Gibson Generating Station Asbestos Exposure Legal Guide

Princeton, Gibson County, Indiana

⚠️ CRITICAL INDIANA FILING DEADLINE WARNING

Indiana law imposes a strict two-year statute of limitations on mesothelioma and asbestos disease claims under Ind. Code § 34-20-3-1. That clock starts running from the date of your diagnosis — not from the date of your last exposure. Miss it, and your right to compensation is gone permanently, regardless of how strong your case is.

If you or a family member has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease after working at Gibson Generating Station, you may have two years or less to act. Every day of delay narrows your options.

Contact an Indiana asbestos attorney today. Do not wait.

Workers at Gibson Generating Station May Have Been Exposed to Asbestos-Containing Materials

For decades, thousands of construction and maintenance workers built, operated, and repaired one of the largest coal-fired power plants in America. For many, that work may have come at a devastating cost: potential exposure to asbestos-containing materials now linked to mesothelioma, asbestosis, and other fatal diseases.

If you or a family member worked at Gibson Generating Station in Gibson County, you may have legal rights — but those rights expire under Indiana’s two-year filing deadline. This guide explains what asbestos-containing materials were reportedly present at the facility, which trades faced the greatest exposure risk, what diseases can result, and how to protect your claim before time runs out.

An experienced Indiana asbestos attorney can evaluate your case and your eligibility for an Indiana mesothelioma settlement or asbestos trust fund recovery.

Gibson Generating Station: Location, History, and Scale

What Was Gibson Generating Station?

Gibson Generating Station is a coal-fired power plant located near Princeton in Gibson County, southwestern Indiana. The facility ranks among the largest electricity-generating stations in the United States and has operated for more than four decades.

Construction Timeline:

Unit 1: 1976
Unit 2: 1977
Unit 3: 1978
Unit 4: 1980
Unit 5: 1982

Facility Scale:

Combined capacity: Over 3,300 megawatts
Five large boiler units, five turbine-generator sets, miles of high-pressure piping, and extensive auxiliary systems
Workforce: Hundreds to thousands of tradespeople during peak construction and major maintenance outages

Ownership and Corporate History

Gibson Generating Station was developed and operated by Public Service Indiana (PSI), which underwent a series of corporate changes:

PSI Energy (following 1980s reorganization)
Cinergy Corp. (merged mid-1990s)
Duke Energy (acquired 2006; continues to operate the plant)

Understanding this corporate chain matters. It determines which entities may bear legal responsibility and which asbestos trust funds — established by bankrupt manufacturers and suppliers — may be available to compensate you.

Why Coal-Fired Power Plants Required Extensive Asbestos-Containing Materials

Extreme Operating Conditions and Asbestos Demand

Coal-fired steam plants operate under conditions that drove demand for asbestos-containing products across every phase of construction and maintenance at Indiana facilities.

Operating Parameters:

Superheated steam: temperatures exceeding 1,000°F (538°C)
Boiler fireboxes: internal temperatures above 2,000°F
Pressure systems: hundreds of pounds per square inch

Why Asbestos-Containing Materials Were Used:

Retained heat and maximized thermodynamic efficiency
Protected workers from contact with scalding surfaces
Prevented condensation and thermal stress on metal components
Reduced heat loss to the surrounding environment

Why Asbestos-Containing Materials Were Standard in Indiana Industrial Construction

Before the mid-1970s — and continuing well into the 1980s at many Indiana facilities — asbestos-containing composite materials were among the only commercially available products that combined superior thermal resistance, mechanical durability, fire resistance, and low cost. No viable substitute existed at scale.

Indiana Department of Labor and OSHA regulations began addressing workplace asbestos exposure in the early 1970s, but meaningful enforcement at large industrial sites lagged behind the science. Workers at Gibson Generating Station may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials through construction phases extending into the late 1970s and early 1980s, and potentially through maintenance activities into the mid-to-late 1980s.

