About Coffeen Power Station Montgomery County Illinois
Timeline of Exposure
Original Construction (Mid-1960s)
- Insulators from Heat and Frost Insulators Local 1 (St. Louis) and Local 27 (Kansas City) applied asbestos insulation throughout the facility
- Pipefitters from UA Local 562 (St. Louis) installed piping with asbestos gaskets and packing
- Boilermakers used asbestos materials in boiler construction
- Exposure was continuous throughout the construction period
Routine Maintenance (1960s Through 1980s)
- Degraded gaskets and packing and gaskets were scraped and replaced, releasing fibers
- Insulation removal and reapplication disturbed settled asbestos dust
- Workers accumulated exposure over years of repeated contact
Major Outage Work (Periodic Overhauls)
- Boilers, turbines, and piping were disassembled for inspection and repair
- Insulation stripped in confined spaces with multiple trades working simultaneously — among the highest-exposure scenarios documented in power plant litigation
Capital Projects and Upgrades
Environmental modifications and equipment upgrades disturbed legacy asbestos materials throughout the plant’s operational life.
Which Trades Faced the Highest Exposure Risk
Insulators and Insulation Workers — Highest Risk
Insulators from Heat and Frost Insulators Local 1 and Local 27 worked directly with asbestos materials daily.
- Applied, cut, and removed asbestos insulation in poorly ventilated spaces
- Handled calcium silicate pipe insulation, Thermobestos materials, and asbestos finishing cements
- Union records document their presence at Coffeen and provide critical evidentiary support for claims
Pipefitters and Steamfitters — High Risk
Pipefitters from UA Local 562 and Local 268 faced significant exposure throughout installation and maintenance work.
- Installed and repaired piping systems alongside insulators, inhaling fibers released by nearby work
- Replaced asbestos gaskets and packing materials in steam and process lines
Boilermakers — High Risk
- Entered boiler fireboxes and worked on refractory linings during outages
- Encountered asbestos refractory materials and insulation products and Armstrong during repairs and inspections
Electricians — Moderate to High Risk
Electricians encountered asbestos exposure sources that are often overlooked in early case evaluations.
- Handled electrical insulation containing asbestos
- Maintained switchgear with asbestos arc chutes and components
- Routinely worked in areas where insulation removal was actively underway
General Equipment at Coffeen Power Station Montgomery County Illinois
The equipment below represents the systems and infrastructure documented or typically present at this facility during the era when asbestos-containing materials were specified in industrial construction. This is general facility-equipment reference — not a legal attribution of any specific product, manufacturer, or exposure event to this facility. Material-category and manufacturer information is addressed in the AsbestosIndex Product Crosswalk linked under the records table below.
Documented Asbestos Evidence
The records below are verified, state-documented asbestos removals at this facility. Each entry represents a regulated abatement project where the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) was notified under federal NESHAP rules, the work was logged, and the asbestos-containing material was confirmed and removed under regulated conditions. These are not allegations or estimates — they are paper records tying documented asbestos-containing material to this specific site.
The following 4 project notification(s) are documented with the Illinois EPA (NESHAP program) for Ameren Missouri in Labadie. These are public regulatory records.
| Project ID | Year | Site / Building | Operation | ACM Removed | Contractor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A6884-2015 | 2016 | 2016 O&M Ameren Labadie Power Station | OM | Will advise per project. | Envirotech, Inc. |
| A7273-2017 | 2017 | Ameren Labadie Power Station | Renovation | 800sf frbl TSI, 128sf n-f galbestos, 200lf frbl TSI, 20lf frbl gasket | Envirotech, Inc. |
| 5959-2013 | 2013 | Labadie Energy Center Microwave Bldg | Demolition | caulk, metal siding (asb contr=CENPRO) (NF I-550sf; NF II-91lf) | Plocher Construction Company Inc. |
| 11366-2022 | 2022 | Ameren Labadie Entrance Bridge | Demolition | none | Spirtas Wrecking Company |
Source: Illinois EPA, NESHAP Asbestos Abatement & Demolition/Renovation Notification Program — public regulatory records.
