Mesothelioma Lawyer Indiana: Legal Rights for Workers Exposed at Eagle Valley Station

⚠️ URGENT FILING DEADLINE WARNING FOR Indiana workers

Indiana law gives asbestos victims 5 years from diagnosis to file a claim under Ind. Code § 34-20-3-1.

** The time to act is now — before August 28, 2026. If you or a loved one worked at Eagle Valley Station and has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or lung cancer, call today for a free consultation with a Indiana asbestos attorney.

A mesothelioma diagnosis is devastating. If you or a loved one worked at Eagle Valley Station in Martinsville, Indiana and has now received that diagnosis — or a diagnosis of asbestosis or asbestos-related lung cancer — you likely have legal rights and compensation options that expire on a hard deadline.

Coal-fired power plants built during Eagle Valley Station’s era relied on asbestos-containing materials throughout their construction. Workers in certain trades may have faced repeated exposure over the course of entire careers. Many of those workers came from Missouri and Illinois, traveling the Mississippi River industrial corridor to job sites throughout Indiana and the broader Midwest under union dispatch arrangements. Indiana residents who worked at Eagle Valley Station retain full legal rights under Indiana law when they return home with an asbestos-related diagnosis — in addition to any rights available under Indiana law.

This guide covers what is known about Eagle Valley Station, the health consequences of asbestos exposure, and the specific legal steps available to you now — including courts, deadlines, and procedures most relevant to Indiana workers and their families.

Table of Contents

  1. What Was Eagle Valley Station?
  2. Why Asbestos Was Used in Coal-Fired Power Plants
  3. Timeline of Asbestos Use at Eagle Valley Station
  4. High-Risk Trades and Job Categories
  5. Asbestos-Containing Products Allegedly Present
  6. How Asbestos Causes Disease
  7. Asbestos-Related Diseases: Mesothelioma, Asbestosis & Lung Cancer
  8. Warning Signs and Symptoms
  9. Legal Options for Former Workers — Missouri Focus
  10. Asbestos Trust Fund Resources and Compensation
  11. Indiana’s statute of limitations and Filing Deadlines
  12. What to Do Now: Next Steps

What Was Eagle Valley Station?

Location and Ownership History

Eagle Valley Station is a coal-fired electric generating facility in Martinsville, Morgan County, Indiana, along the White River in the southwestern Indianapolis metropolitan area.

The facility passed through several owners:

  • Public Service Indiana (PSI) — original operator
  • PSI Energy — following corporate restructuring
  • Cinergy Corp. — subsequent acquisition
  • AES Indiana — current ownership (through AES Corporation)

Operational Period and Construction

Eagle Valley Station reportedly began commercial operations in the 1950s — the peak era of asbestos use in American power generation. The facility:

  • Operated multiple generating units throughout its lifetime
  • Contained high-temperature steam systems, turbine-generator sets, boiler infrastructure, and miles of insulated piping
  • Ran continuously through the 1950s–1980s, the decades when asbestos-containing materials were most heavily applied in industrial construction
  • Has undergone maintenance, renovation, and regulatory remediation since the 1980s

Workers employed at Eagle Valley Station during any phase of operation — from initial construction through later maintenance — may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials. This includes workers who traveled from Indiana and Illinois under union dispatch arrangements common throughout the regional power generation industry. Indiana workers who traveled interstate for work at Indiana facilities retain full legal rights under Indiana law when they return home with an asbestos-related diagnosis.

The Mississippi River Industrial Corridor Context

Eagle Valley Station does not exist in isolation from Missouri and Illinois. The industrial corridor stretching along both sides of the Mississippi River — from St. Louis through East St. Louis, Granite City, and the Illinois American Bottom region — supplied skilled trades labor to power plants and industrial facilities throughout Indiana, Ohio, and neighboring states.

Union members dispatched from Heat and Frost Insulators Local 1, Plumbers and Pipefitters UA Local 562, and Boilermakers Local 27 in St. Louis and the greater Missouri-Illinois metro area may have worked at Eagle Valley Station and similar Midwest power generation facilities. Missouri-based facilities including Labadie Power Plant, Portage des Sioux Power Plant, and the Monsanto chemical complex in the St. Louis region shared the same contractors, the same asbestos-containing product manufacturers, and many of the same workers as Indiana facilities like Eagle Valley Station.

Workers who developed asbestos-related diseases after careers spanning multiple facilities across this corridor have pursued claims in Indiana and Illinois courts — in addition to, or instead of, Indiana courts.

Why Asbestos Was Used in Coal-Fired Power Plants

The Operating Environment

Coal-fired power plants burn coal to produce superheated steam that drives turbines. That process demands materials capable of withstanding extreme industrial conditions:

  • Steam temperatures exceeding 1,000°F at the superheater outlet
  • High-pressure steam piping throughout the facility requiring thermal insulation
  • Massive boiler structures requiring fireproofing and refractory insulation
  • Turbine casings and rotating equipment requiring specialized gaskets and packing materials
  • Electrical switchgear and control systems with high-temperature electrical components

Why Manufacturers Chose Asbestos-Containing Materials

Asbestos-containing materials dominated power plant construction because asbestos offered properties no competing material matched at the time:

  • Heat resistance — does not burn; tolerates temperatures above 1,000°F
  • Tensile strength — fibers could be woven, felted, or bound into flexible or rigid insulation forms
  • Chemical resistance — resisted steam, acids, and industrial chemicals
  • Low cost — asbestos was abundant and cheap throughout the 20th century

Engineers and contractors treated asbestos-containing materials as the accepted standard in power plant construction from the 1920s through the late 1970s.

