Chrysler’s New Castle Plant Asbestos Exposure
Indiana Asbestos Attorney Guide: Workers at Chrysler’s New Castle Facility May Have Been Exposed
The Chrysler Corporation’s New Castle Machining and Assembly plant in New Castle, Indiana, was one of the largest automotive manufacturing facilities in Henry County and a major employer in eastern Indiana. Like nearly every large industrial plant built or expanded between the 1930s and 1970s, this facility may have incorporated asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) throughout its piping systems, insulation, equipment, and structural components.
Workers at the New Castle Chrysler plant — and anyone who spent significant time there in any capacity — may have been exposed to asbestos fibers. Asbestos causes mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis. Symptoms typically do not appear until 20–50 years after exposure. If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or an asbestos-related disease and worked at this facility, an experienced Indiana asbestos attorney can evaluate your case for potential compensation.
⚠️ CRITICAL INDIANA FILING DEADLINE WARNING
Indiana law gives you only TWO YEARS from your diagnosis date to file an asbestos lawsuit. This deadline is established under Ind. Code § 34-20-3-1 and it is strict — once it passes, you may permanently lose your right to pursue compensation in court, no matter how strong your case.
The clock starts running the day you are diagnosed — not the day you were exposed. Many mesothelioma victims are unaware of this distinction until it is too late.
Asbestos bankruptcy trust fund claims may also be available simultaneously with your lawsuit, and trust fund assets are actively depleting as more victims file. Every day you wait reduces the funds available to you.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, or asbestosis after working at the New Castle Chrysler plant, contact an experienced Indiana asbestos attorney today. The statute of limitations is not a technicality — it is a hard cutoff that ends your right to compensation.
If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, or asbestosis and worked at this facility, you may be entitled to substantial compensation. This article covers where asbestos-containing materials were allegedly present at New Castle, which workers faced the highest exposure risk, the diseases linked to asbestos exposure, and your Indiana legal options — including the two-year statute of limitations under Ind. Code § 34-20-3-1. Indiana’s deadline is among the strictest in the country. Contacting an experienced Indiana mesothelioma attorney promptly after diagnosis may be the single most important action you take.
Table of Contents
- About the New Castle Chrysler Plant
- Why Asbestos Was Used in Automotive Manufacturing
- Where Asbestos-Containing Materials Were Allegedly Present
- High-Risk Trades and Worker Categories
- Asbestos Products That May Have Been at This Facility
- Secondary and Household Asbestos Exposure
- Mesothelioma and Asbestos-Related Diseases
- Your Indiana Legal Options
- What to Do After Diagnosis
About the New Castle Chrysler Plant
A Major Automotive Manufacturing Hub in Indiana
The Chrysler Corporation’s New Castle Machining and Assembly plant operated as one of the most historically significant industrial facilities in Henry County and one of the most important automotive manufacturing centers in eastern Indiana. The plant was part of a broader industrial corridor that defined mid-twentieth-century Indiana manufacturing — an era that also included U.S. Steel Gary Works in Lake County, Bethlehem Steel Burns Harbor in Porter County, Inland Steel in East Chicago, and Cummins Engine in Columbus. Across all of these facilities, asbestos-containing materials were woven into the industrial fabric of the buildings and processes.
Operational History and Scale
The facility manufactured and assembled critical automotive components, including:
- Engine parts
- Transmissions
- Body panels and assemblies
- Structural components
The plant reportedly employed thousands of workers at various points in its history, drawing labor from Henry County and surrounding communities including Muncie, Anderson, and Richmond. Many of those workers were represented by unions whose members faced asbestos exposure risks across Indiana’s industrial sector — including Boilermakers Local 374 and Asbestos Workers Local 18, whose membership included insulators who worked contract jobs at automotive and manufacturing plants throughout the state. Contract workers affiliated with these and similar locals may have worked at the New Castle facility alongside Chrysler’s direct employees.
Manufacturing Processes and Asbestos Risk
The facility ran multiple manufacturing operations that generated heat, friction, and fire risk — the conditions that drove widespread use of asbestos-containing materials:
- Heavy machining operations
- Metal stamping
- Body fabrication
- Painting and curing processes
- Final assembly
If you worked in any of these areas and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease, Indiana’s two-year filing deadline under Ind. Code § 34-20-3-1 means you must act without delay. Contact an experienced Indiana asbestos attorney as soon as possible after your diagnosis.
Why Asbestos Was Used in Automotive Manufacturing
Industrial Properties That Made Asbestos the Default Choice
Asbestos is a naturally occurring silicate mineral valued for specific industrial properties that made it indispensable in automotive manufacturing environments:
- Exceptional heat resistance — capable of withstanding temperatures exceeding 1,000°F
- Electrical insulation — non-conductive and safe around electrical systems
- High tensile strength — durable when woven into textiles or mixed into composite materials
- Chemical resistance — resistant to acids, alkalis, and many solvents
- Low cost and abundant supply — particularly from mines in Canada and the American Southwest
Asbestos Exposure in Indiana’s Automotive Sector
Automotive manufacturing is punishing in terms of heat, friction, and fire risk. The processes at a facility like New Castle — metal stamping, body paint ovens, foundry work, high-temperature pipe systems, boiler rooms, and large-scale assembly line machinery — required extensive fire protection and insulation infrastructure. Asbestos-containing products were the dominant choice for:
- Industrial insulation
- Fireproofing systems
- Gasket and packing materials
- Friction components
- Protective barriers
Indiana’s industrial base during this era was among the most asbestos-intensive in the Midwest. The same product lines, the same insulation contractors, and many of the same union tradespeople who worked at U.S. Steel Gary Works, Bethlehem Steel Burns Harbor, and Inland Steel East Chicago also worked at automotive assembly plants like New Castle. The regional supply chains, contractor networks, and insulation trade practices that saturated northwest Indiana’s steel corridor with asbestos-containing materials were equally active in eastern Indiana’s automotive manufacturing centers.
