For most of the twentieth century, industrial work in Hawaii meant one of two employers: a sugar plantation or the Navy. Every plantation town ground its cane in a mill with its own boilers, and at Pearl Harbor the Pacific Fleet's shipyard rebuilt the boilers and engine rooms of warships. Power plants, pineapple canneries, an iron works, and later an oil refinery filled in around them. All of it ran on steam, and asbestos is what kept the heat in the pipes. Island by island, the trusts' Hawaii entries fall like this:
- Pearl Harbor and the Oahu plantations — Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Hawaiian Electric's Waiau plant at Pearl City, and the Oahu Sugar Company mill at Waipahu;
- Honolulu — Honolulu Iron Works, which built the islands' sugar machinery, and the Iwilei gas works and pineapple canneries;
- Leeward Oahu — the Chevron refinery at Barbers Point and Hawaiian Electric's Kahe plant;
- Maui — the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar mill at Puunene, Pioneer Mill at Lahaina, and Maui Electric's Kahului plant;
- the Big Island's Hilo and Hamakua coasts — the Laupahoehoe, Pepeekeo, and Honokaa sugar mills; and
- Kauai — McBryde Sugar at Eleele, Grove Farm's Koloa mill, and Kekaha Sugar.
The mills are nearly all gone now; Hawaii's last sugar harvest came in 2016. The trusts' records of what went into them remain.
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 Hawaii, those lists hold 269 entries across 50 communities, from 17 asbestos trusts. One plant can appear many times, under different names or on different trusts' lists. Dozens of our clients worked at Hawaii 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.
Hawaii filing deadlines and trust eligibility, in brief
Hawaii 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.
Hawaii 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. Wrongful death cases for mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis are a routine part of our practice.
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 Hawaii
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. Sixteen other trusts list Hawaii worksites. The number of Hawaii entries on each trust's list:
- Johns-Manville: no list of its own; every site on the other trusts' lists qualifies
- Babcock & Wilcox: 150 entries (industrial and utility boilers)
- Combustion Engineering: 27 entries (boilers and refractory)
- Fibreboard: 27 entries (Pabco pipe and block insulation)
- Owens Corning: 23 entries (Kaylo and high-temperature pipe and block insulation)
- A.P. Green: 10 entries (refractory brick, castables and cements)
- J.T. Thorpe (California): 6 entries (insulation and refractory contracting)
- DII Industries (Halliburton): 5 entries (pumps, compressors and oilfield equipment)
- Eagle-Picher: 5 entries (insulating cements and pipe covering)
- Plibrico: 4 entries (refractory plastics and castables)
- Flintkote: 3 entries (roofing, flooring and building products)
- Kaiser Aluminum: 3 entries (refractory and insulating products)
- W.R. Grace: 2 entries (Monokote spray fireproofing and Zonolite)
- ABB Lummus: 1 entry (refinery and petrochemical engineering)
- Burns & Roe: 1 entry (power-plant engineering and construction)
- Owens-Illinois: 1 entry (Kaylo pipe and block insulation)
- Pittsburgh Corning: 1 entry (Unibestos pipe insulation)
Trust coverage at this depth means most Hawaii 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.
Hawaii 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.
HonoluluHonolulu holds nearly half of Hawaii's entries: Honolulu Iron Works, which built the islands' sugar machinery, the Iwilei gas works and pineapple canneries, and the plantation companies the trusts list at their agents' Honolulu offices.
Food plants, breweries, and sugar mills. Sugar mills, breweries, corn and flour mills, and packing houses ran on steam: boilers, cookers, evaporators, and dryers, with miles of insulated pipe, all built with asbestos insulation, gaskets, and packing.
- California Packing Corporation
- Hawaiian Pineapple Company (Dole) cannery
- Libby, McNeill & Libby cannery
Steel, metals, and metalworking. Steel mills, foundries, tool works, and aluminum plants used asbestos wherever metal was melted, poured, or heat-treated: refractory brick and cement, insulation on furnaces and ladles, and asbestos protective clothing.
- Honolulu Iron Works
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.
