Mesothelioma Lawyer Indiana: Asbestos Cancer Claims for State Line Plant Exposure

If you worked at Dominion Generation Inc.’s State Line Plant and now have a diagnosis of mesothelioma, lung cancer, or asbestosis, you may have legal rights and a path to compensation. Workers at this facility—including Indiana and Illinois residents who commuted to this plant along the Great Lakes industrial corridor—may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials for decades, often without warning or protective equipment. This page explains what happened at this facility, which trades were at highest risk, what diseases result, and how to pursue compensation with an experienced Indiana mesothelioma lawyer.

⚠️ URGENT: Indiana’s 2-Year Filing Deadline Is Already Running

Indiana law gives asbestos victims five years from diagnosis to file a personal injury claim under Ind. Code § 34-20-3-1. That clock does not start at exposure—it starts the day you were diagnosed. If you were recently diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, or asbestosis connected to work at the State Line Plant, you cannot afford to wait.

**A serious legislative threat makes acting now more critical: Contact an experienced Indiana asbestos attorney today. Do not let the deadline decide your case for you.

What Was the State Line Plant?

Facility Overview and Industrial History

The State Line Plant in Hammond, Indiana, was one of the Chicago region’s major coal-fired power generating facilities, operating for decades along Lake Michigan’s southern shore near the Illinois-Indiana border. Originally built in the early twentieth century and expanded substantially through mid-century as regional electricity demand grew, the plant was ultimately operated by Dominion Generation Inc., a subsidiary of Dominion Resources, before ceasing commercial generation in the early 2000s.

The plant sits within the broader Great Lakes industrial corridor—a network of power generation, steel, and chemical facilities stretching from Missouri and Illinois northward through Indiana. Workers from Missouri and Illinois routinely traveled to facilities like the State Line Plant for construction, maintenance outages, and specialty trade work, returning home to communities along the Mississippi River with asbestos fibers on their clothing and tools.

Indiana residents who worked at State Line may have legal options in Indiana courts, Illinois courts, or both. An experienced asbestos attorney can evaluate your work history and identify which jurisdiction gives you the strongest path to recovery.

Key facts about the State Line Plant:

Built in the early 1900s; expanded through mid-century
Operated as a baseload coal-fired generating station serving the Chicago metropolitan area and northwestern Indiana
Employed hundreds to thousands of workers throughout its operational life, including permanent plant staff, maintenance crews, construction contractors, and specialty tradespeople—insulators, pipefitters, boilermakers, electricians, and welders
Members of Heat and Frost Insulators Local 1 (St. Louis), Plumbers and Pipefitters UA Local 562 (St. Louis), and Boilermakers Local 27 (St. Louis) reportedly traveled to power plant outage work throughout the Midwest, including at the State Line Plant
Ceased commercial generation in the early 2000s
Underwent decommissioning and demolition—processes that disturb decades of accumulated asbestos-containing materials and create distinct secondary exposure risks for abatement and demolition workers, including those brought in from Missouri and Illinois

Why Asbestos-Containing Materials Were Used at Power Plants Like State Line

The Industrial Conditions That Made Asbestos the Default Choice

Coal-fired power plants operate under extreme conditions. Boilers, steam lines, turbines, and associated equipment routinely reach temperatures exceeding 1,000°F. Every point in that system requires insulation to maintain efficiency and protect workers from catastrophic burns. Pipe joints, valve connections, and flanges require seals capable of withstanding high-pressure steam. Structural elements require fireproofing. Wiring and electrical equipment require insulation resistant to both heat and moisture.

Asbestos resists heat, does not burn, binds readily with other materials, and was cheap. Engineers and manufacturers throughout the twentieth century treated asbestos-containing materials as the standard industrial solution across all of those applications.

Indiana workers familiar with AmerenMO’s Labadie Energy Center (Franklin County), Ameren’s Portage des Sioux Power Plant (St. Charles County), or Granite City Steel (Madison County, Illinois) will recognize these conditions immediately—the same manufacturers, the same product categories, the same applications, the same era.

What Workers Were Not Told

The body cannot expel inhaled asbestos fibers. They accumulate in lung tissue and pleural membranes over years and decades, causing diseases that may not appear until ten to fifty years after the last exposure. Workers at the State Line Plant may have inhaled microscopic asbestos fibers daily without knowing it.

Decades of asbestos litigation and discovery have revealed that major manufacturers allegedly possessed internal research documenting asbestos’s carcinogenic and fibrogenic properties while continuing to market products without adequate warnings. Those manufacturers include:

Johns-Manville — dominant supplier of thermal insulation products to coal-fired power plants throughout the Midwest, including asbestos block and pipe insulation
Owens-Illinois (and affiliated Owens Corning) — manufacturer of asbestos-containing insulation and building materials distributed throughout Indiana and Illinois industrial facilities
Combustion Engineering — primary supplier of boiler systems to power facilities, with asbestos-containing materials integral to boiler design
Eagle-Picher — manufacturer of asbestos-containing gaskets, packing materials, and thermal insulation
W.R. Grace — supplier of spray-applied asbestos-containing materials and building products, including Monokote fireproofing
Garlock Sealing Technologies — manufacturer of spiral-wound and compressed asbestos-containing gaskets for high-pressure steam applications

Workers at the State Line Plant may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials from these manufacturers without respiratory protection and without any warning that the dust they breathed could cause fatal disease.

