Mesothelioma Lawyer Missouri: Asbestos Attorney for Best Foods / Unilever Chicago Workers

A Health and Legal Resource for Food Processing Workers

Urgent Filing Deadline: Missouri imposes a five-year statute of limitations on asbestos personal injury claims under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.120—running from the date of diagnosis. Miss that deadline and your claim is gone. If you or a family member may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials at Best Foods / Unilever Chicago, call a Missouri asbestos attorney today. Pending legislation, HB1649, may also impose strict trust disclosure requirements for cases filed after August 28, 2026. Do not wait.

If you worked at the Best Foods / Unilever manufacturing facility on Chicago’s West Side during the twentieth century, you may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials through the industrial steam systems, boilers, and piping that powered food production. Asbestos exposure has no safe level. Workers exposed to asbestos-containing materials decades ago can develop mesothelioma, asbestosis, and other serious diseases years or even decades after their last contact with those materials. This guide—written from the perspective of an experienced asbestos cancer lawyer serving Missouri workers—covers what workers may have encountered at this facility, where exposure reportedly occurred, and what legal options exist today for pursuing a Missouri mesothelioma settlement or asbestos trust fund claim.

What Was Best Foods / Unilever Chicago? Industrial Scale and Exposure Risk

The Facility and Its Corporate History

The Best Foods / Unilever manufacturing operation on Chicago’s West Side was one of the largest industrial food processing sites in the American Midwest. Best Foods, Inc. produced:

Hellmann’s Mayonnaise
Skippy Peanut Butter
Mazola Corn Oil
Karo Syrup

The facility ran large-scale manufacturing and processing operations throughout much of the twentieth century—a period when asbestos-containing materials were routinely specified for industrial use across every sector of American manufacturing.

Corporate Ownership Timeline and Liability

Best Foods traced its lineage through the Corn Products Refining Company, established in the early twentieth century. Ownership and corporate identity shifted across multiple entities:

Corn Products Refining Company (1900s–1950s)
CPC International (1960s–1990s)
Best Foods (late 1990s)
Unilever N.V. (acquired 2000 for approximately $20.3 billion)

Each corporate entity may bear responsibility for asbestos-containing materials installed or maintained during its ownership period. An experienced asbestos attorney in Missouri can trace these corporate liability chains and identify solvent defendants still capable of paying a judgment or settlement.

The Industrial Infrastructure Behind Food Production

This was not a commercial kitchen. The Chicago facility operated as a heavy industrial manufacturing plant requiring:

Massive steam boilers for cooking, sterilization, and processing
Extensive high-pressure piping systems carrying steam and hot water
Industrial ovens and dryers operating at extreme temperatures
Turbines and heat exchangers for energy management
Refrigeration systems for cold storage
Electrical systems powering large-scale industrial equipment

These industrial systems—not the food products themselves—are why workers at Best Foods / Unilever Chicago may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials throughout much of the twentieth century.

Why Industrial Food Processing Facilities Used Asbestos-Containing Materials

Asbestos Exposure Beyond Steel Mills and Shipyards

Steel mills, shipyards, and power plants receive most of the attention in asbestos litigation. That focus is incomplete. Any facility operating high-temperature steam systems, boilers, and industrial piping reportedly specified, installed, and maintained asbestos-containing materials throughout the mid-twentieth century. Food processing facilities are no exception.

Thermal Insulation and Heat Management

Steam-based food processing requires maintaining precise, high temperatures for cooking, pasteurization, and sterilization. Asbestos-containing pipe insulation, block insulation, and blanket insulation were the industry standard for:

Maintaining processing temperatures efficiently
Reducing heat loss across miles of piping
Protecting workers from surface burns on hot equipment

Manufacturers such as Johns-Manville, Owens-Illinois, and W.R. Grace actively marketed asbestos-containing thermal products to food processing facilities throughout the mid-twentieth century. A Missouri asbestos attorney can identify and pursue claims against these manufacturers—many of which established bankruptcy trust funds specifically to compensate exposed workers.

Fire and Heat Resistance in Boiler Systems

Industrial boilers and furnaces operating at hundreds of degrees Fahrenheit required fire-resistant materials throughout their construction and maintenance cycles. Asbestos-containing materials reportedly specified for boiler applications included:

Refractory cements containing asbestos fibers
Castable refractories with asbestos reinforcement
High-temperature gaskets manufactured by Garlock Sealing Technologies and Crane Co.
Boiler block insulation products from Armstrong World Industries and Johns-Manville

Pressure System Integrity and Sealing

High-pressure steam systems require gaskets and packing materials that withstand both extreme temperatures and significant mechanical stress. Asbestos-containing materials reportedly used in these applications included:

Compressed sheet gaskets manufactured by Garlock Sealing Technologies
Valve packing and rope seals containing asbestos fibers
Flange gaskets at all major steam connections
Turbine packing materials produced by Combustion Engineering

The Pre-Regulation Era: Cost, Availability, and Industry Practice

Until the EPA and OSHA began restricting asbestos use in the 1970s and 1980s, asbestos-containing materials were:

Cheaper than alternative insulation materials
Available from numerous manufacturers including Johns-Manville, Owens Corning, Eagle-Picher, and W.R. Grace
Actively marketed to industrial facilities across all sectors
Treated as the standard for industrial insulation and fire resistance

Workers at Best Foods / Unilever Chicago who worked in or around boiler rooms, mechanical rooms, steam piping systems, and equipment maintenance areas during approximately 1920 through the mid-1980s—and potentially later during abatement and renovation work—may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials on a regular basis.