- Honolulu Gas Company — Iwilei gas works
Other worksites.
- Aloha State Sales Co.
KahuluiKahului, Maui's harbor town, is home to Maui Electric's Kahului power 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.
- Maui Electric — Kahului Generating Station
LahainaLahaina's Pioneer Mill ground West Maui's sugar cane for well over a century, until 1999.
Food plants, breweries, and sugar mills. Sugar mills, breweries, corn and flour mills, and packing houses ran on steam: boilers, cookers, evaporators, and dryers, with miles of insulated pipe, all built with asbestos insulation, gaskets, and packing.
- Pioneer Mill Company
Pearl HarborPearl Harbor's entries center on the naval shipyard, alongside the naval station and its fuel-oil storage plant.
Shipyards. Ships' boilers, engine rooms, and steam lines were insulated with asbestos, much of it to Navy specification, and shipyard workers in tight spaces breathed the dust whether or not they handled it themselves.
- Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard
PuunenePuunene, in central Maui, is home to the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar mill, which processed Hawaii's last sugar harvest in 2016.
Food plants, breweries, and sugar mills. Sugar mills, breweries, corn and flour mills, and packing houses ran on steam: boilers, cookers, evaporators, and dryers, with miles of insulated pipe, all built with asbestos insulation, gaskets, and packing.
- Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company (HC&S)
WaipahuWaipahu grew up around the Oahu Sugar Company's mill, which ground cane there until 1995.
Food plants, breweries, and sugar mills. Sugar mills, breweries, corn and flour mills, and packing houses ran on steam: boilers, cookers, evaporators, and dryers, with miles of insulated pipe, all built with asbestos insulation, gaskets, and packing.
- Oahu Sugar Company
Other Hawaii communitiesOne worksite each in 7 more communities.
Food plants, breweries, and sugar mills. Sugar mills, breweries, corn and flour mills, and packing houses ran on steam: boilers, cookers, evaporators, and dryers, with miles of insulated pipe, all built with asbestos insulation, gaskets, and packing.
- Grove Farm Company — Koloa sugar mill — Koloa
- Laupahoehoe Sugar Company — Papaaloa
- McBryde Sugar Company — Eleele
- Wailuku Sugar Company — Wailuku
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.
- Hawaiian Electric — Kahe power plant — Kapolei
- Hawaiian Electric — Waiau power plant — Pearl City
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.
- Chevron (Standard Oil of California) Hawaii refinery — Barbers Point
Mesothelioma settlement values at Hawaii'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.
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Combustion Engineering | $75,000 – $400,000 | 15.3% | $11,475 – $61,200 |
| DII Industries (Halliburton) | $60,718.95 – $256,000 | 60% | $36,431.37 – $153,600 |
| Eagle-Picher | No fixed schedule | — | Set case by case |
| Fibreboard | $135,000 – $450,000 | 3.5% | $4,725 – $15,750 |
| J.T. Thorpe (California) | Not published | — | — |
| 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 |
Maui Electric — Kahului Generating Station
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Combustion Engineering | $75,000 – $400,000 | 15.3% | $11,475 – $61,200 |
| 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 |
Pioneer Mill Company
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Combustion Engineering | $75,000 – $400,000 | 15.3% | $11,475 – $61,200 |
| DII Industries (Halliburton) | $60,718.95 – $256,000 | 60% | $36,431.37 – $153,600 |
| Fibreboard | $135,000 – $450,000 | 3.5% | $4,725 – $15,750 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Oahu Sugar Company
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| A.P. Green | $165,694 | 6.0% | $9,941.64 |
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Combustion Engineering | $75,000 – $400,000 | 15.3% | $11,475 – $61,200 |
| Plibrico | $350,000 – $750,000 | 0.94% | $3,290 – $7,050 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Chevron (Standard Oil of California) Hawaii refinery
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Combustion Engineering | $75,000 – $400,000 | 15.3% | $11,475 – $61,200 |
| Fibreboard | $135,000 – $450,000 | 3.5% | $4,725 – $15,750 |
| J.T. Thorpe (California) | Not published | — | — |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
McBryde Sugar Company
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| A.P. Green | $165,694 | 6.0% | $9,941.64 |
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Combustion Engineering | $75,000 – $400,000 | 15.3% | $11,475 – $61,200 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Aloha State Sales Co.
