Burns Harbor Asbestos Exposure & Your Legal Rights

For Workers, Former Employees, and Families Facing Mesothelioma or Asbestosis

⚠️ CRITICAL INDIANA FILING DEADLINE WARNING
Indiana law gives you only TWO YEARS from your diagnosis date to file a civil lawsuit. Under Ind. Code § 34-20-3-1, this statute of limitations deadline is strict — and once it passes, your right to pursue compensation in court may be permanently lost.
Do not wait. If you or a family member has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease after working at Burns Harbor, the clock is already running. Every day of delay narrows your options.
Asbestos trust fund claims and civil lawsuits can be pursued simultaneously in Indiana — meaning you do not have to choose between them. While most asbestos trust funds do not impose the same strict two-year filing deadline, trust fund assets are finite and continue to deplete as claims are paid. Earlier filing protects both your civil rights and your trust fund recovery.
Call an Indiana asbestos attorney today. Not next week. Today.

Burns Harbor: Decades of Asbestos Exposure at a Northwest Indiana Steel Mill

The integrated steel complex at Burns Harbor in Portage, Indiana was one of the Great Lakes region’s largest industrial operations. Occupational health records, litigation documents, and regulatory data place it among Indiana’s most heavily documented sites for asbestos exposure — alongside U.S. Steel Gary Works, Inland Steel East Chicago, and Bethlehem Steel’s other Northwest Indiana operations.

Workers who labored at this facility during its peak decades — particularly from the 1960s through the 1990s — may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials throughout blast furnaces, coke ovens, basic oxygen furnaces, boiler houses, and miles of insulated pipe.

If you developed mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or another asbestos-related disease after working at Burns Harbor, legal remedies may be available under Indiana law. Indiana’s two-year statute of limitations under Ind. Code § 34-20-3-1 begins running from the date of your diagnosis — not the date of your exposure. This page explains the facility’s history, the asbestos hazards workers reportedly faced, and the legal options available to you and your family. Consulting with an experienced asbestos attorney in Indiana is critical. Acting quickly is not optional — it is essential.

Part I: What Happened at Burns Harbor

From Bethlehem Steel to ArcelorMittal

Construction and Early Operations (1962–1964)

Bethlehem Steel built the Burns Harbor plant beginning around 1962 on the southern shore of Lake Michigan in Portage, Indiana — in Porter County, just west of comparable industrial operations and not far from the steel corridor running through Lake County from Gary to East Chicago. The facility opened in 1964 as one of the last fully integrated greenfield steel mills built in the United States — positioned for Great Lakes shipping and proximity to Midwest automotive and manufacturing customers.

The Northwest Indiana steel corridor of which Burns Harbor became a part was already home to some of the most industrially intensive operations in the country: U.S. Steel Gary Works in Gary, Inland Steel East Chicago in East Chicago, and the broader network of blast furnaces, rolling mills, coke plants, and powerhouses stretching along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Burns Harbor was the newest addition to this corridor, built to a scale that made it one of the most complex facilities in the region.

The plant encompassed:

Multiple blast furnaces for iron production
Basic oxygen furnaces (BOF) for steelmaking
An extensive coke oven battery
Hot and cold rolling mills
Slab caster equipment
Boiler houses and powerhouses
Miles of steam and process piping
Furnaces, kilns, and heat-treating operations

That scope meant insulators, pipefitters, boilermakers, electricians, ironworkers, and maintenance personnel worked alongside asbestos-containing materials throughout their careers — creating significant exposure pathways that are now the basis for mesothelioma claims filed by Indiana workers and their families.

Ownership Transfers (2003–Present)

International Steel Group (ISG) acquired the facility in 2003 following Bethlehem Steel’s bankruptcy
Mittal Steel acquired ISG in 2005
ArcelorMittal has operated the plant since 2006

Each ownership transfer brought renovation, repair, and equipment replacement — work that may have disturbed previously installed asbestos-containing materials and created new exposure events for Burns Harbor workers and contractors.

Why Asbestos-Containing Materials Were Reportedly Used Throughout Burns Harbor

The Heat Problem

Burns Harbor operated at temperatures few materials can survive:

Blast furnaces: above 2,000°F (1,093°C)
Basic oxygen furnaces: above 2,900°F (1,593°C)
Coke ovens: sustained around 2,000°F
Steam boilers and process piping: elevated temperatures throughout

For most of the 20th century, operators and manufacturers turned to asbestos-containing materials to solve this problem. Asbestos offered heat resistance, durability, and tensile strength that no widely available substitute could match — until its documented health consequences made continued use untenable.

The same conditions that made asbestos attractive at Burns Harbor also existed at U.S. Steel Gary Works, Inland Steel East Chicago, and Cummins Engine in Columbus, Indiana — and workers who moved between facilities, or contractors who worked at multiple Northwest Indiana steel operations, may have accumulated exposures across multiple sites.