Asbestos-Containing Materials Reportedly Present at Gibson Generating Station

Based on the types of equipment installed, the construction timeline, industry practices of the era, and records from comparable Indiana power plants, numerous asbestos-containing materials were reportedly present at the facility.

Thermal Pipe Insulation — High-Risk Asbestos Exposure Source

What It Was: Asbestos-containing pipe covering — typically composed of amosite or chrysotile asbestos mixed with calcium silicate or magnesia — was standard for steam and water lines carrying temperatures above approximately 250°F. At a facility with miles of high-pressure piping, the volume of material involved was substantial.

Manufacturers Whose Products May Have Been Present:

Johns-Manville Corporation (Manville, New Jersey) — among the largest producers of asbestos-containing pipe covering and block insulation distributed throughout Indiana and the Midwest during 1970s power plant construction
Owens-Illinois, Inc. (Toledo, Ohio) — manufacturer of Kaylo brand asbestos-containing block insulation and pipe covering, widely distributed in Indiana and Midwest industrial markets
Armstrong World Industries — manufacturer of asbestos-containing insulation products commonly used in Indiana steam systems
Combustion Engineering, Inc. — major boiler manufacturer whose equipment often required asbestos-containing insulating cements during installation at Indiana facilities

How Workers May Have Been Exposed: Cutting, fitting, and removing pipe covering released fine asbestos fibers that remained airborne and could be inhaled by tradespeople throughout the work area — not just the insulator doing the cutting, but every pipefitter, boilermaker, and laborer working nearby.

Block Insulation and Asbestos Dust

What It Was: Asbestos-containing block insulation was used on large flat surfaces where pre-formed pipe sections were impractical: boiler casings, steam headers, turbine casings, and similar large equipment.

Products Allegedly Present:

Kaylo brand asbestos-containing block insulation (Owens-Illinois)
Johns-Manville block insulation products
Thermobestos asbestos-containing block insulation products

Why This Material Was Particularly Hazardous: Cutting, shaping, and fitting block insulation releases fine asbestos dust that settles on tools, clothing, hair, and skin. In enclosed boiler rooms and turbine halls with limited ventilation, that dust remains airborne for extended periods — exposing every worker in the space, not just the insulator handling the material.

Insulating Cement and Finishing Materials

What It Was: Applied as a topping or finishing layer over pipe covering and block insulation, asbestos-containing insulating cements were mixed with water on the job site and troweled onto surfaces. Mixing dry powder cement was one of the dustiest tasks insulators performed — and one of the most hazardous.

Products Reportedly Used:

Johns-Manville asbestos-containing insulating cement
Keasbey & Mattison asbestos cement products
W.R. Grace asbestos-containing thermal insulation products

Dry powder preparation created high concentrations of respirable asbestos fibers that insulators inhaled directly during mixing and that remained suspended throughout the work environment.

Boiler Insulation and Refractory Materials

Materials Reportedly Used:

Asbestos rope (Johns-Manville, Owens-Illinois, and others)
Asbestos cloth
Asbestos-containing gaskets (Garlock Sealing Technologies products)
Asbestos-containing boiler block insulation
Cranite brand asbestos-containing refractory materials

Boilers at Gibson Generating Station were reportedly manufactured or supplied in whole or in part by Combustion Engineering, Inc., whose equipment commonly required extensive application of asbestos-containing materials during assembly and installation.

Boilermakers’ Exposure: Members of Boilermakers Local 374 — which represented boilermaker craftsmen at Indiana industrial and utility sites — were reportedly among those who performed boiler construction and maintenance work at the facility throughout the construction and early operation periods. Boilermakers cutting, fitting, installing, or demolishing old asbestos-containing insulation during maintenance outages may have inhaled substantial quantities of asbestos fibers while working in confined spaces with minimal ventilation.