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eagle-Picher | No fixed schedule | — | Set case by case |
| 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 |
Honolulu Gas Company — Iwilei gas works
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Combustion Engineering | $75,000 – $400,000 | 15.3% | $11,475 – $61,200 |
| Kaiser Aluminum | Not published | — | — |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Honolulu Iron Works
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Eagle-Picher | No fixed schedule | — | Set case by case |
| Plibrico | $350,000 – $750,000 | 0.94% | $3,290 – $7,050 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Hawaiian Electric — Kahe power plant
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Combustion Engineering | $75,000 – $400,000 | 15.3% | $11,475 – $61,200 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Grove Farm Company — Koloa sugar mill
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| A.P. Green | $165,694 | 6.0% | $9,941.64 |
| Combustion Engineering | $75,000 – $400,000 | 15.3% | $11,475 – $61,200 |
| Plibrico | $350,000 – $750,000 | 0.94% | $3,290 – $7,050 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Laupahoehoe Sugar Company
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Combustion Engineering | $75,000 – $400,000 | 15.3% | $11,475 – $61,200 |
| Plibrico | $350,000 – $750,000 | 0.94% | $3,290 – $7,050 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Hawaiian Electric — Waiau power plant
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Combustion Engineering | $75,000 – $400,000 | 15.3% | $11,475 – $61,200 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company (HC&S)
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Combustion Engineering | $75,000 – $400,000 | 15.3% | $11,475 – $61,200 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Wailuku Sugar Company
| 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 |
Honokaa Sugar Company
| 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 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Laupahoehoe Sugar Company — Ookala mill
| 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 |
Yamada Transfer
| 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 |
California Packing Corporation
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| A.P. Green | $165,694 | 6.0% | $9,941.64 |
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Hawaiian Electric — Honolulu (Alakea Street) power plant
| 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 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Hawaiian Telephone Annex
| 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 |
Lambert Cole & Co.
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Owens-Illinois | $100,000 – $382,600 | 65% | $65,000 – $248,690 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Libby, McNeill & Libby cannery
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| A.P. Green | $165,694 | 6.0% | $9,941.64 |
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Kekaha Sugar Company
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| A.P. Green | $165,694 | 6.0% | $9,941.64 |
| Fibreboard | $135,000 – $450,000 | 3.5% | $4,725 – $15,750 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Kohala Sugar Co
| 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 |
Paauhau Sugar Plantation Company
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Combustion Engineering | $75,000 – $400,000 | 15.3% | $11,475 – $61,200 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Hawaiian Agricultural Company
| 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 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Maui Agricultural 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 |
Pepeekeo Sugar Company
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Combustion Engineering | $75,000 – $400,000 | 15.3% | $11,475 – $61,200 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Kauai Electric — Port Allen Generating Station
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| J.T. Thorpe (California) | 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 |
A closer look at major Hawaii worksites
The worksites below are among those recognized by the most asbestos trusts in Hawaii — four or more, counting Johns-Manville — and between them they cover the shipyard, the sugar mills, the power plants, and the iron works that supplied the mills. 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.
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard — Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard has been the U.S. Pacific Fleet's main maintenance and overhaul yard since the Navy established its station at Pearl Harbor in 1908, and it is one of only four public naval shipyards in the United States. Today it repairs and overhauls the fleet's submarines and surface ships. The trusts list it as Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, U.S. Naval Shipyard, U.S. Navy Yard, and simply Pearl Harbor, under Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, and Oahu; it is one facility. The naval station and its fuel-oil storage plant are listed separately.
