Pulp mills, oil and gas plants, gold mines, power stations, and military bases carried Alaska's economy for most of the twentieth century, and every one of them used asbestos. The trusts' Alaska entries cluster in a handful of places:
- Southeast Alaska's pulp mills — the Ketchikan Pulp Company mill at Ward Cove and the Alaska Lumber & Pulp mill at Sitka, the two worksites most trusts recognize in the state;
- the Kenai Peninsula and Cook Inlet — the Nikiski refinery and chemical plants, and Chugach Electric's gas-fired power plants at Beluga and Bernice Lake;
- Anchorage — Elmendorf and Fort Richardson, today's Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, and the port's oil and asphalt terminals;
- Fairbanks and the Interior — Eielson Air Force Base, Fort Wainwright, and the gold dredging and smelting of the territorial era;
- historic gold mining — the Alaska Juneau mine, Nome, and Iditarod; and
- the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, from Prudhoe Bay to the Valdez terminal.
Alaska's smaller population means fewer worksites than in the Lower 48, not lighter exposure: pulp mill maintenance crews, refinery insulators, and power plant boilermakers here handled the same asbestos insulation, refractory, gaskets, and packing as their counterparts in Texas or Pennsylvania.
When these companies went bankrupt, the trusts set up to pay their asbestos claims each published a list of locations where its products were proven to be present. For Alaska, those lists hold 169 entries across 30 communities, from 19 asbestos trusts. One plant can appear many times, under different names or on different trusts' lists. More than a dozen of our clients worked at Alaska job sites.
Every asbestos trust claim has to prove two things: that a company's asbestos-containing product was present at a job site, and that the worker handled that product, or worked close enough to it, to breathe its dust. If you or your loved one worked at a site on those lists during the applicable years, the first half is already established, because the trust has acknowledged its products were there.
We help workers who are alive and recently diagnosed, adult children and spouses researching on behalf of someone who is sick, and families of workers who have already passed away from mesothelioma, lung cancer, or asbestosis. If you are a worker who has just been diagnosed, calling early keeps more options open for your family. There is still a claim to be made for families of workers who have already passed; we handle wrongful death cases routinely.
You don't need the product names or old records. No fee unless we recover compensation for your family.
Alaska filing deadlines and trust eligibility, in brief
Alaska gives a diagnosed worker two years to file a personal-injury claim. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis. A separate deadline applies once a worker has passed away. If your loved one is alive and diagnosed, calling early keeps more options open.
Alaska deadlines, the wrongful-death rule, and how they apply to your family
Most workers exposed before 1983 can also file against the Johns-Manville Settlement Trust independently of anything documented at a specific site. How trust eligibility works.
We help families of workers who have already passed away. Alaska's wrongful-death law lets a surviving spouse, children, or other dependents recover the financial support, services, and companionship they lost.
Free family asbestos health screening. Our representation includes free asbestos health screening for family members of every client who may have been exposed at home through asbestos brought into the household on a worker's clothing or vehicle. The screening is a chest X-ray read by a B-reader, with a CT scan if needed; it looks for asbestos-related changes in the lungs and isn't a diagnosis or a reliable way to find mesothelioma early.
The sites profiled below show confirmed asbestos products based on the asbestos trusts established for companies that did business there. Those trusts exist because Clarence Borel, a Gulf Coast insulator, chose to sue in 1969 — not for himself, but because he realized his coworkers would die the same way he was dying. His decision created the legal framework that produced the trust system you're about to scan.
Today the choice is yours. You can file trust claims based on the documented exposure at your loved one's worksite — paper claims, no courtroom. Or you can follow Clarence Borel and also sue the manufacturers and premises owners directly, which allows us to build a full exposure profile for every site your loved one worked at and recover from defendants the trust system doesn't reach. Read his story.
Asbestos trust coverage across Alaska
The Johns-Manville Settlement Trust is open to most workers exposed before 1983, regardless of which specific worksite the exposure occurred at. Johns-Manville supplied so much asbestos and so many asbestos products across so many American industries that the trust does not require site-specific documentation. For mesothelioma claims, even one day of asbestos exposure before December 31, 1982 (at work or through a family member's work clothes brought into the home) can qualify a worker for Johns-Manville Settlement Trust compensation.
For lung cancer, asbestosis, and other non-mesothelioma asbestos diseases, the threshold is 60 months of total asbestos exposure with at least 6 months occurring before December 31, 1982. The one-day-of-exposure threshold for mesothelioma reflects how the disease actually develops (even brief exposure can cause it) and most major asbestos trusts apply similarly low-threshold eligibility for mesothelioma claims.
