About National City Stockyards East St. Louis Illinois
The National City Stockyards in East St. Louis, Illinois, was one of the largest livestock processing complexes in the American Midwest—operating continuously from the late nineteenth century through the mid-to-late twentieth century. Located directly across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, the facility received cattle, hogs, and sheep from across the Midwest via extensive rail connections, encompassing millions of square feet of industrial space.
That scale required massive mechanical infrastructure: boiler systems, high-pressure steam piping networks, refrigeration machinery for cold storage, electrical systems, and heating and ventilation throughout the complex. Every one of those systems ran on asbestos-containing materials.
The infrastructure was installed primarily from the 1930s through the 1980s—and it required constant repair, maintenance, and renovation throughout that entire period. Workers faced asbestos exposure not just during initial installation but across decades of daily operations.
You just got a diagnosis. Or a family member did. And somewhere in the back of your mind, you’re connecting it to those years at the Stockyards—the boiler rooms, the steam pipes, the dust you never thought twice about.
You’re right to make that connection.
For decades, tens of thousands of workers at the National City Stockyards in East St. Louis, Illinois, handled asbestos-containing materials without warning or protection. Many are now receiving diagnoses of mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer—diseases with a direct, documented link to workplace asbestos exposure. **If you or a family member worked at the Stockyards and has been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, a mesothelioma lawyer in Missouri can help you pursue substantial compensation. Manufacturers, gaskets and packing, and are alleged to have knowingly sold these products without adequate warnings to the workers who handled them every day.
General Equipment at National City Stockyards East St. Louis 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 10 project notification(s) are documented with the Illinois EPA (NESHAP program) for Independence Power & Light in Missouri City. These are public regulatory records.
| Project ID | Year | Site / Building | Operation | ACM Removed | Contractor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3081-2002 | 2002 | 2002 O&M Missouri City Maint | Renovation | 5,000 sq. ft. equipment, 2,500 ln. ft. pipecovering. | Performance Abatement Services Inc. |
| 3297-2003 | 2003 | 2003 O&M Independence Power & Light, Missouri City | Renovation | estimate 5000 SqFt equipment, 2500 LnFt of pipe covering | Performance Abatement Services Inc. |
| 3567-2004 | 2004 | 2004 O & M Missouri City Maint. Plant | OM | 2500 lf tsi, 5000 sf tsi | Performance Abatement Services Inc. |
| 3865-2005 | 2005 | 2005 O&M Missouri City Maint | 5000 sf equipment, 5000 sf transite, 2500 lf pipecoverin | Performance Abatement Services Inc. | |
| 2830-2001 | 2001 | 2001 O&M Missouri City Maint 2001 | Renovation | 5,000 sq. ft. equipment, 2,500 ln. ft. pipecovering. | Performance Abatement Services Inc. |
| 2129-98 | 1999 | 1999 O&M Missouri City Maintenance | Renovation | 5000 sq. ft.equipment,2500 ln. ft.pipecovering friable ACM, and 5000 sq. ft. … | Performance Abatement Services Inc. |
| 2426-2000 | 2000 | 2000 O&M Missouri City Maint 2000 | Renovation | 5,000 sq. ft. equipment, 2,500 ln. ft. pipecovering. | Performance Abatement Services Inc. |
| 2425-2000 | 2000 | Missouri City # 1 & # 2 ID/FD Fans | Renovation | 3,500 sq. ft. fan housnig and duct. | Performance Abatement Services Inc. |
| 9045-2018 | 2018 | Missouri City Station | Demolition | mastic/insulation/glaze/caulk/transite/panels (32,899lf 28,902sf) | Kaw Valley Companies |
| 3042-2001 | 2001 | MO City Unit # 1 Boiler | Renovation | 400 sq. ft. duct work on stage heater | Performance Abatement Services Inc. |
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.