Pittsburgh Corning
Pittsburgh Corning grew to be a prominent manufacture of construction products such as cellular glass insulation and glass blocks. In particular, Pittsburgh Corning sold a product called “Unibestos,” which was an insulation product that was resistant to high temperatures. Pittsburgh Corning used a certain type of asbestos called amosite asbestos, which is more commonly called brown asbestos. Pittsburgh Corning imported amosite asbestos from South Africa and Unibestos products contained anywhere from 60 to 90 percent amosite asbestos.
The result of this conduct meant sickness and death for thousands of workers across the United States. Specifically, Pittsburgh Corning operated factories in Tyler, Texas, and Port Allegany, Pennsylvania, to produce Unibestos. Records have been revealed that prove Pittsburgh Corning executives had knowledge of the serious health risks asbestos exposure creates. Even after the manager of a Pittsburgh Corning plant died of mesothelioma in 1970, the company continued to use asbestos until 1972. Fortunately, the plant in Tyler, Texas, was closed by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration because it was dangerous beyond repair.
As early as the 1920s, physicians recognized that exposure to asbestos caused severe sickness when asbestosis was identified by British medical journals. At the same time, insurance companies in the United States and Canada stopped selling life insurance to asbestos workers. Moreover, safer substitutes for most asbestos uses were known as early as the 1930s. Nevertheless, Pittsburgh Corning chose to protect its substantial profit margins rather than discontinue use of the mineral.
Additionally, the asbestos fibers remain in a person’s lungs for years and symptoms may not develop for decades. Pittsburgh Corning’s victims might live for decades without knowing of the deadly injury they sustained. As a result, thousands of American workers were placed in grave danger of contact with amosite asbestos. In particular, construction workers, insulators, plumbers, naval personnel, power plant and steel mill workers, and shipyard workers, have contracted cancer from their exposure to Unibestos.
In 2009, Pittsburgh Corning proposed that a trust be formed to compensate the victims of its use of amosite asbestos. This trust would address all present and future claims made by individuals injured by Pittsburgh Corning. If you or a loved one has been injured by Pittsburgh Corning, it is important that you contact The Gori Law Firm immediately for more information on your rights.