Because Johns-Manville keeps no site list of its own, every worksite on another trust's list also qualifies for Johns-Manville. Eighteen other trusts list Alaska worksites. The number of Alaska entries on each trust's list:
- Johns-Manville: no list of its own; every site on the other trusts' lists qualifies
- Owens Corning: 55 entries (Kaylo and high-temperature pipe and block insulation)
- Babcock & Wilcox: 37 entries (industrial and utility boilers)
- W.R. Grace: 15 entries (Monokote spray fireproofing and Zonolite)
- Fibreboard: 13 entries (Pabco pipe and block insulation)
- DII Industries (Halliburton): 10 entries (pumps, compressors and oilfield equipment)
- Eagle-Picher: 8 entries (insulating cements and pipe covering)
- ACandS: 5 entries (insulation contracting)
- Armstrong World Industries: 5 entries (insulation contracting and floor products)
- A.P. Green: 3 entries (refractory brick, castables and cements)
- Pittsburgh Corning: 3 entries (Unibestos pipe insulation)
- U.S. Gypsum: 3 entries (joint compound, plaster and acoustical products)
- Burns & Roe: 2 entries (power-plant engineering and construction)
- Combustion Engineering: 2 entries (boilers and refractory)
- J.T. Thorpe (California): 2 entries (insulation and refractory contracting)
- Kaiser Aluminum: 2 entries (refractory and insulating products)
- Turner & Newall: 2 entries (Limpet sprayed asbestos and asbestos textiles)
- NARCO: 1 entry (refractory gun mixes and castables)
- Yarway: 1 entry (steam traps and valves)
Trust coverage at this depth means most Alaska workers with significant industrial exposure histories will trigger filings against multiple trusts simultaneously — typically Johns-Manville plus the site-specific trusts documented at their worksites.
Alaska cities and their industries
Open a city to see the worksites there that the asbestos trusts recognize, grouped by industry, with why each industry used asbestos.
FairbanksFairbanks and the Interior combine Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright with the gold dredging and smelting of the territorial era and the city's coal-fired power plant.
Military installations. Military bases ran boiler plants, steam distribution systems, and aircraft and vehicle maintenance shops, and built and renovated for decades with asbestos-containing materials.
- Eielson Air Force Base
- Fort Wainwright (Ladd Field)
Ports and longshore work. Dockworkers loaded and unloaded asbestos fiber and asbestos products that moved through the ports, and worked aboard ships insulated with asbestos.
- Sea-Land
Mines and ore mills. Mines and ore mills ran powerhouses, boilers, compressors, and steam lines insulated and sealed with asbestos, and their mills and smelters used asbestos refractory.
- U.S. Smelting, Refining & Mining Company
AnchorageAnchorage holds more than a third of Alaska's entries: Elmendorf and Fort Richardson, today's Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Chugach Electric's power plants, and the port's oil and asphalt terminals.
Military installations. Military bases ran boiler plants, steam distribution systems, and aircraft and vehicle maintenance shops, and built and renovated for decades with asbestos-containing materials.
- Elmendorf Air Force Base
- Fort Richardson
Power plants and utilities. Power plants' boilers, turbines, and high-pressure steam lines were insulated, lined, and sealed with asbestos products, and every overhaul released dust across the plant.
- Chugach Electric — International Power Plant
NikiskiNikiski, on the Kenai Peninsula, is Alaska's oil and gas industrial center: the Standard Oil refinery, the Collier Carbon & Chemical fertilizer plant, and Chugach Electric's Bernice Lake power plant.
Refineries and petrochemical plants. Refineries ran on heat: crude heaters, cat crackers, boilers, and miles of steam and process piping, all insulated, lined, and sealed with asbestos products into the late 1970s. Insulators, pipefitters, boilermakers, and the contract crews who worked turnarounds carried the heaviest exposure.
- Standard Oil refinery
Chemical plants. Chemical plants combined high heat with corrosive service: furnaces and reactors lined with asbestos refractory, steam lines wrapped in asbestos insulation, and acid-resistant asbestos gaskets and packing at every flange.
- Collier Carbon & Chemical (ammonia-urea plant)
Power plants and utilities. Power plants' boilers, turbines, and high-pressure steam lines were insulated, lined, and sealed with asbestos products, and every overhaul released dust across the plant.
- Bernice Lake Power Plant (Chugach Electric)
JuneauJuneau's entries run from the Alaska Juneau gold mine, one of the largest of its era, to the state office buildings built after statehood.
Public and commercial buildings. Office towers, hospitals, schools, hotels, and government buildings were built with asbestos fireproofing, insulation, plaster, and floor tile, exposing the trades who built and renovated them and the maintenance crews who kept their boilers and steam lines running.
- State Office Building — Willoughby Avenue
Mines and ore mills. Mines and ore mills ran powerhouses, boilers, compressors, and steam lines insulated and sealed with asbestos, and their mills and smelters used asbestos refractory.
- Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Company
KetchikanKetchikan's economy was built around the Ketchikan Pulp Company mill at Ward Cove, which ran from 1954 until 1997.
Paper mills and manufacturing plants. Paper mills, glass plants, lumber mills, and factories ran their own boilers and steam systems, insulated with asbestos pipe covering and sealed with asbestos gaskets. A paper mill's recovery boilers were among the most asbestos-intensive equipment anywhere.
- Ketchikan Pulp Company
SitkaSitka was home to the Alaska Lumber & Pulp mill, Southeast Alaska's second big pulp mill, which ran from 1959 until 1993.
Paper mills and manufacturing plants. Paper mills, glass plants, lumber mills, and factories ran their own boilers and steam systems, insulated with asbestos pipe covering and sealed with asbestos gaskets. A paper mill's recovery boilers were among the most asbestos-intensive equipment anywhere.
- Alaska Lumber & Pulp Company
Other Alaska communitiesOne worksite each in 2 more communities.
Refineries and petrochemical plants. Refineries ran on heat: crude heaters, cat crackers, boilers, and miles of steam and process piping, all insulated, lined, and sealed with asbestos products into the late 1970s. Insulators, pipefitters, boilermakers, and the contract crews who worked turnarounds carried the heaviest exposure.
- Standard Oil — Kenai
Power plants and utilities. Power plants' boilers, turbines, and high-pressure steam lines were insulated, lined, and sealed with asbestos products, and every overhaul released dust across the plant.
- Beluga Power Station (Chugach Electric) — Beluga
Mesothelioma settlement values at Alaska's most-documented worksites
These worksites appear on the approved-site lists of at least two trusts besides Johns-Manville. Trust counts are minimums: a trust may list a site under a name we haven't yet matched to it. The years are the exposure window the trusts' lists recognize at each site; most lists end at 1982.
Open a worksite to see each trust that lists it, with the mesothelioma values the trust publishes and its current payment percentage. "Trust values together" adds up those trusts' values at their payment percentages: the low figure uses each trust's scheduled value, the high figure each trust's published maximum, which Individual Review can reach. Most mesothelioma claims are paid above the scheduled value. But each trust sets its own eligibility rules — the years, the work, and the length of exposure it requires — so few people qualify for every trust on a list, some trusts publish no fixed schedule, and these figures are not a prediction of any recovery. All trust values and payment percentages.
Ketchikan Pulp Company
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| A.P. Green | $165,694 | 6.0% | $9,941.64 |
| ACandS | $150,000 – $550,000 | 2.89% | $4,335 – $15,895 |
| Armstrong World Industries | $110,000 – $400,000 | 7.8% | $8,580 – $31,200 |
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Eagle-Picher | No fixed schedule | — | Set case by case |
| Fibreboard | $135,000 – $450,000 | 3.5% | $4,725 – $15,750 |
| Turner & Newall | $200,000 – $600,000 | 2.9% | $5,800 – $17,400 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Alaska Lumber & Pulp Company
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| A.P. Green | $165,694 | 6.0% | $9,941.64 |
| ACandS | $150,000 – $550,000 | 2.89% | $4,335 – $15,895 |
| Armstrong World Industries | $110,000 – $400,000 | 7.8% | $8,580 – $31,200 |
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Kaiser Aluminum | Not published | — | — |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Collier Carbon & Chemical (ammonia-urea plant)
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eagle-Picher | No fixed schedule | — | Set case by case |
| J.T. Thorpe (California) | Not published | — | — |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| W.R. Grace | $180,000 – $450,000 | 30.1% | $54,180 – $135,450 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Elmendorf Air Force Base
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Combustion Engineering | $75,000 – $400,000 | 15.3% | $11,475 – $61,200 |
| Eagle-Picher | No fixed schedule | — | Set case by case |
| NARCO | $75,000 – $1,379,580 | 100% | $75,000 – $1,379,580 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Beluga Power Station (Chugach Electric)
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Burns & Roe | Not published | — | — |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Eielson Air Force Base
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Fibreboard | $135,000 – $450,000 | 3.5% | $4,725 – $15,750 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Fort Wainwright (Ladd Field)
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| U.S. Gypsum | $155,000 – $450,000 | 10% | $15,500 – $45,000 |
| Yarway | $55,000 – $150,000 | 27.5% | $15,125 – $41,250 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Bernice Lake Power Plant (Chugach Electric)
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Burns & Roe | Not published | — | — |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Chugach Electric — International Power Plant
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Armstrong World Industries | $110,000 – $400,000 | 7.8% | $8,580 – $31,200 |
| Turner & Newall | $200,000 – $600,000 | 2.9% | $5,800 – $17,400 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Fort Richardson
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eagle-Picher | No fixed schedule | — | Set case by case |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Sea-Land
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fibreboard | $135,000 – $450,000 | 3.5% | $4,725 – $15,750 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
U.S. Smelting, Refining & Mining Company
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| DII Industries (Halliburton) | $60,718.95 – $256,000 | 60% | $36,431.37 – $153,600 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Company
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| DII Industries (Halliburton) | $60,718.95 – $256,000 | 60% | $36,431.37 – $153,600 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
State Office Building — Willoughby Avenue
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Gypsum | $155,000 – $450,000 | 10% | $15,500 – $45,000 |
| W.R. Grace | $180,000 – $450,000 | 30.1% | $54,180 – $135,450 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Standard Oil
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fibreboard | $135,000 – $450,000 | 3.5% | $4,725 – $15,750 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Standard Oil refinery
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Pittsburgh Corning | $175,000 – $500,000 | 19% | $33,250 – $95,000 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
A closer look at major Alaska worksites
The worksites below are recognized by the most asbestos trusts in Alaska — four or more, counting Johns-Manville. Each profile draws on the trust signatures present at the site to identify the products workers handled, the trades most heavily exposed, and the asbestos types they likely encountered. Your specific worksite may be documented even if it doesn't appear here — call us.
