Asbestos Exposure at the BP Whiting Refinery

For Former Workers, Families, and Mesothelioma Victims in Indiana

⚠️ CRITICAL INDIANA FILING DEADLINE WARNING

Indiana’s statute of limitations for asbestos claims is two years from the date of diagnosis — not the date of exposure. Under Ind. Code § 34-20-3-1, if you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer, the legal window to file a civil lawsuit begins the moment you receive that diagnosis — and it closes two years later, permanently. Missing this deadline means losing your right to compensation through the Indiana court system, regardless of how strong your case may be.

Asbestos trust fund claims operate under different rules — most trusts do not impose a strict two-year cutoff — but trust assets are finite and are being depleted as claims are paid. The longer you wait, the less compensation may be available. Critically, Indiana law permits you to pursue asbestos trust fund claims and civil lawsuits simultaneously, meaning you are not forced to choose one path over the other.

If you have already received a diagnosis, do not wait to call an asbestos attorney. Every day that passes is a day closer to losing rights that cannot be recovered.

Why This Matters Now

If you worked at the BP Whiting Refinery — or if a family member did — you may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials during your employment. For over a century, this industrial complex on the southern shore of Lake Michigan processed crude oil using systems reportedly built with asbestos-containing insulation from manufacturers including Johns-Manville, Owens-Illinois, Armstrong World Industries, and Combustion Engineering. Workers in skilled trades, maintenance, and operations may have encountered asbestos fibers without warning or protection.

If you or a family member has since developed mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer, you have legal rights under Indiana law. Under Indiana’s two-year statute of limitations — codified at Ind. Code § 34-20-3-1 — the clock begins running from the date of diagnosis, not the date of exposure. This window is narrow and unforgiving. Once it closes, no court can reopen it.

Facility History and Scale

From Standard Oil to BP: A Century-Long Industrial Legacy

The Whiting Refinery ranks among the largest and oldest petroleum refining complexes in the United States:

Founded in 1889 by Standard Oil Company (Indiana) — one of the oldest continuously operating refineries in the country
Located in Whiting, Indiana, in Lake County on the southern shore of Lake Michigan, southeast of Chicago, with direct access to rail lines and Great Lakes shipping
Renamed Amoco Corporation in 1985 when Standard Oil (Indiana) changed its corporate identity
Acquired by BP in 1998; continues operating today as BP Whiting
Current throughput exceeds 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day, making it one of the largest refineries in the Midwest

Lake County: Workers at the Heart of an Industrial Corridor

The Whiting Refinery did not exist in isolation. It sat at the center of one of the most heavily industrialized corridors in the United States — the Indiana Lake County industrial belt stretching from East Chicago through Hammond and Whiting. Workers frequently moved between facilities in this corridor, and asbestos-containing materials flowed through the same distribution networks that supplied neighboring operations.

Workers who spent time at the Whiting Refinery may also have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials at closely neighboring industrial facilities in the same region, including:

U.S. Steel Gary Works (Gary, Indiana) — the largest integrated steel plant in the United States, located within miles of the refinery
Bethlehem Steel Burns Harbor (Porter County) — a major integrated steelmaking complex whose workforce overlapped with Lake County refinery workers
Inland Steel East Chicago (East Chicago, Indiana) — a primary steel producer in the immediate Lake County corridor

Union members from locals representing workers at Whiting — including USW Local 1014 (Gary), Boilermakers Local 374, and Asbestos Workers Local 18 — often worked across multiple facilities in this industrial belt. A worker whose asbestos exposure history spans both the Whiting Refinery and adjacent Lake County steelmaking operations may have claims arising from multiple facilities and multiple manufacturers.

Scale and Exposure Scope

The refinery’s size defined the scope of potential asbestos hazard. A complex of this magnitude contained:

Hundreds of miles of insulated piping
Dozens of fractionation towers, distillation columns, and reactors
Heat exchangers and pressure vessels
Steam generation systems and boilers
Compressors, turbines, and catalytic cracking units
Tank farms and loading facilities
Administrative and control room buildings

High-temperature and high-pressure equipment at the core of refining operations historically relied on asbestos-containing thermal insulation. That insulation reportedly came from major manufacturers operating throughout the twentieth century.

Why Asbestos Was Used at Petroleum Refineries

The Thermal Demands of Refining

Petroleum refining runs hot. Processing temperatures routinely exceed 700–1,000°F to separate crude oil through distillation. Steam systems, heat transfer lines, and reactor vessels operate under sustained thermal and pressure loads. Without effective insulation, those systems fail.

Why Industry Chose Asbestos-Containing Materials

Asbestos became the industrial standard because it offered properties no synthetic substitute matched at the time:

Exceptional heat resistance and tensile strength
Chemical stability and durability in harsh process environments
Low cost and wide availability
Easy installation and field fabrication

Asbestos-containing insulation dominated refineries, chemical plants, power stations, and heavy industrial facilities from roughly 1900 through the mid-1970s. Johns-Manville, Owens-Illinois, Armstrong World Industries, and W.R. Grace controlled much of the supply to facilities like Whiting.

The Regulatory Shift and Ongoing Hazards

Regulation came decades after the damage was done:

1971: OSHA issued its first asbestos standard, establishing occupational exposure limits
Early 1970s: EPA began regulating asbestos under the Clean Air Act; the NESHAP program created abatement tracking requirements
1970s–1990s: Workers performing maintenance, repair, and demolition on aged asbestos-containing insulation may have been exposed to elevated concentrations of airborne asbestos fibers during that transition period

At a refinery where asbestos-containing insulation had reportedly been installed throughout the facility for decades, the abatement era created new exposure risks for workers who had nothing to do with original installation.

