Westinghouse Electric Corporation was founded in 1886 in Pennsylvania. During its time Westinghouse Electric used a lot of asbestos in electrical products and equipment such as welding rods, turbines, light bulbs and more. Westinghouse became an extremely popular company in the United States. In fact, the company made the first jet engine that was designed by the United States and manufactured video cameras that were used during the first landing on the moon. Despite its popularity, Westinghouse Electric still used asbestos in products and therefore caused certain workers to later develop asbestos-related diseases, such as mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is an aggressive form of cancer that occurs from inhaling asbestos, a naturally occurring silicate material. Different workers have sued Westinghouse Electric after being diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases and the corporation continues to face lawsuits to this day.
Westinghouse Electric manufactured appliances, gaskets, electrical wires and more. Because the corporation supplied the US Navy with reactors to submarine fleets and jet engines for other branches in the military, they gained popularity after World War II. However, a lot of the equipment that Westinghouse Electric supplied to the military contained asbestos because it was inexpensive and resistant to heat. Some products that Westinghouse was known to have produced that contained asbestos included turbines, welding rods, light bulbs, gaskets, packing, paper, wire and cables. Westinghouse turbines notably contained asbestos and they were located in engine rooms in a lot of US Navy ships built after World War II. The company exposed tens of thousands of its workers to asbestos as it employed over 50,000 people by 1900.
Occupations that were exposed to the asbestos that Westinghouse Electric used included plant workers, HVAC workers, electricians, Navy veterans shipyard workers, drywall workers, welders, turbine maintenance workers, carpenters and insulators. Shipyard workers were exposed to asbestos when they cut through insulation when repairing ships. Electricians and HVAC workers dealt with wires and cables that contained asbestos. Even those who did not directly work with asbestos-containing materials were at risk of being exposed due to the asbestos fibers becoming airborne and traveling to other areas of the plant. The company actually went bankrupt in 2017, but ended up reorganizing in 2018, because it filed for bankruptcy protection.
By 1988, the company faced around 3,000 asbestos claims and people are still suing Westinghouse to this day. A lot of people have received workers’ compensation after suing the company.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with an asbestos related disease, call 800-505-6000 for more information.
Sources:
https://www.westinghousenuclear.com/about/history
https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Westinghouse-sale-to-Brookfield-completed