Ketchikan Pulp Company — Ward Cove, Ketchikan
The Ketchikan Pulp Company operated a pulp mill at Ward Cove, just north of Ketchikan, from 1954 through closure in 1997, employing hundreds of workers across 43 years of continuous operation. Operations included pulping digesters (high-temperature, high-pressure vessels with substantial asbestos insulation), chemical recovery boilers, an in-plant powerhouse and steam generation, and the broader Southeast Alaska pulp and paper complex. The trusts list the mill under Ketchikan, Ward Cove, and both; it is one facility.
Workers exposed. Pulp mill operations of this scale required boilermakers, insulators, pipefitters, millwrights, refractory workers, digester operators, recovery boiler operators, power plant operators, and general maintenance crews. Insulators and boilermakers carry the heaviest documented exposure profiles; millwrights and pipefitters working maintenance shifts on digesters, recovery boilers, and steam piping were exposed routinely across multi-decade careers.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 8 asbestos trusts — A.P. Green, ACandS, Armstrong World Industries, Babcock & Wilcox, Eagle-Picher, Fibreboard, Turner & Newall, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1951, when construction began, through 1982.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. The Babcock & Wilcox signature reflects the recovery and process boilers that anchor a pulp mill: boiler exteriors carried pipe and block insulation, furnaces carried refractory brick and refractory cement, and access doors and steam connections carried gaskets and packing. A.P. Green refractory lined the recovery boilers and process heaters, and Fibreboard pipe insulation and Eagle-Picher insulating cement covered the mill's steam and process lines. ACandS crews installed Turner & Newall Limpet sprayed asbestos under the K&M/T&N license. Standard Limpet was an amosite (brown asbestos) product rated to about 700°F; at a mill of this size and temperature, Limpet Blue, made with crocidolite (blue asbestos) and rated to about 1300°F, is likely too. Armstrong World Industries supplied floor and additional insulation products across the plant. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories, and crocidolite also appeared in the gaskets and packing on the recovery boilers.
Alaska Lumber & Pulp — Sitka
The Alaska Lumber & Pulp mill at Sitka operated from 1959 through closure in 1993 as the second major Southeast Alaska pulp operation. The trusts' lists also name the facility "Alaska Pulp and Paper Company" and itemize specific exposure locations, including the #7 Digester Insulation area and the pulp mill itself.
Workers exposed. Boilermakers, pipefitters, insulators, refractory workers, digester operators, recovery boiler operators, millwrights, and general maintenance crews. The #7 Digester documentation specifically points to insulators and pipefitters who worked the digester insulation systems.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 6 asbestos trusts — A.P. Green, ACandS, Armstrong World Industries, Babcock & Wilcox, Kaiser Aluminum, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1957 through 1982.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. A.P. Green refractory products lined the recovery boilers and process heaters, and Kaiser refractory and insulating products served the mill's specialty high-temperature equipment. ACandS crews installed insulation across the plant, including on the #7 digester, and Babcock & Wilcox recovery and process boilers carried pipe and block insulation, refractory, and gaskets and packing. The high-temperature pipe and block insulation was made with amosite (brown asbestos), and the hottest digester and recovery-boiler service likely used crocidolite (blue asbestos). Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories.
Collier Carbon & Chemical — Nikiski
Collier Carbon & Chemical, a Union Oil subsidiary, built an ammonia and urea fertilizer plant at Nikiski on the Kenai Peninsula in the late 1960s, using Cook Inlet natural gas as its feedstock. Ammonia production runs on high-temperature reformer furnaces, steam systems, and high-pressure process piping — the equipment profile that carried heavy asbestos insulation, refractory, and gasket use through the 1970s.
