Fisk Street Generating Station (Chicago, Illinois):

Who May Have Been Exposed at Fisk Street Power Plant Chicago Illinois

At a large coal-fired generating station like Fisk Street, asbestos exposure was not limited to a single craft or occupation. Rather, the nature of power plant construction and maintenance allegedly created exposure risks across a broad spectrum of skilled trades.

Insulators (Heat and Frost Insulators) bear perhaps the most direct and intense documented association with asbestos exposure of any trade in American industrial history. At power plants, insulators were responsible for applying, removing, and replacing thermal insulation on steam pipes and distribution systems, boiler exteriors (“boiler lagging”), turbine casings, and valves, flanges, and fittings. This work involved direct, hands-on contact with asbestos-containing insulation materials. Mixing asbestos insulating cement, cutting asbestos blankets, and removing old asbestos lagging are all documented as high-dust-generating activities.

Pipefitters and Steamfitters worked with the extensive network of high-pressure steam pipes running throughout a coal-fired power plant, requiring constant maintenance, repair, and periodic replacement. They allegedly worked in close proximity to — and directly with — asbestos-containing materials including asbestos pipe insulation covering steam lines, asbestos gaskets used in flange connections throughout the steam system, and asbestos packing materials used to seal valves and pumps. When pipefitters cut, removed, or disturbed existing insulation to access pipes, or when they replaced gaskets and packing materials, they may have released asbestos fibers into the air of their immediate work environment.

Boilermakers at power plants like Fisk Street worked directly on the boiler units — among the most heavily insulated pieces of equipment in any generating station. Boilermaker work reportedly included repairing and replacing boiler tubes, maintaining boiler firebox refractory materials which may have contained asbestos, working within or immediately adjacent to asbestos-insulated boiler exteriors, and handling asbestos rope gaskets and packing materials used in boiler construction.

Electricians at power plants may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials through several pathways: electrical wire and cable insulation manufactured before the late 1970s in many cases contained asbestos in the cloth braid or insulating wrap; electrical panel backing boards, arc chutes in circuit breakers, and switchgear components frequently contained asbestos materials; and electricians working in areas where other tradespeople were simultaneously disturbing asbestos insulation may have faced bystander exposure.

Millwrights and Machinists responsible for maintaining the large turbines, generators, and mechanical systems at Fisk Street may have handled asbestos-containing gaskets, packing materials, and friction materials. Grinding, cutting, and machining operations on asbestos-containing components can release substantial quantities of airborne fiber.

Carpenters and Construction Workers general construction and carpentry work during renovation and expansion phases may have involved cutting, sanding, or disturbing asbestos-containing floor tiles, ceiling tiles, and fireproofing materials widely used in industrial construction through the mid-1970s.

Power Plant Operators and Maintenance Workers even workers not engaged in direct insulation or construction tasks may have faced chronic, lower-level asbestos exposure simply from working in areas where asbestos-containing materials were present on pipe systems throughout the facility. Laborers and Cleanup Crews workers responsible for cleaning up debris and dust in areas where asbestos-containing materials had been disturbed may have faced concentrated fiber exposure without the benefit of respiratory protection, particularly in earlier decades when such protection was not standard practice.