Workers exposed. A century of naval ship repair at this scale required boilermakers, pipefitters, insulators, machinists, electricians, sheet-metal workers, welders, and shipfitters, across submarine and surface-ship maintenance, overhaul, and repair through the entire era of heavy asbestos use.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 8 asbestos trusts — Combustion Engineering, DII Industries (Halliburton), Eagle-Picher, Fibreboard, J.T. Thorpe (California), Owens Corning, Pittsburgh Corning, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1935 through 1982.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. Pittsburgh Corning Unibestos, an amosite (brown asbestos)-rich high-temperature pipe insulation made to Navy specifications, covered steam and propulsion piping, and Owens Corning's Kaylo line, its high-temperature grades also made with amosite, and Fibreboard pipe and block insulation covered more of it. Eagle-Picher One-Cote magnesia and insulating cements finished fittings and irregular surfaces, much of the insulation work done by J.T. Thorpe crews, a West Coast insulation and refractory contractor. The Combustion Engineering signature reflects boilers and their refractory, and the Halliburton signature reflects pumps and compressors from Ingersoll, Dresser, Pacific, and Worthington, with gaskets and packing on every shipboard valve, pump, and steam connection. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories.
Oahu Sugar Company — Waipahu
The Oahu Sugar Company ground cane at its Waipahu mill from 1897 until 1995, and the town of Waipahu grew up around the mill. The trusts list it under Waipahu and Honolulu; it is one plantation.
Workers exposed. Sugar mill operations required boilermakers, pipefitters, insulators, refractory workers, millwrights, mechanics, and electricians across the mill, boiler house, and processing floor, with the heaviest work during the annual shutdowns between grinding seasons.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 5 asbestos trusts — A.P. Green, Babcock & Wilcox, Combustion Engineering, Plibrico, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1912 through 1982.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. Babcock & Wilcox and Combustion Engineering boilers, fired largely on bagasse, the crushed cane fiber, powered the mill, with pipe and block insulation on the boilers and the steam lines to the evaporators and pans, and gaskets and packing on access doors and steam connections. A.P. Green and Plibrico refractory brick, plastics, and castables lined the boiler furnaces, and refractory crews relined them shutdown after shutdown. High-temperature pipe insulation of the era was often made with amosite (brown asbestos). Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories.
Pioneer Mill Company — Lahaina
Pioneer Mill ground West Maui's sugar cane at Lahaina from the 1860s until 1999, long as part of the H. Hackfeld & Company group that became American Factors (Amfac). The trusts list it as Pioneer Mill and Pioneer Mill Company under Lahaina, Kaanapali, Kahului, and Honolulu; it is one mill.
Workers exposed. Boilermakers, pipefitters, insulators, refractory workers, millwrights, mechanics, and electricians, along with the mill's operating crews and the contract trades brought in for off-season overhauls.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 5 asbestos trusts — Babcock & Wilcox, Combustion Engineering, DII Industries (Halliburton), Fibreboard, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1900 through 1982.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. Babcock & Wilcox and Combustion Engineering boilers powered the mill, with refractory in their furnaces, insulation on their casings, and gaskets and packing on access doors and steam connections. Fibreboard pipe and block insulation covered the steam lines to the mill's engines, evaporators, and vacuum pans, its high-temperature grades made with amosite (brown asbestos), and the Halliburton signature reflects pumps and compressors from Ingersoll, Dresser, Pacific, and Worthington. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories.
Maui Electric — Kahului Generating Station — Kahului
Maui Electric's Kahului Generating Station, beside Kahului Harbor, was for decades the main power plant serving Maui. Maui Electric is now part of Hawaiian Electric. The trusts list it as Maui Electric Company and the Kahului Generating Station; it is one plant.
Workers exposed. Utility power generation required boilermakers, pipefitters, insulators, refractory workers, electricians, mechanics, and instrument technicians across plant construction, daily operations, and major overhauls.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 5 asbestos trusts — Babcock & Wilcox, Combustion Engineering, Fibreboard, Owens Corning, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1945 through 1982.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. Babcock & Wilcox and Combustion Engineering boilers sat at the heart of the plant, with refractory in their furnaces and gaskets and packing on access doors and steam connections. Owens Corning's Kaylo line, its high-temperature grades made with amosite (brown asbestos), and Fibreboard pipe and block insulation covered the boilers, turbines, and high-pressure steam piping, and every turbine, pump, and valve overhaul meant cutting out and replacing gaskets and packing. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories.
Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company (HC&S) — Puunene
The Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company, founded in 1882 and long part of Alexander & Baldwin, was Hawaii's largest and last sugar plantation; its Puunene mill processed Hawaii's final sugar harvest in 2016. The trusts list it under Puunene, Kahului, Spreckelsville, and Maui; it is one plantation.
Workers exposed. Sugar mill and refining operations required boilermakers, pipefitters, insulators, refractory workers, millwrights, mechanics, and electricians across the mill, boiler house, evaporators, pans, and centrifugals.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 4 asbestos trusts — Babcock & Wilcox, Combustion Engineering, Owens Corning, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1916 through 1982.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. Babcock & Wilcox and Combustion Engineering boilers powered the mill, with refractory in the furnaces, insulation on the casings, and gaskets and packing on access doors and steam connections. Owens Corning's Kaylo line, its high-temperature grades made with amosite (brown asbestos), and other pipe and block insulation covered the steam lines to the evaporators and vacuum pans. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories.
Honolulu Iron Works — Honolulu
Founded in 1853, Honolulu Iron Works was Hawaii's heavy foundry and machine shop and the main builder of the islands' sugar machinery: mills, boilers, evaporators, and centrifugals, for plantations in Hawaii and abroad. The trusts list it as Honolulu Iron Works and Honolulu Iron Works Company; it is one facility.
Workers exposed. Foundry workers, boilermakers, pipefitters, insulators, refractory workers, machinists, welders, and mechanics, both in the Honolulu shops and in the field crews who installed and serviced the machinery at the mills.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 4 asbestos trusts — Babcock & Wilcox, Eagle-Picher, Plibrico, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1962 through 1982.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. Plibrico refractory plastics and castables lined the foundry, forge, and boiler furnaces. The Babcock & Wilcox signature reflects industrial boilers, with pipe and block insulation and gaskets and packing on their steam connections, and Eagle-Picher One-Cote magnesia and insulating cements covered boiler exteriors and steam piping. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories.
Hawaii entries by city
The trusts' lists hold Hawaii entries in 50 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 |
|---|---|
| Honolulu | 123 |
| Hilo | 21 |
| Kahului | 13 |
| Pearl Harbor | 13 |
| Oahu | 6 |
| Lahaina | 5 |
| Maui | 5 |
| Barbers Point | 4 |
| Kauai | 4 |
| Paia | 4 |
| Wailuku | 4 |
| Kekaha | 3 |
| Paauhau | 3 |
| Papaaloa | 3 |
| Pearl City | 3 |
| Puhi | 3 |
Entries are also listed in Aiea, Eleele, Ford Island, Fort Shafter, Haina, Hana, Kaanapali, Kailua-Kona, Kapolei, Kawaihae, Kealia, Kilauea, Kohala, Koloa, Lawai, Lihue, Lualualei, Mahukona, Makawao, Molokai, Naalehu, Nanakuli, Pahala, Papaikou, Pepeekeo, Port Allen, Punaluu, Puunene, Spreckelsville, Thahukoua, Waialua, Waianae, Waipahu and Waipio Acres.
Some entries name only an island (Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Molokai) rather than a town, and a few name no place at all; they still count toward the state total. Many plantation companies also appear under Honolulu, where their agents kept offices.
Search the asbestos trusts' Hawaii 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.
269 entries, as the trusts list them.
Court decisions: 8 asbestos cases from Hawaii courts
Worksites named in court opinions
Court decisions in our library name these Hawaii workplaces as places where people were exposed to asbestos.