Where Asbestos-Containing Materials Were Reportedly Installed

Thermal Insulation:

Pipe insulation on steam, process, and hot water lines — particularly products such as Unibestos and Kaylo, allegedly supplied to facilities throughout the Northwest Indiana steel corridor
Block insulation on boilers, vessels, and tanks
Insulating cement applied to irregular surfaces
Calcium silicate and magnesia pipe covering
Blanket and mattress insulation

Refractory Products:

Refractory brick lining blast furnace walls, hearths, and boshes
Castable refractory used in furnace repairs
Refractory mortar and joining compounds
Plastic refractory for patching and gunning

Gaskets, Packing, and Seals:

Compressed asbestos gaskets on flanged pipe connections
Valve packing containing asbestos fiber
Rope packing for high-temperature sealing
Sheet gasket material throughout process equipment

Protective and Construction Materials:

Asbestos cloth and tape in welding and hot work areas
Asbestos millboard as a fire barrier
Asbestos gloves, aprons, and other PPE
Sprayed asbestos fireproofing on structural steel in pre-1970s buildings
Asbestos-containing floor tile, ceiling tile, and roofing
Asbestos transite panels

Part II: Asbestos Manufacturers and Burns Harbor Exposure Claims

Litigation records, supplier histories, and occupational health investigations identify multiple manufacturers whose asbestos-containing materials were allegedly present at Burns Harbor and comparable Northwest Indiana integrated steel facilities. An asbestos cancer lawyer in Gary, Indiana and throughout Lake County regularly represents workers who faced exposure to these products. Workers may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials from the following manufacturers and product lines.

Johns-Manville Corporation

Johns-Manville was the dominant asbestos products manufacturer in the United States for much of the 20th century. Products allegedly present at Burns Harbor and throughout the Northwest Indiana steel corridor — including at U.S. Steel Gary Works and Inland Steel East Chicago — included:

Unibestos pipe covering and block insulation
Thermobestos products for high-temperature applications
Aircell thermal insulation
Asbestos-containing gaskets and packings
Asbestos blanket and mattress insulation

Johns-Manville’s internal documents — available through decades of Indiana and national asbestos litigation — show the company knew of asbestos health hazards decades before issuing any warnings to workers. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1982. The Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust has since paid claims to hundreds of thousands of asbestos victims, including Indiana steelworkers and their families.

Indiana workers diagnosed with mesothelioma or asbestosis today can still pursue Manville Trust claims — but Indiana’s two-year civil filing deadline under Ind. Code § 34-20-3-1 runs concurrently. Do not delay.

Owens-Illinois and Owens Corning

Owens-Illinois manufactured Kaylo pipe insulation, one of the most widely used pipe insulation products in American industry from the 1940s through the 1970s. The company marketed Kaylo directly to steel mills and industrial facilities throughout Indiana and the Great Lakes region. Workers at Burns Harbor may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials from Owens-Illinois products allegedly installed throughout the plant’s piping systems.

Internal documents from Owens-Illinois show the company conducted early studies on health effects from its thermal insulation products. Both Owens-Illinois and Owens Corning have faced thousands of asbestos personal injury cases, including cases filed in Indiana courts by Northwest Indiana steelworkers and Lake County residents.

Combustion Engineering

Combustion Engineering manufactured and installed industrial boilers, furnaces, and related equipment throughout the American steel industry. Workers at Burns Harbor may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials from Combustion Engineering equipment and replacement parts allegedly used in the plant’s boiler operations and combustion systems. The company’s asbestos claims were resolved through a bankruptcy trust mechanism.

Armstrong World Industries

Armstrong World Industries manufactured pipe covering, block insulation, floor tile, and acoustic ceiling products for industrial facilities. Armstrong products were reportedly present at Burns Harbor — particularly in non-process areas such as offices, maintenance shops, and administrative buildings, and in certain high-temperature process applications. Armstrong established an asbestos settlement trust following bankruptcy, and Indiana workers have successfully filed claims against that trust.

Crane Co.

Crane Co. produced valves, flanged fittings, gaskets, and associated equipment. Compressed asbestos sheet gaskets used in flanged pipe connections at Burns Harbor may have been sourced from Crane or incorporated into Crane-manufactured valve and fitting assemblies. Crane has been a major asbestos defendant in Indiana courts and maintains an active asbestos claims trust. Lake County workers with potential Crane product exposure should consult an asbestos attorney immediately.

W.R. Grace & Co.

W.R. Grace manufactured Monokote sprayed asbestos fireproofing, widely used for structural steel protection in industrial facilities across Indiana and the nation. Buildings at Burns Harbor constructed or renovated before the mid-1970s may have contained Monokote or comparable W.R. Grace products. Workers performing maintenance, renovation, or demolition on fireproofed structures may have been exposed to asbestos fiber released from degrading fireproofing material. W.R. Grace filed for bankruptcy protection in connection with its asbestos liabilities.

Garlock Sealing Technologies

Garlock Sealing Technologies manufactured compressed asbestos sheet gaskets and engineered sealing products for high-temperature industrial applications. Gaskets for pump seals, valve bonnet connections, and flanged pipe joints at Burns Harbor may have been sourced from Garlock. Removing and replacing gaskets during routine maintenance — cutting old material free, scraping flange faces, handling deteriorated fiber — created a documented asbestos exposure pathway for pipefitters and maintenance workers throughout the Northwest Indiana steel corridor, a pattern extensively documented in Indiana steelworker litigation.

Georgia-Pacific Corporation

Georgia-Pacific manufactured asbestos-containing insulation and building materials products. Georgia-Pacific products may have been present at Burns Harbor in insulation and building material applications. The company faces ongoing asbestos claims through bankruptcy trust mechanisms, including claims filed by Indiana workers diagnosed with mesothelioma.

Celotex Corporation

Celotex manufactured asbestos-containing insulation board, pipe covering, and thermal products for industrial facilities. Workers at Burns Harbor may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials from Celotex products allegedly installed in insulation and building applications throughout the plant. Cel

Burns Harbor