Workers exposed. Insulators, pipefitters, boilermakers, refractory workers, millwrights, instrument technicians, and plant operators, along with the construction crews who built the plant.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 5 asbestos trusts — Eagle-Picher, J.T. Thorpe (California), Owens Corning, W.R. Grace, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1967, during construction, through 1982; the W.R. Grace listing names the ammonia-urea plant specifically.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. Owens Corning pipe and block insulation, its high-temperature grades made with amosite (brown asbestos), covered the plant's process and steam lines, installed by J.T. Thorpe's insulation and refractory crews. Eagle-Picher supplied insulating cements, and W.R. Grace sprayed fireproofing on the plant's structural steel. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories.
Elmendorf Air Force Base — Anchorage
Elmendorf Air Force Base, now part of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), is the largest U.S. military installation in Alaska. JBER combines the historic Elmendorf AFB and Fort Richardson operations and anchors the 11th Air Force, the 673d Air Base Wing, and U.S. Army Alaska operations.
Workers exposed. Boilermakers, pipefitters, insulators, refractory workers, mechanics, electricians, construction trades, and federal civilian and military maintenance crews across decades of installation operations. Mechanics working on aircraft and ground support equipment, boilermakers on base heating plants, and construction trades during base buildout and renovation all carry documented exposure profiles.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 4 asbestos trusts — Combustion Engineering, Eagle-Picher, NARCO, and Johns-Manville. Combustion Engineering lists the base from 1940, when it was still the Alaskan Air Base at Elmendorf Field. Fort Richardson, the Army half of today's joint base, is listed separately by Eagle-Picher and Owens Corning.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. Combustion Engineering boilers and boiler refractory served the base heating plants, Eagle-Picher One-Cote and magnesia pipe insulation covered the heating and steam systems, and NARCO refractory products lined boilers and heating-plant equipment. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories, with amosite (brown asbestos) in the pipe and boiler insulation.
Eielson Air Force Base — Fairbanks
Eielson Air Force Base, about 26 miles southeast of Fairbanks, began as a World War II satellite field to Ladd Field and was renamed in 1948 for Alaska aviation pioneer Carl Ben Eielson. The base runs its own central heating and power plant, with steam distributed to base buildings through insulated lines built for interior Alaska's winters.
Workers exposed. Boilermakers, insulators, pipefitters, power plant operators, construction trades, and military and federal civilian maintenance crews.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 4 asbestos trusts — Babcock & Wilcox, Fibreboard, Owens Corning, and Johns-Manville. Babcock & Wilcox lists the field from 1950; Fibreboard and Owens Corning both list work on Building 3425.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. Babcock & Wilcox boilers in the base heating and power plant carried insulation, refractory, and gaskets and packing. Fibreboard and Owens Corning pipe and block insulation, its high-temperature grades made with amosite (brown asbestos), covered steam and hot-water lines and base buildings. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories.
Fort Wainwright (Ladd Field) — Fairbanks
Ladd Field opened at Fairbanks in 1939 as the Army Air Corps' cold-weather test station and became the transfer point for Lend-Lease aircraft flown to the Soviet Union during World War II. It became Ladd Air Force Base after the war and passed to the Army in 1961 as Fort Wainwright. The post's coal-fired central heating and power plant distributes steam through a network of utilidors and manholes.
Workers exposed. Steamfitters, insulators, boilermakers, power plant operators, plasterers and drywall crews, construction trades, and military and federal civilian maintenance crews.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 4 asbestos trusts — Owens Corning, U.S. Gypsum, Yarway, and Johns-Manville. U.S. Gypsum lists Ladd Field; Owens Corning lists the Fort Wainwright steam manholes from 1969; Yarway lists the post from 1979.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. Owens Corning pipe insulation, its high-temperature grades made with amosite (brown asbestos), covered the steam distribution system, and Yarway steam traps and valves on that system meant routine packing and gasket work for steamfitters. U.S. Gypsum joint compound, plaster, and gypsum products went into base construction. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories, including the joint compound, gaskets, and packing.
Beluga Power Station (Chugach Electric) — Beluga
Chugach Electric's natural-gas power plant at Beluga, on the west side of Cook Inlet across from Anchorage, came on line in the late 1960s and grew unit by unit through the 1970s into the utility's largest generating station.
Workers exposed. Boilermakers, insulators, pipefitters, millwrights, electricians, power plant operators, and the construction crews who built each unit.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 4 asbestos trusts — Babcock & Wilcox, Burns & Roe, Owens Corning, and Johns-Manville. Owens Corning lists Units 1 and 2 from 1967 and Unit 3 from 1972; Burns & Roe, the engineering firm, lists the plant in 1979.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. Owens Corning high-temperature pipe and block insulation, made with amosite (brown asbestos), covered the turbine, boiler, and steam piping, and Babcock & Wilcox boiler equipment carried insulation, refractory, and gaskets and packing. Burns & Roe, the engineering firm, did power-plant engineering and construction at the site. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories.