Asbestos-Containing Materials Allegedly Present at Whiting

Product Categories

Based on operations conducted at the Whiting Refinery and documented industry-wide practices during the asbestos era, workers may have encountered the following categories of asbestos-containing materials:

Pipe Lagging and Insulation

Asbestos-containing pipe lagging was the most common asbestos application in refinery environments. Workers may have been exposed to pre-formed pipe sections, blankets, and hand-applied cement mixtures containing asbestos fibers. Products from Johns-Manville, Owens-Illinois, and Armstrong World Industries are reported to have been applied to process unit pipes, crude oil heating systems, steam distribution networks, and product transfer lines throughout the facility. Stripping degraded pipe lagging may have released high concentrations of airborne fibers.

Block Insulation

Large slabs of asbestos-containing block insulation are alleged to have been applied to vessels, reactors, and large-diameter piping at the facility. Cutting block insulation to fit irregular surfaces may have generated heavy dust and fiber release. Maintenance crews may have disturbed this material repeatedly over decades.

Insulating Cement and Finishing Cement

Asbestos-containing cements are alleged to have sealed and finished pipe and vessel insulation systems at Whiting. These products typically contained high percentages of asbestos fiber by weight and may have generated significant dust when mixed, applied, or disturbed.

Gaskets and Packing

Process equipment throughout the refinery — including flanged pipe connections, valve stems, and pump seals — may have incorporated asbestos-containing gaskets and packing to seal high-temperature, high-pressure connections. Workers are alleged to have repeatedly replaced Garlock Sealing Technologies asbestos-containing gasket materials during routine maintenance, with each replacement potentially generating fiber exposure.

Refractory Materials

Furnaces, heaters, and combustion equipment may have contained asbestos-containing refractory materials from manufacturers including Combustion Engineering and Babcock & Wilcox — including firebrick, castable refractory, and refractory blankets.

Fireproofing Materials

Structural steel and equipment supports may have been sprayed or coated with asbestos-containing fireproofing from manufacturers such as W.R. Grace, particularly in areas near flammable hydrocarbon storage and processing equipment.

Manufacturers Allegedly Associated with Whiting

Based on products commonly used in petroleum refining and documented Midwest distribution networks for asbestos manufacturers, the following companies are reported to have supplied asbestos-containing materials to refinery operations in the region:

Johns-Manville Corporation

The largest asbestos manufacturer in the United States. Johns-Manville reportedly supplied pipe covering, block insulation, insulating cement, and thermal blankets to industrial facilities nationwide and throughout Indiana’s Lake County industrial corridor. Workers at Whiting may have been exposed to Johns-Manville asbestos-containing materials during insulation work, maintenance, and equipment repairs. Internal company documents produced in asbestos litigation show the company allegedly knew of asbestos health hazards during periods when it may have failed to warn workers. Johns-Manville’s successor asbestos trust — the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust — remains one of the largest asbestos trust fund resources available to Indiana claimants.

Owens-Illinois / Owens Corning

Owens-Illinois produced “Kaylo” brand asbestos-containing pipe and block insulation reportedly marketed directly to petroleum refineries and industrial facilities throughout the Midwest, including facilities in Indiana’s Lake County corridor. Workers may have been exposed to Kaylo products during handling, installation, removal, and disturbance. Internal documents produced in litigation show Owens-Illinois allegedly knew of asbestos health hazards while potentially suppressing that information from workers. Owens Corning continued in the thermal insulation market after Owens-Illinois divested that business. The Owens Corning/Fibreboard Asbestos Personal Injury Trust accepts claims from Indiana residents.

Armstrong World Industries

Armstrong reportedly produced asbestos-containing pipe covering, block insulation, and thermal insulation products used in industrial applications throughout the Midwest. Armstrong products are alleged to have been present at Midwest refinery sites including facilities in Indiana, and workers in skilled trades may have been exposed during handling and installation.

Combustion Engineering / Babcock & Wilcox

Both companies manufactured industrial boilers and pressure vessels that may have incorporated asbestos-containing insulation and refractory materials. Boilers at Whiting may have contained materials supplied by either manufacturer. Workers performing boiler maintenance — including members of Boilermakers Local 374 operating throughout the Indiana Lake County industrial region — may have been exposed to asbestos fibers during gasket replacement and insulation disturbance.

Garlock Sealing Technologies

A leading manufacturer of asbestos-containing gaskets and packing for industrial piping and equipment. Workers performing valve and flange maintenance at Whiting may have been exposed to Garlock asbestos-containing gasket materials during routine replacement and repair. The Garlock asbestos trust accepts claims from Indiana residents.

W.R. Grace & Company

Reportedly produced asbestos-containing thermal insulation, fireproofing, and specialty products distributed to industrial facilities throughout the Midwest. Grace products may have been present at Whiting and encountered by workers during maintenance and repair operations. The WRG Asbestos PI Trust accepts claims from Indiana claimants.

Georgia-Pacific / Celotex

Both companies produced asbestos-containing building insulation and pipe products allegedly used in industrial construction and facility maintenance throughout the Midwest. Workers at Whiting may have encountered these materials during construction, renovation, or routine upkeep of facility structures. The Celotex Asbestos Settlement Trust accepts claims from eligible claimants.

Who Was at Risk: Trades and Job Classifications

Asbestos exposure at petroleum refineries was not limited to workers who handled insulation directly. At a facility the size of Whiting, fiber release in one area affected workers in the immediate vicinity —

the BP Whiting Refinery