Where Asbestos-Containing Materials Were Allegedly Present
Based on the documented construction era of the facility, the types of industrial operations conducted there, and records from comparable Chrysler and automotive manufacturing plants of the same vintage, workers and investigators have alleged that asbestos-containing materials may have been present throughout numerous systems and areas of the New Castle plant.
1. Pipe Insulation Systems
The steam and hot-water pipe networks running throughout any large manufacturing facility of this era were almost universally insulated with asbestos-containing pipe covering.
Composition: Typically amosite (brown asbestos) or chrysotile asbestos mixed with calcium silicate or magnesia
Affected trades:
- Pipefitters
- Plumbers
- Maintenance workers
- Contract insulators who may have performed pipe work at the facility
Exposure risk: Cutting, fitting, replacing, or working near this insulation may have released respirable asbestos-containing fibers
Alleged manufacturers: Workers and investigators have alleged that Johns-Manville and Owens-Illinois — including Kaylo-branded pipe insulation — may have supplied materials used at this facility. Members of Asbestos Workers Local 18 and similar Indiana insulator locals were among the trades that routinely handled and installed these products at automotive and heavy manufacturing facilities throughout the state.
2. Body Paint Ovens and Curing Systems
The high-temperature paint baking ovens used to cure automotive finishes were among the most thermally demanding systems in any assembly plant.
Types of ACMs allegedly present:
- Asbestos-containing insulating cements
- Block insulation
- Refractory materials
- Thermobestos and similar high-temperature insulation products
Exposure risk: Maintenance, repair, or lining replacement work may have disturbed asbestos-containing materials and released fibers
Alleged manufacturers: Johns-Manville, Eagle-Picher, W.R. Grace
3. Boiler Rooms and Steam Generation Equipment
The facility’s boiler systems — used to generate steam for heating, manufacturing processes, and power — may have been insulated with asbestos-containing materials throughout their operational lives.
Types of ACMs allegedly present:
- Boiler insulation (pipe covering, block, and blanket insulation)
- Valve packing materials
- Asbestos-containing gaskets and sealing compounds
- Unibestos and similar proprietary asbestos products
Exposure risk: Boiler outages, repairs, and upgrades may have released asbestos fibers
Affected trades: Boilermakers, pipefitters, heat and frost insulators. Boilermakers Local 374 members in Indiana routinely performed contract work at automotive plants in addition to their work at steel mills and utilities — members of this local who worked at the New Castle facility may have been among those with the highest potential boiler-related asbestos exposure.
Alleged manufacturers: Johns-Manville, Garlock Sealing Technologies
4. Stamping Presses and Heavy Machinery
Metal stamping operations generated significant heat through friction and hydraulic systems.
Types of ACMs allegedly present:
- Insulation on hydraulic lines
- Asbestos-containing packing materials used in presses
- Refractory linings on associated equipment
- Asbestos cloth and millboard heat shields
- Protective barriers around stamping and forming equipment
Affected trades: Millwrights, maintenance mechanics
Alleged manufacturers: Garlock Sealing Technologies, Crane Co.
5. Floor Tiles and Flooring Systems
Armstrong World Industries was among the largest manufacturers of vinyl asbestos floor tiles (VAT) in the United States, and their products were widely installed in industrial facilities including automotive plants. Armstrong distributed its products through regional building supply networks that served Indiana’s industrial construction market throughout the postwar era.
Where allegedly installed:
- Administrative areas
- Break rooms and lunchrooms
- Certain production areas
- Assembly line walkways
Exposure risk: Installation, grinding, sanding, or removal — particularly during renovation — may have released asbestos fibers
Affected trades: Tile installers, carpenters, maintenance workers
Alleged products: Armstrong brand asbestos-containing vinyl composition tiles
6. Gaskets and Packing Materials
Throughout the facility’s industrial systems — including steam lines, compressor equipment, pumps, and process piping — asbestos-containing gaskets and rope packing materials were standard components for sealing flanges and valve stems.
Types of products allegedly present:
- Asbestos rope packing
- Molded and flat gaskets containing asbestos fibers
- Cranite asbestos gasket products
- Asbestos-containing valve stem packing
Exposure risk: Cutting gaskets to size, removing worn packing, and handling these materials in confined mechanical spaces may have released significant concentrations of asbestos fibers — often in poorly ventilated areas where workers had no warning of the hazard
Affected trades: Pipefitters, mechanics, millwrights, maintenance workers
Alleged manufacturers: Garlock Sealing Technologies, John Crane Inc., Flexitallic
7. Spray-Applied Fireproofing and Structural Insulation
During construction and renovation projects through the late 1970s, spray-applied
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