What the Industry Concealed

Manufacturers including Johns-Manville, Owens-Corning, Owens-Illinois, and other major producers knew for decades that inhaling asbestos fibers causes irreversible, fatal disease — mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer. Internal documents produced in litigation show these companies actively suppressed medical evidence of those dangers while continuing to sell and profit from asbestos-containing materials. Their products were shipped through St. Louis and East St. Louis distribution hubs to job sites including Eagle Valley Station, under distribution networks and direct sales relationships with contractors operating throughout the Missouri-Illinois-Indiana industrial corridor.

Timeline of Asbestos Use at Eagle Valley Station

1950s–1960s: Construction and Installation Phase

Eagle Valley Station’s construction reportedly coincided with the peak era of asbestos use in American industry. Workers involved in original construction may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials applied to:

  • Boiler shells and superheater sections — insulated with magnesia and amosite block insulation products allegedly manufactured by Johns-Manville and Owens-Corning
  • Steam and feedwater piping — reportedly featuring magnesia pipe covering and calcium silicate products containing asbestos fibers
  • Turbine casings and steam systems — covered with thermal insulation and gasket materials allegedly produced by Garlock Sealing Technologies and Armstrong World Industries
  • Electrical components in control rooms and switchgear buildings — allegedly containing asbestos-containing electrical arc chutes and insulation materials
  • Refractory materials inside furnaces and boilers — asbestos-containing cements and ceramics allegedly used throughout the facility

Construction labor during this period was frequently drawn from union halls throughout the Midwest, including those serving the St. Louis metropolitan area on both sides of the Mississippi River. Missouri and Illinois workers who participated in Eagle Valley Station’s original construction may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials during that initial build phase.

1960s–1980s: Operational and Maintenance Phase

Ongoing maintenance activities throughout the plant’s operating decades allegedly created repeated exposure:

  • Major outages (“turnarounds”) — concentrated large numbers of workers in confined spaces where asbestos-containing materials were disturbed; union workers from Heat and Frost Insulators Local 1 (St. Louis) and other regional locals may have performed insulation work under regional dispatch agreements
  • Routine maintenance — pipefitters potentially including members of Plumbers and Pipefitters UA Local 562 (St. Louis), and boilermakers who may have been dispatched from Boilermakers Local 27 (St. Louis), regularly worked with asbestos-containing gaskets and packings allegedly manufactured by Garlock Sealing Technologies, and with thermal insulation
  • Equipment repairs and replacements — asbestos-containing components were reportedly removed and reinstalled without adequate precautions; workers may have been exposed to fibers released during removal of Monokote, Thermobestos, Aircell, and other brand-name asbestos-containing insulation products

The same contractors who serviced Labadie Power Plant (Franklin County, Missouri), Portage des Sioux Power Plant (St. Charles County, Missouri), and Granite City Steel in Madison County, Illinois reportedly also performed outage and maintenance work at comparable Indiana facilities during this period. Missouri and Illinois workers may have encountered the same asbestos-containing product brands at Eagle Valley Station that they encountered at Missouri and Illinois facilities during the same era.

1980s–Present: Regulatory Compliance and Abatement

As federal regulations took effect, Eagle Valley Station was required to conduct asbestos surveys and abatement:

  • EPA NESHAP regulations (National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants) governed asbestos emissions during facility operations and renovations (documented in NESHAP abatement records)
  • OSHA Asbestos Standard (29 CFR 1910.1001) set workplace exposure limits and required protective measures
  • Workers involved in abatement, renovation, or decommissioning may have been exposed to asbestos fibers where precautions were inadequate or prior abatement was incomplete

Indiana and Illinois workers who participated in abatement activities at Eagle Valley Station may have legal rights under both their home states’ laws and Indiana law. An experienced Indiana asbestos attorney can evaluate which jurisdiction offers the most favorable legal framework for a particular claim.

High-Risk Trades and Job Categories

Asbestos exposure at industrial power plants like Eagle Valley Station was concentrated among specific trades. Workers in the following categories may have faced repeated exposure to asbestos-containing materials. Many were members of Missouri and Illinois union locals who traveled to Indiana job sites under union dispatch or traveling-card arrangements.

Insulators and Insulation Workers

Highest documented exposure risk. Insulators’ core work involved direct, sustained handling of asbestos-containing materials:

  • Applied block insulation — including amosite block products allegedly manufactured by Johns-Manville and Owens-Corning — pipe insulation featuring magnesia coverings, and blanket insulation containing chrysotile or amosite asbestos fibers
  • Cut, fit, and finished asbestos-containing products such as Kaylo, Thermobestos, and Aircell, generating heavy concentrations of respirable fibers
  • Removed and replaced old insulation during outages, releasing fiber loads from asbestos-containing materials that had been in place for years or decades
  • Worked in confined, poorly ventilated spaces where fiber concentrations built up without adequate exhaust

Members of Heat and Frost Insulators Local 1 (St. Louis) who worked under traveling-card or dispatch arrangements at Eagle Valley Station may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials during this work. Epidemiological studies of insulator trade cohorts show mesothelioma mortality rates far exceeding those of the general population — a finding that has been replicated across multiple independent research populations.

Pipefitters and Steamfitters

Pipefitters and steamfitters worked throughout Eagle Valley Station’s high-temperature piping systems:

  • Installed, maintained, and replaced insulated high-pressure steam piping reportedly covered with magnesia and calcium silicate products containing asbestos

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