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard
- Cabasug v. Crane Company (2014): Pipefitter and nuclear engineer, 1973-2006
- Leite v. Crane Co. (2014): Machinist
- Cabasug v. Crane Co. (2013): Pipefitter and nuclear engineer, 1973-2006
- Cabasug v. Crane Co. (2013): Pipefitter and nuclear engineer, 1973-1986
- Cabasug v. Crane Company (2013): Pipefitter and nuclear engineer, 1973-2006
- and 6 more
Hamakua Sugar Company
- In re Hawaii State Asbestos Cases (2017): Employee at Hamakua Sugar Company, 1973-1993
Every worksite named in Hawaii court decisions, with all their decisions
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 a Hawaii facility not listed, 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. Many Hawaii workers had careers spanning several sugar plantations, naval facilities, utility plants, and contractor jobs, and the cumulative exposure history typically supports multi-trust filings even when a single site does not appear on this page.
Call 833-4-ASBESTOS for a free case review.
How a Hawaii case may work
Daniel is a 76-year-old retired shipyard pipefitter from Honolulu. From 1970 to 2002 he worked at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard as a civilian contractor employee, primarily on submarine and surface ship repair and overhaul. His daily work involved cutting and fitting pipe insulation on steam and propulsion piping aboard Pacific Fleet submarines, removing and replacing gaskets and packing on shipboard valves and pumps, and handling insulating cement for irregular fittings and joints. During the 1970s and into the 1980s he worked extensively on overhauls of older surface ships whose pipe insulation had been installed decades earlier — meaning his daily product handling included legacy Unibestos and Kaylo pipe covering.
Before his shipyard career, Daniel worked summers in his late teens at the Oahu Sugar Company, where his father was a millwright. Daniel helped with maintenance shutdowns on the mill boilers and steam systems — additional brief but intense exposure to refractory and pipe insulation during that period. In late 2025 Daniel was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma of the biphasic mesothelioma variety. Like many Pacific Fleet shipyard workers of his generation, he did not connect his disease to his shipyard career until his oncologist asked about asbestos work history.
For Daniel's family, the case involves several tracks; when each is filed is decided case by case with the trial team. His pre-1982 asbestos exposure qualifies him for the Johns-Manville Settlement Trust under the one-day-of-exposure rule for mesothelioma. The Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard listings support filings against at least seven site-specific trusts — Combustion Engineering, DII Industries (Halliburton), Eagle-Picher, Fibreboard, J.T. Thorpe (California), Owens Corning, and Pittsburgh Corning. The Oahu Sugar Company listings add A.P. Green, Babcock & Wilcox, and Plibrico, based on his summer mill maintenance work. Because Daniel worked for a private contractor at Pearl Harbor, his benefits run through the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, which preserves his right to sue the product manufacturers; Longshore benefits are repaid or credited from a civil recovery, and a settlement for less than the compensation due needs his employer's written approval. The civil case proceeds against the still-solvent manufacturers in Hawaii state court (typically First Circuit Court for Oahu cases), where Hawaii keeps joint and several liability for asbestos torts and its $375,000 limit on pain and suffering does not apply. Our representation includes free asbestos health screening for Daniel's spouse and adult children, who were exposed at home to fibers brought back on his work clothes across thirty years. 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.
Recoveries from cases like Daniel'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 University of Hawaii Cancer Center in Honolulu is NCI-designated, but for specialized mesothelioma surgery many Hawaii families travel to mainland centers such as the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center in Los Angeles and the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center in San Francisco, where advanced treatments like HIPEC, 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 — a particular consideration for Hawaii families given the mainland travel involved. How legal recovery funds mesothelioma treatment access →.
For the full doctrinal treatment of Hawaii's discovery rule, the statutory preservation of joint and several liability for asbestos torts, the substantial factor causation framework, the Hawaii collateral source rule, pure comparative fault for strict products liability, and the modern premises liability standard, see the Hawaii 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 Hawaii 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 and 200,000+ verified exposure sites nationally; all 269 Hawaii entries on the asbestos trusts' lists; dozens of clients with Hawaii job sites
- Worksite-specific knowledge — we operate from documented trust coverage rather than from generic intake scripts. From the first call we can speak to the products, trades, and trust channels at your loved one's worksite.
- Trust, civil, and federal benefits coordinated case by case with the trial team. For Pearl Harbor workers and other federal-facility employees, we coordinate LHWCA, FECA, and VA benefits alongside trust and civil filings.
