Today, the Yarway Corporation is a subsidiary of Emerson Electric Company, but the company had its start in Philadelphia in 1908 as the Simplex Engineering Company. The company manufactured component parts and equipment including gaskets, valves, and packaging, then grew to supply products for a wide range of industries. The company’s products contained asbestos, leading to
For over sixty years, Vanderbilt Minerals mined talc from New York-based mines and sold it to a wide range of industries. The company’s talc has been blamed for thousands of cases of malignant mesothelioma and other asbestos-related disease. Although Vanderbilt Minerals has consistently maintained that its talc is not contaminated with asbestos, juries across the
Eastern Magnesia talc was a brand of industrial talc sold by Engelhard Corporation, the predecessor to BASF Catalysts, LLC. The talc, which was mined from Vermont and used in a variety of manufacturing processes, was named in numerous asbestos lawsuits that were dismissed based on claims that the talc contained no asbestos. This was later shown
The American Optical Corporation refers to itself as the “oldest and greatest optical company in American history, but in addition to manufacturing eyewear, the company’s history includes having manufactured respiratory devices and safety clothing to shield against asbestos exposure. Multiple lawsuits have been filed against American Optical, citing failures of the respiratory devices and contamination
Hair stylists and barbers are low on the list of occupations most people think of as hazardous, but their work during the 1970s and early 1980s put them at significant risk. That’s because the handheld and hood-type hair dryers that are the tools of their trade were insulated with asbestos, and the talcum powder used
Raytheon Company is one of the United States’ most important defense contractors. Its long history of manufacturing weapons and military electronics, special-mission aircraft, radar systems, and guided missiles made a significant difference in America’s capabilities. Still, many of those products were made using asbestos, a mineral that led to countless cases of malignant mesothelioma and
Located in Victorville, California, about 75 miles northeast of Los Angeles, George Air Force Base was activated in 1941 to train pilots and bombardiers in preparation for America’s entry into World War II. After the war’s end, the base was placed on standby status and used to store surplus aircraft, and it was later reopened
Scott Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in St. Clair County, Illinois, 17 miles east-southeast of downtown St. Louis. One of the oldest Air Force bases still in service in the United States, it was first established in 1917 and has largely been used as a training facility ever since.
Today, Pratt & Whitney is an American aerospace manufacturer with global service operations, but it got its start when a machine tool company was approached for funding in the mid-1920s by an aviation inventor who’d set out to develop a new aircraft engine with a large, air-cooled, radial design. The collaboration led to one of
Fairchild Republic Company represents the merger of two major aircraft and aircraft parts companies that provided aircraft to the U.S. military from 1931 to 1987. The planes and many of their components contained asbestos, putting the workers at the company’s factories, pilots who flew the planes, and mechanics and others who worked with the parts at