Bernice Lake Power Plant (Chugach Electric) — Nikiski
The Bernice Lake power plant near Nikiski on the Kenai Peninsula is a Chugach Electric generating station built around natural-gas turbines. The trusts list it under Anchorage (Chugach Electric's headquarters), Bernice Lake, and Nikiski; it is one facility.
Workers exposed. Insulators, pipefitters, millwrights, turbine mechanics, electricians, power plant operators, and construction crews.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 4 asbestos trusts — Babcock & Wilcox, Burns & Roe, Owens Corning, and Johns-Manville. Babcock & Wilcox lists the plant from 1962; Owens Corning lists its gas turbine and General Electric turbine work from 1972.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. Owens Corning insulation, its high-temperature grades made with amosite (brown asbestos), covered the gas turbines and their exhaust and steam piping. Babcock & Wilcox boiler and heat-recovery equipment carried insulation, refractory, and gaskets and packing, and Burns & Roe did power-plant engineering and construction at the site. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories.
Alaska entries by city
The trusts' lists hold Alaska entries in 30 communities. Open the list below for the number of entries in each. Call us for any specific worksite — whether or not the city appears here.
Entries on the trusts' lists, city by city
| City | Entries on the trusts' lists |
|---|---|
| Anchorage | 59 |
| Fairbanks | 18 |
| Kenai | 17 |
| Ketchikan | 14 |
| Sitka | 9 |
| Juneau | 8 |
| Nikiski | 8 |
| Nome | 4 |
| Valdez | 4 |
| Beluga | 3 |
| Drift River | 3 |
Entries are also listed in Adak, Akutan, Bernice Lake, Bethel, Chatham, Fort Greely, Iditarod, Jonesville, Kodiak, Naknek, North Slope, Prudhoe Bay, Seward Peninsula, Shemya, Skagway, Sterling, Suntrana, Treadwell and Wrangell.
Many of the smaller communities are tied to single mining, military, or industrial operations — the site count is small but the per-worker exposure intensity at sites like Adak, Shemya, Kodiak, and Prudhoe Bay was substantial.
Search the asbestos trusts' Alaska lists
Type any name the plant went by — the company, a later owner, or the city — to see every entry on the trusts' lists that matches, as the trusts wrote it, with each trust and the years it lists.
169 entries, as the trusts list them.
Court decisions: 2 asbestos cases from Alaska courts
Worksites named in court opinions
Court decisions in our library name these Alaska workplaces as places where people were exposed to asbestos.
Ketchikan Pulp Company mill
- Hoffman v. Ketchikan Pulp Co. (2019): Child of a welder and pipefitter at the mill, 1954-1966
- Hoffman v. General Electric Company (2016): Yard crew general laborer, 1968 to early 1970
Sitka pulp mill (Alaska Lumber & Pulp Company)
- Hoffman v. Ketchikan Pulp Co. (2019): Pulp mill worker, 1974-1978
- Hoffman v. General Electric Company (2016): Periodic mill worker in and around the turbine room, 1974-1978
Naval Air Facility Adak
- Gay v. AO Smith Corporation (2021): Navy serviceman
North Star Hotel
- Fitzwater v. Air & Liquid Sys. Corp. (2021): Baker, 1965
Tesoro Kenai refinery
- Gilcrease v. Tesoro Petroleum Corp. (2001): Welder and pipefitter, 1974 and 1980
Every worksite named in Alaska court decisions, with all their decisions
Asbestos mines
The U.S. Bureau of Mines' and Geological Survey's yearbooks and the asbestos industry's trade journal, Asbestos, report this Alaska mine producing asbestos fiber that was sold or shipped. Each mine's page says who worked it and when, what it produced and which document says so. Miners and millers, their families, and people who lived near these mines may have been exposed.
- Dahl Creek depositDahl Creek, Kobuk River district · Arctic Circle Exploration Co. · 1944–1945
Our records also name 10 Alaska asbestos deposits and mines with no sales reported: deposits and prospects the documents describe or report exploring, and mines they report worked without fiber sold. Each page says what the documents report.
10 deposits and mines with no sales reported
- Admiralty Island depositsWorked, no sales reported · Admiralty Island
- Bear Creek mineWorked, no sales reported · Admiralty Island · Alaska Asbestos, Inc. · 1933
- Chitina depositsWorked, no sales reported · Chitina, Copper River
- Cache depositDeposits and prospects · Slate Creek
- Champion Creek depositDeposits and prospects · Champion Creek, 13 miles from Slate Creek · Alaska Asbestos Co.
