About National Steel Granite City Illinois
Granite City Steel Company: Origins and Early Development (1896–1971)
Granite City Steel Company was established in 1896 in Granite City, Illinois — a Madison County industrial city directly across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. The plant grew into one of the Midwest’s major integrated steel producers, positioned along the river to receive raw materials by barge.
Through the first half of the twentieth century, Granite City Steel produced flat-rolled steel for automotive manufacturers, appliance makers, and construction customers. The facility expanded dramatically during World War II, when wartime production demands required around-the-clock operation.
That expansion dramatically increased the volume of asbestos-containing insulation installed throughout the plant by specialty contractors affiliated with Heat and Frost Insulators Local 1. Products from, and were installed throughout the facility during this period — creating the foundation for decades of worker exposure.
National Steel’s Acquisition and Operation (1971–2003)
In 1971, National Steel Corporation — then one of the largest integrated steel producers in the United States — acquired Granite City Steel. The facility continued operating as a fully integrated steelmaking plant under the name National Steel’s Granite City Division.
Capital improvement and renovation projects throughout the 1970s and 1980s created some of the most hazardous asbestos exposure conditions in the plant’s history. Renovation work that disturbs previously installed asbestos products — materials from, and — generates fiber concentrations far exceeding those from original installation. Workers present during these projects may have been exposed to asbestos at dangerous levels without adequate warning or protection.
Ownership Changes: U.S. Steel and Cleveland-Cliffs (2003–Present)
National Steel Corporation collapsed in the early 2000s. In 2003, United States Steel Corporation acquired the facility through bankruptcy proceedings, renaming it Granite City Works. In 2020, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. acquired the plant.
Current ownership does not erase the asbestos legacy. Workers whose exposure occurred during the National Steel and earlier ownership periods retain legal rights against the manufacturers of the products that allegedly caused their illnesses.
The Workforce: Direct Employees and Contract Workers
At peak employment — particularly during the 1950s through 1980s — Granite City Works employed thousands of direct workers alongside contract employees and tradespeople. Workers who may have been exposed to asbestos at this facility included:
- Pipefitters (union and non-union)
- Boilermakers (exposed to block insulation and refractory products)
- Insulators from Heat and Frost Insulators Local 1 (installing and maintaining calcium silicate pipe insulation, Thermobestos, and other asbestos products)
- Millwrights (equipment installation and modification)
- Electricians (working around spray-applied asbestos products)
- Ironworkers (structural work involving pipe runs and equipment)
- Laborers (general facility exposure throughout the plant)
- Maintenance crew members (continuous exposure to deteriorating insulation)
- Specialty insulation contractors
- Boiler maintenance crews (direct exposure to and products)
- Pipe workers (installing and removing gaskets and packings)
General Equipment at National Steel Granite City 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.