Mesothelioma Lawyer Indiana: Asbestos Cancer Cases at Clifty Creek Power Station

Indiana workers’ Guide to Asbestos Exposure Claims, Trust Funds, and Filing Deadlines

⚠️ URGENT Indiana FILING DEADLINE WARNING
Indiana’s asbestos statute of limitations is 2 years under Ind. Code § 34-20-3-1.
**Missouri > If you or a family member has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease after working at Clifty Creek Power Station—or at any facility where Clifty Creek workers also labored—contact a mesothelioma lawyer in Indiana immediately. Do not wait.

How a mesothelioma lawyer in Indiana Can Help You

If you worked at Clifty Creek Power Station near Madison, Indiana, and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease, a Indiana asbestos attorney can evaluate your legal rights and recovery options. This guide explains:

Why workers at Clifty Creek may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials
Which trades faced the highest exposure risk
Your legal claims in Indiana and other jurisdictions
**Current filing deadlines—and why the August 28, 2026

Clifty Creek Power Station: Facility Overview and Asbestos Exposure Risk

Ownership, History, and Scale

Clifty Creek Power Station sits on the north bank of the Ohio River in Madison, Indiana (Jefferson County). Construction began in the early 1950s, with the facility coming online between 1955 and 1958.

Indiana-Kentucky Electric Corporation (IKEC) developed and owned the plant—a joint venture between:

Indiana Power & Light Company (later absorbed into AES Corporation)
Kentucky Utilities Company (today part of PPL Corporation)

At peak operation, Clifty Creek ran six large steam-generating units with combined capacity exceeding 1,300 megawatts, supplying electricity across Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and surrounding regions.

For much of its operational life, Clifty Creek ranked among the largest coal-fired power stations in the eastern United States. Six generating units meant extensive boiler systems, miles of high-pressure steam piping, turbines, generators, condensers, and auxiliary equipment—all built during an era when asbestos-containing materials were standard throughout power generation construction and maintenance.

Connection to the Mississippi River Industrial Corridor

Clifty Creek did not operate in isolation. The facility drew union tradesmen and contract workers from the densely industrialized Mississippi River corridor—stretching through St. Louis, East St. Louis, Alton, Wood River, Granite City, and surrounding Missouri and Illinois communities. Workers who spent portions of their careers at Clifty Creek may have also worked at:

Labadie Energy Center (Franklin County, Missouri) — Ameren Missouri’s largest coal-fired generating station
Portage des Sioux Power Plant (St. Charles County, Missouri) — another major Ameren predecessor facility
Monsanto chemical facilities (St. Louis County, Missouri)
Granite City Steel (Madison County, Illinois)

Workers dispatched from Missouri or Illinois union halls to Clifty Creek may hold legal rights in multiple jurisdictions—with different deadlines and procedures applying in each. **For Indiana residents, the stakes are particularly high:

Why Coal-Fired Power Plants Used Asbestos-Containing Materials

Thermal Demands at Clifty Creek

Coal-fired power plants are heat-transfer machines designed to harness extraordinary thermal energy. Coal combustion produces superheated steam exceeding 1,000°F at pressures that can exceed 2,400 psi. That thermal energy must travel through miles of piping and massive equipment without catastrophic heat loss or fire risk.

From 1900 through the mid-1970s, asbestos-containing materials were the industry standard for thermal insulation and fire protection in power generation. No comparable substitute existed at scale or comparable cost.

Why Power Operators Chose Asbestos Products

Asbestos-containing products delivered specific performance characteristics that the industry demanded:

Heat resistance beyond what organic materials could provide
Fire suppression in fuel-combustion environments
Tensile strength suitable for weaving, felting, and composite manufacturing
Chemical resistance in high-pressure steam environments
Cost-effectiveness across large-scale construction
Active endorsement under federal and industry safety standards of the era

Manufacturers Allegedly Supplying Clifty Creek and Similar Facilities

Manufacturers that reportedly supplied asbestos-containing products to power generation facilities like Clifty Creek included:

Johns-Manville — pipe covering, block insulation, gaskets, asbestos-cement products
Owens-Corning — thermal insulation and protection products
Owens-Illinois (Kaylo brand) — block insulation and pipe covering
Armstrong World Industries — insulation and building materials
Combustion Engineering — boiler equipment with integrated asbestos-containing insulation
Babcock & Wilcox — boiler equipment with asbestos-containing components
Celotex Corporation — insulation and building products
Eagle-Picher — thermal insulation products
W.R. Grace — construction and insulation materials
Garlock Sealing Technologies — gasket and packing materials
Crane Co. — valves, flanges, and packing materials

Internal industry documents produced in litigation have established that many of these manufacturers knew about asbestos health hazards decades before warning workers or the public.

