The Metro-East — the Illinois side of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area — was one of the most heavily industrialized corridors in the country. Along the Mississippi bottomland known as the American Bottom, and up the Riverbend north toward Alton, workers built and ran steel mills, oil refineries, chemical plants, and the rail and river infrastructure that tied them together. From the early twentieth century into the 1980s, those operations relied on asbestos-containing materials for insulation, fireproofing, and sealing — and the workers who installed, maintained, and tore out those materials were reportedly exposed for entire careers.
The region divides into two counties, and for anyone weighing a legal claim the distinction matters, because it determines the courthouse. Madison County — the Riverbend and Granite City — is served by the Third Judicial Circuit, historically the single most active asbestos docket in the United States. St. Clair County — East St. Louis, Belleville, and the chemical plants of Sauget — is served by the Twentieth Judicial Circuit. Select a county below to see its communities and documented facilities, or browse the full site list.