps, pipes, and valves, and products such as insulating paper, wood products, laminate flooring, boards, and paper products all contained asbestos. Anyone who worked with, installed, or repaired Boise asbestos-containing products was at risk of asbestos exposure.
Many of the company’s employees worked in close proximity to friable asbestos insulation and pipe coverings. As these materials deteriorated, they released fibers into the air, and workers frequently used compressed air hoses to clear fallen insulation from workstations, not realizing that in doing so, they were dispersing dangerous microscopic particles throughout the workplace.
Though the company began providing its workers with paper masks in the 1970s, the masks weren’t effective at filtering out asbestos fibers and offered little protection.
Numerous other occupations were at risk of asbestos exposure from Boise Cascade’s asbestos-containing product, including:
While the greatest risk of asbestos exposure occurred in the years when asbestos was in common use, today’s construction workers, homeowners, and others may encounter Boise Cascade’s Insulite siding on older buildings and homes. When sanded, cut, or worn down by exposure to the elements, these products can release dangerous asbestos fibers into the air.
Health Risks of Asbestos Exposure
When asbestos-containing materials deteriorate or are disturbed through cutting, sanding, or other activities, they release microscopic fibers. When these particles become airborne and are inhaled or ingested, they can lead to severe and often deadly health consequences. The challenges of asbestos-related diseases are made worse by the amount of time that goes by between the time of exposure and diagnosis. Mesothelioma and asbestos lung cancer both have long latency periods, and it can take decades before symptoms emerge and treatment can begin.
The health conditions associated with asbestos exposure include:
- Pleural, Peritoneal, and Pericardial Mesothelioma: This rare, aggressive cancer affects the mesothelial lining of the lungs, abdomen, or heart. It typically develops 20 to 50 years after exposure and is always considered fatal.
- Asbestosis: A chronic, progressive, incurable lung disease characterized by scarring of lung tissue. As time goes by, breathing becomes increasingly difficult, potentially leading to respiratory failure.
- Asbestos-related Lung Cancer: Asbestos exposure increases the risk of developing lung cancer, especially for individuals who smoke tobacco.
- Pleural Plaques and Thickening: These are non-cancerous conditions where the lining of the lungs develops fibrous thickening, restricting breathing capacity.
- Other Cancers: Research has linked asbestos exposure to increased risks of ovarian, laryngeal, and other forms of cancer.
Because it takes such a long time for asbestos-related diseases to make themselves known, individuals with a history of occupational or environmental asbestos exposure are encouraged to learn their warning signs and notify their health care professional so that they can be closely monitored.
Legal Consequences of Asbestos Use
By the early 2000s, Boise Cascade had been named in more than 400 asbestos-related lawsuits stemming from exposure to its contaminated products.[”1”] Unlike other manufacturers that have faced similar litigation, the company never established a dedicated asbestos trust fund, opting instead to pay victims’ claims through corporate funds and insurance coverage.
There are several examples of successful claims against Boise Cascade:
- John Sullivan worked in Boise Cascade’s Insulite division from 1954 to 1984, operating groundwood pressing machines, drying kilns, and trimmers. His work exposed him to friable asbestos insulation throughout the factory. He filed a claim against the company, accusing it of negligence in its failure to protect workers from exposure or to provide basic protective equipment until the 1970s.[2]
- Richard Walker was a long-term employee who worked at Boise Cascade from 1939 to 1982, with a brief interruption for military service. He was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma in December 1999 and filed a workers’ compensation claim, blaming his condition on workplace asbestos exposure. Although Boise Cascade initially denied liability, the company eventually accepted responsibility for his fatal illness in a partial settlement. Walker died in September 2000.[3]
Help for Victims of Boise Cascade Asbestos
Former Boise Cascade employees, as well as contractors or consumers who used the company’s asbestos-containing products, are all at risk for mesothelioma and other illnesses. There are several options for those diagnosed with these devastating health conditions to receive compensation, including:
- Workers’ Compensation Claims: Former Boise Cascade employees who’ve been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease may qualify for workers’ compensation benefits. Workers’ compensation typically provides much less compensation than personal injury lawsuits, but may be the only option for former employees.
- Personal Injury Lawsuits: Individuals diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases linked to exposure to Boise Cascade products may be eligible to file personal injury claims against the company. These claims can result in jury verdicts or settlements that provide compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and reduced quality of life. These lawsuits generally show that the company knew or should have known about asbestos dangers but failed to adequately warn or protect workers or consumers.
- Wrongful Death Claims: When a family member dies from an asbestos-related disease, their survivors may be eligible to pursue wrongful death litigation against the companies they hold responsible. These claims can provide compensation for medical expenses, funeral costs, lost financial support, and the family’s pain and suffering.
- Product Liability Claims: Consumers or contractors who used Boise Cascade’s asbestos-containing building materials may pursue product liability claims, claiming that the company manufactured and sold dangerous products without adequate warnings or safety instructions.
For anyone diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease, consulting with an attorney who specializes in asbestos litigation is one of the best things you can do for yourself and your family. These knowledgeable professionals will take the time to evaluate your history of asbestos exposure and answer all your questions about the legal strategies available to you.
The statute of limitations for filing asbestos claims varies by state, so it’s important to meet with a mesothelioma attorney as soon as possible after your diagnosis to provide yourself with plenty of time to learn about your options and consult with your family about your best path forward.
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