- Eagle propertyDeposits and prospects · Eagle Quadrant · Alaska Asbestos Co., Doyon, Ltd., Tanana Asbestos Corp. and others
- Ibex Mountains claimsDeposits and prospects · Ibex Mountains, near Hyder · Asbestos Corp., Ltd.
- Lemesurier Island occurrenceDeposits and prospects · Lemesurier Island
- Shungnak depositDeposits and prospects · Shungnak, Kobuk River
- Slate Creek depositDeposits and prospects · Slate Creek, Eagle Quadrant · Alaska Asbestos Co. · 1982
Don't see your worksite?
Your worksite may be documented even if it doesn't appear on this page. If your loved one worked at an Alaska facility not listed — a pump station on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, Clear Space Force Station, a smaller cannery or processing facility, or any other Alaska industrial site — call us. Johns-Manville requires no site list at all, and we can often document exposure through the products, contractors, and equipment at a site even when no trust lists it by name.
Smaller worksites, contract jobs, short-tenure employment, and exposures across multiple sites are all part of the case-building process.
Call 833-4-ASBESTOS for a free case review.
How an Alaska case may work
Russell is a 76-year-old retired pulp mill worker from Ketchikan. From 1968 through the mill's closure in 1997 — 29 years — he worked at the Ketchikan Pulp Company mill at Ward Cove, primarily in the maintenance and millwright crews supporting the pulp manufacturing operations. Across his career, Russell worked across the pulping digester operations (high-temperature, high-pressure vessels with substantial asbestos insulation), the recovery boiler operations, the in-plant powerhouse and steam generation, and routine plant maintenance. His daily work brought him into contact with asbestos-containing materials throughout the mill — refractory in recovery boilers and process heaters, pipe and block insulation on high-pressure steam lines, sprayed insulation on structural steel and overhead piping, gasket and packing maintenance on valves and pumps, and the broad range of asbestos products characteristic of major pulp and paper manufacturing in the second half of the twentieth century. Russell was laid off when the mill closed in 1997. He had no significant health complaints until late 2025, when he developed persistent chest pain and shortness of breath. Imaging and a subsequent pleural biopsy in early 2026 confirmed pleural mesothelioma of the sarcomatoid mesothelioma variety. Like many Southeast Alaska pulp mill workers of his generation, Russell had no idea his decades of mill work could cause cancer decades later.
After Russell's family contacted us, we matched his employment history to the trusts that list Ketchikan Pulp — A.P. Green, ACandS, Armstrong World Industries, Babcock & Wilcox, Eagle-Picher, Fibreboard, and Turner & Newall — and filed claims across each. Because Russell's career spans pre-1982 exposure, he also qualifies for the Johns-Manville Settlement Trust, independently of any site-specific Johns-Manville documentation. The Johns-Manville filing requires no separate proof of Johns-Manville products at the mill — Russell's documented pre-1982 industrial asbestos exposure is sufficient. Russell's family also pursues a civil case in Alaska state court against the still-solvent manufacturers documented at the site. Recoveries from cases like Russell's routinely fund what insurance does not cover — travel to academic cancer centers, lodging during extended treatment, out-of-pocket medication costs, and home help. The nearest NCI-designated cancer center for an Alaska worker is the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, where advanced treatments including lung-sparing surgery and the latest immunotherapy combinations are available; when the written agreement and applicable law permit it, our firm can also advance the cost of travel and lodging when getting to the right treatment center matters. As part of Russell's representation, his wife and adult children receive free asbestos health screening for take-home exposure carried in on his work clothing across the 29-year career at the mill. How legal recovery funds mesothelioma treatment access →.
For the full doctrinal treatment of Alaska's discovery rule, comparative fault framework, premises liability standard, statute of repose defective-product exception, and damages framework, see the Alaska mesothelioma law guide.
This example is general. Every case depends on the diagnosis, exposure history, dates, defendants, applicable law, and available evidence.
What happens when you call
A staff attorney answers — not a screener. The first call usually runs 20 to 30 minutes. We listen to the work history, identify which Alaska worksites and trust channels apply to your loved one's exposure, and explain the timeline and case structure for your family's specific situation.
We never pressure anyone to retain us during the first call. If you decide to move forward, we come to you — phone, video, or home visit, whichever works best. No travel to our offices is required at any point in the case.
You do not need to come to the call with product names, exposure dates, or work records. We reconstruct the exposure history using our worksite database, the trust documentation for each manufacturer, employment and union records, and coworker interviews. The conversation starts with what you remember; we handle the documentation work from there.
A spouse, adult child, or other family member can call for the worker. Many of our first calls are from a daughter or wife researching on behalf of a parent or husband. That is standard, and the family member can make the call without the worker on the line.
