For decades, American corporations continued to use asbestos in a surprising array of products, long after the health risks of the dangerous substance were well known. Although asbestos is deadly, it is also strong, flexible, fire resistant and cheap. But the asbestos industry’s choice to sacrifice the health of American workers in favor of company profits ultimately proved very costly for everyone.
As thousands upon thousands of health claims were filed against the asbestos companies responsible, many businesses have elected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. During the bankruptcy procedure, many asbestos companies have established a bankruptcy asbestos trust fund.
An asbestos trust fund allows the manufacturers to pay off personal injury claims at a set rate fixed in the bankruptcy reorganization plan. Asbestos claimants make their case against the bankruptcy trust rather than in court. Some of the asbestos bankruptcy trusts manage billions of dollars set aside for claimants.
Asbestos Trust Fund Bankruptcy
Among the asbestos manufacturers and businesses that have filed for bankruptcy protection are the following companies, listed according to the year in which the corporation sought Chapter 11 protection:
1982 Amatex Corp. Johns-Manville Corp. Unarco Industries, Inc. UNR Industries, Inc.1983 Waterman Steamship Corp.1984 Wallace & Gale1985 Forty-Eight Insulations 1986 1987 1989 1990 1991 1992 |
1993 American Shipbuilding Co. Keene Corp.1996 Rock Wool Manufacturing1998 Brunswick Fabricators Fuller-Austin Insulation Co. M.H. Detrick1999 Harnischfeger Corp. Rutland Fire Clay Co. 2000 2001 2002 |
2003 C.E. Thurston Combustion Engineering Congoleum Corp. Dresser Industries/Halliburton Mid-Valley /Halliburton The Muralo Co.2004 Flintkote Co. JP Stevens Ogelbay Norton (ONCO) Quigley Co. Special Electric Co. Utex Industries2005 API Inc. Asarco, Inc. Brauer Supply Co. Lake Asbestos of Quebec2006 ABB Lummus Global Dana Corporation Lloyd E. Mitchell Co. 2007 2008 |
Asbestos Bankruptcy Trusts
Not all of the corporations listed have established bankruptcy trusts. Indeed, the list of asbestos bankruptcy trusts currently evaluating and paying health claims is much shorter, and includes the following corporations:
Manville (1982) Celotex (1990) National Gypsum (1990) Eagle Picher (1991) HK Porter (1991) Keene Corp. (1993) Armstrong World Industries (2000) Babcock & Wilcox (2000) |
Fibreboard (2000) Owens Corning Fiberglas (2000) United States Gypsum (2001) Harbison Walker/ AP Greene (2002) Kaiser Aluminum Corp. (2002) Plibrico (2002) Combustion Engineering (2003) Halliburton (2003) |