Steam Turbine Insulation and Maintenance

Systems Requiring Asbestos-Containing Insulation:

Turbine casings
Steam inlet and exhaust connections
Rotor components

Materials Reportedly Used:

Asbestos-containing pipe covering (Johns-Manville, Owens-Illinois, Armstrong products)
Block insulation (Kaylo, Johns-Manville products)
Asbestos rope and gasket materials

Why Major Outages Were Particularly Dangerous: During major turbine overhauls, old asbestos-containing materials were reportedly stripped out and new material applied, with hundreds of tradespeople working simultaneously in the same space. These outages concentrated asbestos exposure conditions in ways that routine daily work did not — and brought tradespeople onto the site who may not have recognized the hazard.

Which Trades Faced the Greatest Asbestos Exposure Risk at Gibson Generating Station

Heat and Frost Insulators: Most Direct Exposure

Members of the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers — including members of Asbestos Workers Local 18, which represented heat and frost insulators across Indiana industrial and utility projects — were most directly responsible for applying, maintaining, and removing asbestos-containing materials at the plant.

High-Exposure Work Activities:

Cutting pipe covering with hand saws, chisels, or wire brushes, releasing fine asbestos fibers from Johns-Manville, Owens-Illinois Kaylo, and Armstrong products
Mixing insulating cement from dry powder (Johns-Manville, Keasbey & Mattison, W.R. Grace products)
Demolishing old asbestos-containing insulation during maintenance outages

Insulators worked directly with these materials throughout their shifts, accumulated exposure across decades of career work, and frequently carried contaminated dust home on their bodies and clothing — a secondary exposure pathway that placed family members at risk as well.

Legal Implications: Insulators who worked at Gibson Generating Station have strong potential claims against the manufacturers of asbestos-containing products they handled. An Indiana mesothelioma lawyer can identify every responsible party and every trust fund potentially available to you.

Boilermakers and Heavy Equipment Installation

Work Performed:

Assembly and installation of boilers and pressure vessels
Insulation installation on boiler casings and steam lines
Maintenance and repair during outages
Demolition of old asbestos-containing materials

Members of Boilermakers Local 374 performing work at Gibson Generating Station may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials supplied by Combustion Engineering and other boiler manufacturers. Boilermakers worked in confined spaces — inside boiler casings, around piping bundles — where asbestos dust concentration was particularly high and ventilation particularly poor.

Pipefitters and Steamfitters

Work Creating Asbestos Exposure Risk:

Cutting asbestos-insulated pipe sections (Johns-Manville, Owens-Illinois, Armstrong products)
Fitting and removing asbestos-containing gaskets and packing materials (Garlock and other manufacturers)
Working in close proximity to insulators cutting and fitting pipe covering

Pipefitters and steamfitters at Gibson Generating Station may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials both through their own direct work and through the work of insulators operating nearby. In the confined mechanical spaces of a large power plant, there was no meaningful distance between trades during active insulation work.

Electricians

Exposure Pathways:

Running conduit and wire through mechanical spaces where insulators were simultaneously cutting and fitting asbestos-containing pipe covering
Working in turbine halls and boiler rooms during major outages, when asbestos dust levels were highest
Performing electrical work on equipment wrapped or surrounded by asbestos-containing materials

Electricians are frequently overlooked in asbestos exposure discussions

Generating Unit Equipment — Public Registry

The following generating units are documented in the North American Electric Generating Plants database for this facility. This database is maintained by UDI/S&P Global and draws on federal EIA filings and state regulatory records.

Unit	Year	Capacity	Fuel	Boiler Type	Boiler/Steam Sys Mfr	Turbine Mfr	Generator Mfr	Steam Params	Status
Portside Energy Gt 1	1997	39.1 MW	Gas	N/A	N/A	Ge	Ge		Operating
Portside Energy Sc 1	1997	17.6 MW	Wsth	Hrsg	Innovat	Ge	Ge	1500 PSI / 855°F	Operating

Source: UDI/S&P Global North American Electric Generating Plants database (NAMERICA 2025). Public reference data.

Gibson Generating Station