Call 833-4-ASBESTOS for a free case review.
Why families choose our firm
- $400M+ recovered for asbestos families; 200,000+ verified exposure sites nationally; all 169 Alaska entries on the asbestos trusts' lists; more than a dozen clients with Alaska job sites
- Worksite-specific knowledge — the firm operates from documented trust coverage rather than from generic intake scripts
- Trust claims, civil lawsuits, and federal benefits (VA service-connected disability, FECA, SSDI) coordinated case by case with the trial team
- Remote case handling for Alaska families — phone, video, home visit; no travel to our offices required
- Free family asbestos health screening for take-home exposure
- No fee unless we recover compensation for your family
Frequently asked questions
Is my Alaska worksite documented?
Probably yes. The asbestos trusts' approved-site lists hold 169 Alaska entries in 30 communities, including pulp mills, refineries, chemical plants, power plants, mines, military installations, oil terminals, and commercial and public buildings. You can search every entry on this page. Even if a specific facility isn't listed, we can often document exposure there through the products and contractors involved. Call us — we'll check on the phone.
What does "trust coverage" mean for my case?
Asbestos trusts were established in the bankruptcies of major asbestos manufacturers — Johns-Manville, Owens Corning, Babcock & Wilcox, Eagle-Picher, A.P. Green, and many others. Each trust pays claims against itself based on documented exposure to that manufacturer's products. When we identify multiple trust signatures at your loved one's worksite, that means filings can proceed against each trust in parallel. Trust filings are paper claims, separate from any civil lawsuit, and most resolve within several months of filing.
Does my loved one qualify for the Johns-Manville trust?
Probably yes, if your loved one had asbestos exposure before 1983 and developed an asbestos-related disease. Johns-Manville does not require proof that its products were at a specific worksite, and for mesothelioma even one day of exposure can qualify. How Johns-Manville eligibility works.
Do I need to know which asbestos products my loved one handled?
No. Reconstructing the product-handling history is our work, not yours. We use the trust documentation for each worksite, employment and union records, coworker interviews, and our broader asbestos product database to build the exposure profile. Start with what you remember — where your loved one worked, what years, what trade — and we handle the rest.
What if my loved one worked at multiple Alaska sites?
That is the common case, not the exception. Many Alaska workers spent careers across several pulp mills, refineries, military installations, or pipeline operations. We build a career-spanning exposure profile and file claims against every trust supported by the documented exposure across the full career.
What if my loved one's worksite has closed or been demolished?
Site closure does not affect the claim. The Ketchikan Pulp mill closed in 1997, the Alaska Lumber & Pulp Sitka mill closed in 1993, and the Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Company closed during World War II — all three remain on the asbestos trusts' lists, and the two pulp mills are recognized by more trusts than any other Alaska worksites. Trust claims and civil claims are built on documented exposure history; the physical fate of the facility is not the issue.
Can we file a claim if my loved one already passed away?
Yes. Alaska's wrongful-death statute (§ 09.55.580) lets a surviving spouse, children, or other dependents recover the support, services, and companionship they lost, and the trusts continue to pay claims to the estates of deceased workers. The wrongful-death claim must be filed within two years of the death, and only if the worker's own claim had not already expired, so call us promptly after a loss.
What if my loved one served at JBER, Fort Wainwright, Eielson AFB, Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, or another federal installation?
Active-duty veterans pursue VA service-connected disability for asbestos-related diseases tied to military service, and federal civilian employees at federal installations are covered by the federal workers' compensation program (FECA). A civil or trust recovery does not reduce VA disability; FECA has a right to be repaid from a civil recovery, so we coordinate it with the civil claim and the trust claims case by case.
What if exposure was at the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System?
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System has operated since 1977, with construction work running from 1974. TAPS construction crews, pump station operators, and Valdez Marine Terminal workers carry documented asbestos exposure across pipeline insulation, pump and compressor packing, gasket maintenance, and refinery-grade insulation systems at the marine terminal. Alyeska Pipeline Service Company appears on the DII Industries (Halliburton) trust's list at both Anchorage and Valdez. Call us with the specific years and locations of TAPS work, and we'll match the documented trust coverage.
Talk with an Alaska asbestos lawyer
Whether your family is dealing with a new diagnosis, a very sick loved one, or a death from mesothelioma, lung cancer, or asbestosis, we are ready to help. Your loved one's Alaska worksite may already be on the trusts' lists — or we can help document it if it isn't.
You do not need to know the product names. You do not need to have all the records. You do not need to travel to our office. A spouse or adult child can call for the family.
Related resources
This page is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Every asbestos case turns on its own facts, exposure history, diagnosis, deadlines, available evidence, and applicable law. Reviewing this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, call 833-4-ASBESTOS for a free case review.