- Remote case handling. Phone, video, or home visit. Hawaii families do not need to travel to our offices at any point in the case.
- Free family asbestos health screening for family members of every client who may have been exposed at home.
- No fee unless we recover compensation.
Frequently asked questions
Is my Hawaii worksite documented?
Probably yes. The asbestos trusts' approved-site lists hold 269 Hawaii entries in 50 communities, including the major naval, sugar, pineapple, utility, and industrial operations. 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 with your loved one's work history — we can typically confirm coverage during the first call.
What does "trust coverage" mean for my case?
Asbestos trusts are funds set up by bankrupt asbestos manufacturers to pay compensation to workers exposed to their products. When a manufacturer's products are documented as having been used at a specific worksite, workers who handled those products at that site qualify for trust filings. Trust claims operate completely separately from lawsuits — they are paper claims, no courtroom required, and many resolve within several months. Most Hawaii workers with significant industrial exposure histories qualify for claims against several trusts at once.
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. We reconstruct the product-handling history using our worksite database, the trust documentation for each manufacturer that operated at the worksite, employment and union records, coworker interviews, and the trade-specific knowledge of which products each trade routinely handled. The conversation starts with what your family remembers about the work history; we handle the product identification and documentation.
What if my loved one worked at multiple Hawaii sites?
Multi-site exposure histories are the norm rather than the exception for long-career Hawaii industrial workers. Each documented site supports its own trust filings, and the cumulative exposure history typically supports stronger civil claims and broader trust recovery than any single site alone. Hawaii sugar workers, in particular, often moved between plantations and mills across several islands over long careers — we document each site that contributed to the exposure history.
What if my loved one's worksite has closed or been demolished?
Closure or demolition does not affect the asbestos claim. Most of the heaviest-exposure Hawaii operations — the sugar mills, the last of which closed in 2016, and the historic pineapple canneries — are now closed. Trust documentation, employment records, union records, coworker testimony, and our worksite database all support claims based on historical work at closed facilities.
Can we file a claim if my loved one already passed away?
Yes. Wrongful death cases for mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis are a routine part of our practice. The Hawaii wrongful-death deadline is two years from the date of death. Trust claims, civil claims, and federal benefits are all available to families of deceased workers. The family brings the wrongful-death claim, and the estate can pursue the worker's own claim, which keeps the worker's original deadline; the case proceeds in substantially the same way as a living-worker case, with the exposure history reconstructed from records, coworker testimony, and the worksite database.
What if my loved one worked at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard?
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard is the Hawaii worksite the most asbestos trusts recognize — at least eight, counting Johns-Manville. Workers' compensation rights depend on the worker's employment posture. Civilian contractor employees working in the shipyard are covered by the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA). Federal civilian employees (employed directly by the Navy) are covered by the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA). Active-duty Navy personnel are eligible for VA service-connected disability benefits — available with proof of in-service asbestos exposure and a doctor's opinion linking it to service. All three allow claims against the product manufacturers, but FECA and Longshore benefits must be repaid or credited from a civil recovery, and VA and FECA benefits for the same disease generally require choosing one. When each claim is filed is decided case by case with our trial team.
What if my loved one worked in Hawaii's sugar industry?
Hawaii's sugar industry, which ran on Oahu, Maui, the Big Island, and Kauai for more than a century, used asbestos throughout its mill boilers, evaporators, and steam systems. The trusts' lists include the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company at Puunene on Maui (the last Hawaii sugar plantation, closed in 2016), the Oahu Sugar Company at Waipahu, Pioneer Mill at Lahaina, McBryde Sugar on Kauai, and many other plantations and mills. Sugar workers typically have claims against the trusts that recur across these mills — Babcock & Wilcox, Combustion Engineering, A.P. Green, Plibrico, Fibreboard, and Owens Corning — plus Johns-Manville.
Talk with a Hawaii asbestos lawyer
Whether your family is dealing with a new diagnosis, a very sick loved one, or a death from mesothelioma, we are ready to help. Your loved one's 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. We come to you — phone, video, or home visit.
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.