Material Categories in Documented Records
The materials documented above (and similar asbestos-containing materials commonly encountered in records of this type) appear in the AsbestosIndex catalog with historical manufacturer and trust-fund information. Click a category to view manufacturers historically associated with that material:
Critical Filing Deadline & Next Steps
Illinois law gives mesothelioma and asbestos-disease claimants 2 years from the date of medical diagnosis to file a personal-injury lawsuit (735 ILCS 5/13-202). For wrongful-death claims after an asbestos-related death, the filing window is 2 years from the date of death (740 ILCS 180/2). The two deadlines run on separate tracks — preserving one does not extend the other.
The personal-injury clock runs from diagnosis, not from exposure. Mesothelioma latency is typically 20 to 50 years, so workers exposed in the 1950s–1980s are being diagnosed today.
Practical first steps
- Document what you remember. Pay stubs, W-2s, union cards, photographs, coworker names, and dates of employment. The WorkChain widget on this page can save a copy you can email yourself.
- Preserve medical records. Pathology reports, biopsy results, imaging, and pulmonary-function tests are central to both civil claims and trust-fund filings.
- Identify household members. Spouses who laundered work clothing and children of plant workers are eligible for secondary-exposure claims when diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease.
- Speak with an asbestos attorney with Illinois experience. The first conversation is free and confidential. Asbestos trust-fund claims and civil claims run on different tracks — both can be pursued in parallel.
Asbestos-Related Diseases
Asbestos fiber exposure can cause several specific diseases that typically appear decades after the original exposure. The latency period — the gap between exposure and diagnosis — usually runs 20 to 50 years. That's why workers exposed in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s are receiving diagnoses today.
Mesothelioma
A rare, aggressive cancer that affects the lining of the lungs (pleural mesothelioma), abdomen (peritoneal), or heart (pericardial). Mesothelioma is almost exclusively caused by asbestos exposure, which is why a mesothelioma diagnosis often points directly to historical workplace exposure. Average latency from first exposure to diagnosis is 30-50 years.
Asbestosis
A chronic, non-cancerous scarring of lung tissue caused by inhaled asbestos fibers. Asbestosis causes progressive shortness of breath, persistent cough, and reduced lung function. It does not improve with treatment, and it is a recognized basis for compensation under most trust schedules and civil claims.
Lung Cancer
Asbestos exposure significantly increases the risk of lung cancer, particularly when combined with a history of smoking. Asbestos-related lung cancer is compensable under the same trust schedules and civil claim avenues as mesothelioma.
Other Recognized Diseases
Pleural plaques, pleural thickening, laryngeal cancer, ovarian cancer, and certain gastrointestinal cancers are also recognized as asbestos-related under various trust schedules and case-law authorities, though eligibility and proof requirements vary by claim type.
If you have any of these diagnoses and you worked at this facility, lived with someone who did, or were exposed in any documented capacity, you may have a claim worth pursuing. Speak with an attorney before assuming you don't qualify.
Data Sources
Information about facility equipment, industrial materials, and occupational records referenced on this page is drawn from publicly available sources where applicable, including:
- EPA ECHO Facility Compliance Database — enforcement and compliance records for industrial facilities
- OSHA Establishment Search — federal workplace inspection history
- EIA Form 860 Plant Data — power-plant equipment and ownership records (where applicable)
- Illinois Environmental Protection Agency NESHAP asbestos abatement notification records
- Published asbestos trial and trust fund records (publicly filed court documents)
- AsbestosIndex Product & Manufacturer Crosswalk — historical asbestos-containing product schedules linked to manufacturers
If specific equipment or product claims in this article are sourced from a non-public database, the source is identified parenthetically within the text above.