Where Asbestos-Containing Materials Were Located: Exposure Pathways

Based on the types of industrial operations documented at large-scale food processing facilities of this era, workers at Best Foods / Unilever Chicago may have encountered asbestos-containing materials in the following areas.

Boiler Rooms and Steam Generation Areas: Highest-Risk Zones

The boiler room is historically the highest-exposure environment in industrial facilities. Boilers at food processing plants of this scale reportedly required:

Asbestos-containing block insulation—including products manufactured by Johns-Manville and Owens-Illinois—applied to boiler shells and drums
Asbestos refractory cement and castables used in firebox construction and repair
Asbestos rope packing around boiler doors and hatches
Asbestos-containing gaskets at steam connections and flanges, potentially manufactured by Garlock Sealing Technologies or Crane Co.
Asbestos cloth and blankets used during boiler repairs and shutdowns

Workers who performed boiler inspections, repairs, and tube replacements—or who simply worked in proximity to the boiler room—may have inhaled airborne asbestos fibers during these operations. Boilermakers and maintenance workers at facilities of this type are well-represented in mesothelioma litigation nationwide.

Steam Piping and Distribution Systems: Ongoing Disturbance Risk

Large food processing facilities require extensive steam distribution piping throughout the plant. This piping may have been covered with:

Asbestos-containing pipe covering manufactured by Johns-Manville and W.R. Grace—including “mag-85” insulation combining magnesia and asbestos fibers
Asbestos-containing fitting covers at elbows, tees, and valves
Asbestos canvas jacketing over pipe insulation systems, including products from Armstrong World Industries
Asbestos-containing joint compounds at pipe connections

Every time this insulation was cut, removed, or disturbed for pipe repairs or modifications, asbestos fibers may have been released into the surrounding air. Pipefitters and insulators at Best Foods / Unilever Chicago faced repeated potential exposure through this mechanism across the length of their careers.

Mechanical Equipment: Pumps, Valves, and Turbines

Industrial steam systems require numerous mechanical components that may have incorporated:

Asbestos-containing compressed sheet gaskets at pump flanges and valve bonnets, manufactured by Garlock Sealing Technologies
Asbestos rope and braided packing in pump and valve stems
Asbestos-containing turbine insulation on steam turbines, potentially manufactured by Combustion Engineering
Asbestos millboard used as heat shields under and around industrial equipment

Routine maintenance of pumps and valves—cutting old gaskets, removing valve packing, installing new seals—is consistently identified in asbestos litigation as a primary exposure pathway for pipefitters and boilermakers. The work generates visible dust. Workers inhale it.

Electrical Systems and Control Rooms

Electricians at the facility may have encountered:

Asbestos-containing electrical wire and cable insulation
Asbestos-containing arc chutes and flash guards in electrical switchgear
Asbestos millboard used as backing in electrical panels
Asbestos cloth used for wrapping wire bundles near heat sources

Building Structure and Renovation Work

The physical structure of older industrial buildings of this era frequently incorporated asbestos-containing materials:

Sprayed-on asbestos fireproofing applied to structural steel beams and columns
Asbestos-containing floor tiles (vinyl asbestos tile) manufactured by Georgia-Pacific and other suppliers
Asbestos-containing ceiling tiles in offices and some production areas
Asbestos-containing roofing materials, including products from Johns-Manville, on older facility sections
Asbestos-containing joint compound—products labeled Gold Bond and Sheetrock—used in construction and renovation work

Renovation and demolition activities are particularly hazardous because they disturb materials that may have been stable for decades, releasing concentrated fiber loads into occupied work areas.

Maintenance and Repair Shops

Facility maintenance shops may have been locations where workers were allegedly exposed to:

Asbestos-containing brake linings on industrial equipment and vehicles
Asbestos-containing clutch facings
Asbestos textile materials in heat-resistant gloves, curtains, and protective covers

Occupations at Highest Exposure Risk

Asbestos disease results from fiber inhalation, regardless of whether a worker installed asbestos-containing materials directly or simply worked nearby when someone else did. Certain trades at Best Foods / Unilever Chicago faced elevated exposure risks—and those workers, or their surviving family members, may qualify for substantial compensation through settlements, verdicts, and asbestos trust fund claims.

Boilermakers: Frontline Exposure

Boilermakers who constructed, repaired, and maintained the facility’s steam boilers faced some of the most intense potential asbestos exposures documented in occupational health literature. Boiler work routinely required:

Removing and replacing asbestos block insulation manufactured by Johns-Manville and Owens-Illinois
Applying refractory cements allegedly containing asbestos fibers
Working inside boiler fireboxes lined with asbestos-containing refractory materials

Boilermakers are among the occupational groups with the highest documented rates of mesothelioma and asbestosis in epidemiological research. A Missouri mesothelioma lawyer can connect boilermakers and their families to relevant asbestos trust funds and liable product manufacturers.

Pipefitters and Steamfitters: Repeated Occupational Contact

Pipefitters who installed, repaired, and modified the facility’s steam piping systems were allegedly exposed to asbestos-containing pipe insulation on a routine basis:

Cutting pipe covering manufactured by Johns-Manville and W.R. Grace to access flanges and valves
Breaking apart old insulation during repair work
Working alongside insulators applying new pipe covering, and replacing gaskets manufactured by Garlock Sealing Technologies

Pipefitters and steamfitters represent a substantial occupational cohort in asbestos trust fund claim data—a direct reflection of how consistently and severely this trade was affected.

Heat and Frost Insulators: Direct Product Handling

Members of the Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers working in the Chicago area were directly responsible for applying and removing asbestos-containing pipe and equipment insulation. Their work included:

Mixing asbestos-containing