Volume of Asbestos-Containing Materials at Clifty Creek

Six generating units meant enormous quantities of asbestos-containing materials throughout the facility. Each unit reportedly included:

Large coal-fired boilers with asbestos-containing insulation and gaskets
High-pressure steam lines with asbestos pipe covering throughout
Turbine casings with asbestos-containing insulation
Condensers with asbestos-containing gaskets and packing materials
Feedwater heaters, pumps, and auxiliary piping with asbestos-containing insulation
Electrical switchgear and cable insulation allegedly containing asbestos components
Building materials including ceiling tiles, floor tiles, and sprayed fireproofing reportedly containing asbestos fibers

The total volume of asbestos-containing materials at Clifty Creek was substantial. The number of workers potentially exposed across construction, operations, and major maintenance outages spanning several decades was large.

Which Workers at Clifty Creek May Have Been Exposed to Asbestos?

Asbestos exposure at a coal-fired generating station was not limited to a single trade or department. Workers across multiple occupational categories may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials at Clifty Creek.

Insulators (Heat and Frost Workers)

Insulators—historically called “asbestos workers” in some union jurisdictions—faced among the highest potential for asbestos exposure at power generation facilities. Their core work was installing and maintaining thermal insulation on pipes, boilers, turbines, and related equipment. From the 1950s through the 1970s, that insulation was almost exclusively asbestos-containing.

Workers dispatched from Heat and Frost Insulators Local 1 (St. Louis, Missouri)—one of the most significant insulator locals serving the Mississippi River industrial corridor—may have worked at Clifty Creek on construction or outage contracts. Local 1 members were reportedly dispatched to facilities across Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri throughout the mid-twentieth century.

These workers may have:

Mixed asbestos-containing insulating cement by hand, generating airborne fibers
Sawed, cut, and shaped asbestos pipe covering and block insulation
Applied asbestos lagging cloth and finishing cement
Removed degraded asbestos-containing insulation during outages without adequate respiratory protection
Worked in enclosed spaces with limited ventilation

Asbestos-containing materials allegedly used by insulators at this facility reportedly included products from Johns-Manville, Owens-Corning, Kaylo (Owens-Illinois), and Armstrong World Industries—products that reportedly contained 15% to 85% chrysotile or amosite asbestos by content.

Indiana filing note: If you were dispatched from Local 1 or another Indiana union hall to Clifty Creek and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma or asbestosis, Indiana law may provide a legal pathway regardless of where exposure occurred. Under Ind. Code § 34-20-3-1, you currently have 5 years from diagnosis to file. Indiana

Pipefitters and Steamfitters

Pipefitters and steamfitters installed, maintained, and repaired high-pressure steam, feedwater, and auxiliary piping systems. That work placed them in constant proximity to asbestos-containing pipe insulation and required direct handling of asbestos-containing gaskets and packing materials.

Workers dispatched from United Association Local 562 (St. Louis, Missouri)—one of the largest pipefitter locals in the region—may have worked at Clifty Creek on construction or maintenance outages. These workers may have:

Cut and removed asbestos-containing gaskets from flanged pipe connections
Cut new asbestos-containing sheet gaskets to shape on the job
Removed and replaced valve packing containing braided asbestos fibers
Disturbed pipe insulation during valve and flange work
Worked alongside insulators during outage periods when asbestos dust was pervasive

Asbestos-containing gasket and packing materials allegedly present at Clifty Creek reportedly included products from Garlock Sealing Technologies, Crane Co., and A.W. Chesterton Company—materials that reportedly contained chrysotile and crocidolite asbestos.

Boilermakers and Power Plant Operators

Boilermakers constructed, maintained, and repaired boiler equipment and pressure vessels. Those working at Clifty Creek may have been exposed to asbestos-containing insulation and gasket materials during installation and maintenance work on boiler systems.

Power plant operators and auxiliary operators—sometimes called operating engineers—worked daily inside the plant in close proximity to insulated piping, valves, and equipment. The degradation of asbestos-containing insulation over decades of operation may have released asbestos fibers into the workplace atmosphere, affecting operators and other workers present in those areas.

Electricians and Instrumentation Technicians

Electricians and instrumentation technicians installing and maintaining electrical systems, switchgear, control wiring, and instrumentation may have been exposed to asbestos-containing components in electrical cable insulation, cable trays, and equipment enclosures. Certain vintage electrical equipment reportedly contained asbestos-containing insulation materials as a standard manufacturing specification.

General Laborers and Maintenance Workers

General laborers and maintenance workers performing diverse tasks at the facility—demolition, housekeeping, equipment relocation, facility modifications—may have encountered asbestos-containing building materials, pipe insulation, and related products throughout the plant. The frequency and intensity of exposure varied by assignment, but exposure potential existed across the facility.

Contracted Construction and Maintenance Crews

Clifty Creek, like all large power generation facilities, relied heavily on contracted crews for construction, major outages, and specialized maintenance. Workers from Missouri and Illinois construction firms, specialty trade contractors, and union hiring halls were repeatedly cycled through the facility over decades. Contract workers may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials at Clifty Creek regardless of