Asbestos-Containing Materials Allegedly Present at State Line

Insulation Products

Asbestos block insulation, reportedly Johns-Manville brand, on boilers and associated equipment
Asbestos pipe covering—potentially including Kaylo, Thermobestos, and Aircell brand products—on steam and condensate lines throughout the facility
Asbestos-containing insulating cement, potentially from Johns-Manville or similar manufacturers, mixed in dry powder form and applied by hand
Asbestos insulating cloth, tape, and blankets around turbine casings, valve bodies, and expansion joints
Boiler refractory and insulation materials reportedly supplied or installed by Combustion Engineering
Spray-applied asbestos-containing insulation, potentially including W.R. Grace Monokote, on structural elements

Gaskets, Seals, and Packing Materials

Asbestos-containing gaskets at pipe flanges and connections, reportedly from Eagle-Picher or similar suppliers
Asbestos valve packing from multiple manufacturers
Spiral-wound asbestos-containing gaskets on high-pressure steam systems, potentially including Garlock Sealing Technologies products
Asbestos rope packing at pipe joints and expansion joints throughout the facility

Building Materials

Asbestos-containing floor tiles, potentially including Gold Bond products from Armstrong World Industries
Asbestos-containing ceiling tiles, potentially from Johns-Manville, Armstrong World Industries, or Celotex
Asbestos-containing wall panels and fireproofing on structural steel, potentially including W.R. Grace or Crane Co. formulations

Electrical Components

Arc chutes and arc barriers in switchgear and circuit breakers, potentially containing asbestos-containing mica composite materials
Asbestos-containing electrical insulation on wiring and conduit in older plant sections

Exposure History: Decade by Decade

Early Construction Era (1920s–1940s)

During original construction and early expansions, asbestos-containing materials were the unquestioned industrial standard. Boiler insulation was typically applied as block insulation or spray-applied coatings containing significant percentages of amphibole asbestos fibers, reportedly supplied by Johns-Manville and Combustion Engineering. Pipe covering throughout the steam distribution network potentially included Kaylo and Thermobestos brand products. Structural fireproofing may have incorporated spray-applied W.R. Grace coatings and asbestos-containing refractory materials. Gaskets and packing at pipe joints, valves, and flanges throughout the facility reportedly contained asbestos from Eagle-Picher, Garlock, and other suppliers.

This era mirrors what Missouri tradespeople were building simultaneously at Labadie, Portage des Sioux, and comparable regional facilities—the same manufacturers, the same products, the same absence of warnings.

Peak Exposure Period (1950s–1975)

Occupational health researchers identify 1950 through 1975 as the period of highest aggregate asbestos exposure at facilities like the State Line Plant:

Aging asbestos-containing insulation systems were regularly disturbed during maintenance outages, creating secondary exposure among adjacent workers—electricians and boilermakers breathing the same air as insulators tearing out pipe covering
Maintenance workers removing and reapplying asbestos pipe covering and boiler block insulation may have accumulated the highest cumulative fiber exposures of any workers at the facility
New construction reportedly continued to incorporate asbestos-containing materials from Johns-Manville, Owens-Illinois, and other manufacturers as standard practice through this period
Asbestos-containing floor tiles, ceiling tiles, and wall panels were present throughout control rooms, office areas, and maintenance facilities

Indiana union members from Heat and Frost Insulators Local 1, UA Local 562, and Boilermakers Local 27 reportedly traveled to power plant outages throughout the Midwest during these years. Workers whose union dispatch records place them at the State Line Plant during this period may have documentation that directly supports their exposure history—and their asbestos trust fund and litigation claims.

Regulatory Change Era (1975–2000s)

OSHA began regulating occupational asbestos exposure in 1971 and progressively tightened permissible exposure limits over the following two decades. EPA’s NESHAP program imposed additional requirements governing asbestos in demolition and renovation projects.

Despite those regulatory changes, workers at the State Line Plant may have continued to encounter legacy asbestos-containing materials already installed in aging plant systems. Workers involved in maintenance of pre-existing insulation, removal and replacement of block insulation and pipe coverings, and repair work in areas where Combustion Engineering, Eagle-Picher, and similar manufacturer materials remained in place may have been exposed to friable asbestos-containing materials throughout this period.

Decommissioning and Demolition

When the State Line Plant ceased commercial generation, decommissioning and demolition created a distinct and concentrated exposure risk. Decades of accumulated asbestos-containing materials—insulation, fireproofing, gaskets, floor and ceiling tiles—were disturbed by abatement contractors, demolition crews, and specialty tradespeople. Workers brought in from Missouri and Illinois for this work may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials during a period when concentrations of disturbed fiber can be significantly elevated compared to routine plant operations. NESHAP records for demolition and renovation projects at this facility may document the scope of asbestos-containing materials identified and abated.

Trades at Highest Risk: Who Was Most Affected at State Line

Every worker who entered the State Line Plant during its operational decades may have encountered asbestos-containing materials. Certain trades faced the highest cumulative exposures based on the nature of their work:

Insulators and Insulation Workers mixed, cut, shaped, and applied asbestos-containing block insulation, pipe covering, and cement daily. Their work generated the highest fiber concentrations of any trade in the plant.

Pipefitters and Steamfitters cut and fitted pipe, removed and replaced asbestos-containing gaskets and valve packing, and worked directly alongside insulators in enclosed mechanical spaces.

Boilermakers performed repairs and maintenance inside and adjacent to boilers heavily insulated with asbestos-containing materials, often in confined, poorly ventilated spaces where fiber concentrations were highest.

Electricians worked throughout plant areas where asbestos-containing materials were present overhead and in adjacent systems, and directly handled asbestos-containing arc chutes and electrical insulation components in older equipment.