Follow Minnesota's raw materials and you follow its asbestos. Taconite blasted from the Iron Range was crushed and fired into pellets for the ore boats on Lake Superior; timber from the north woods fed paper mills on the Rainy, St. Louis, and Mississippi rivers; and coal and crude oil brought into the state became electricity, fuel, and the products of a broad Twin Cities manufacturing economy. Each of those steps ran on heat, and asbestos was how the heat was kept in. The trusts' Minnesota lists are thickest:
- on the Iron Range and the North Shore — U.S. Steel's Minntac plant at Mountain Iron, Erie Mining at Hoyt Lakes, and Reserve Mining's pellet plant at Silver Bay;
- around Duluth and Carlton County — U.S. Steel's Duluth Works, the Northwest Paper mill at Cloquet, and the Wrenshall refinery;
- in the northern paper towns — the Boise Cascade mill at International Falls and Blandin Paper at Grand Rapids;
- in the Twin Cities — 3M and the Waldorf paperboard mill in St. Paul, and General Mills in Minneapolis;
- on the metro's southern edge — the Pine Bend refinery and Northern States Power's Black Dog plant, the two worksites more trusts recognize than any other in Minnesota; and
- at the outstate power stations — Minnesota Power's Clay Boswell plant at Cohasset and Otter Tail Power's Hoot Lake plant at Fergus Falls.
More than half of the entries are on one trust's list: Western Asbestos, the trust that answers for the insulation work of the St. Paul MacArthur Company.
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 Minnesota, those lists hold more than 2,000 entries across 240 communities, from 30 asbestos trusts. One plant can appear many times, under different names or on different trusts' lists. Several of our clients worked at Minnesota 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.
Minnesota filing deadlines and trust eligibility, in brief
Minnesota generally gives a diagnosed worker four or six years to file a personal-injury claim, depending on the kind of claim. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count four years from the date of diagnosis. If an earlier X-ray, CT scan or screening showed asbestos-related scarring, a Minnesota court may count the four or six years from that earlier finding, so call us right away. After a death, the family's claim must be filed within three years of the death and within six years of when the cancer was linked to asbestos. If your loved one is alive and diagnosed, calling early keeps more options open.
Minnesota 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 on behalf of a deceased Minnesota worker are part of our standard practice.
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 a worker's clothing, hair, 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 Minnesota
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. Twenty-nine other trusts list Minnesota worksites. The number of Minnesota entries on each trust's list:
- Johns-Manville: no list of its own; every site on the other trusts' lists qualifies
- Western Asbestos: 1,285 entries (insulation contracting and distribution)
- Babcock & Wilcox: 282 entries (industrial and utility boilers)
- Owens Corning: 207 entries (Kaylo and high-temperature pipe and block insulation)
- Fibreboard: 148 entries (Pabco pipe and block insulation)
- Eagle-Picher: 96 entries (insulating cements and pipe covering)
- Combustion Engineering: 65 entries (boilers and refractory)
- A.P. Green: 60 entries (refractory brick, castables and cements)
- DII Industries (Halliburton): 31 entries (pumps, compressors and oilfield equipment)
- U.S. Gypsum: 25 entries (joint compound, plaster and acoustical products)
- Owens-Illinois: 21 entries (Kaylo pipe and block insulation)
- Plibrico: 18 entries (refractory plastics and castables)
- Turner & Newall: 18 entries (Limpet sprayed asbestos and asbestos textiles)
- Armstrong World Industries: 12 entries (insulation contracting and floor products)
- Flintkote: 12 entries (roofing, flooring and building products)
- GAF: 12 entries (roofing and building products)
- Pittsburgh Corning: 12 entries (Unibestos pipe insulation)
- Burns & Roe: 8 entries (power-plant engineering and construction)
- ABB Lummus: 7 entries (refinery and petrochemical engineering)
- Raytech: 7 entries (friction products)
- ACandS: 6 entries (insulation contracting)
- W.R. Grace: 6 entries (Monokote spray fireproofing and Zonolite)
- DII Industries (Harbison-Walker): 5 entries (refractory brick and castables)
- Kaiser Aluminum: 4 entries (refractory and insulating products)
- Flexitallic: 3 entries (spiral-wound gaskets)
- NARCO: 3 entries (refractory gun mixes and castables)
- J.T. Thorpe (California): 2 entries (insulation and refractory contracting)
- ASARCO: 1 entry (asbestos mining and smelting)
- Fuller-Austin: 1 entry (insulation contracting)
- J.T. Thorpe (Texas): 1 entry (insulation and refractory contracting)
Trust coverage at this depth means most Minnesota workers with significant industrial exposure histories will appear on several trusts' lists — typically Johns-Manville plus the site-specific trusts documented at their worksites.
Minnesota 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.
St. PaulSt. Paul's industry ran from 3M's original plant on the East Side and the Waldorf paperboard mill to American Hoist & Derrick's crane works, with the MacArthur Company, an insulation contractor and distributor, headquartered in the city.
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.
- 3M St. Paul plant
- Waldorf Paper Products (Hoerner Waldorf)
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.
- American Hoist & Derrick
Insulation contractors. Insulation contractors installed and tore out asbestos pipe covering, block, and cement: the most heavily exposed trade of all.
- MacArthur Company
MinneapolisMinneapolis holds more entries than any other Minnesota city: General Mills and Honeywell, Northern States Power's Riverside plant, the University of Minnesota, and the downtown towers and hospitals of the state's largest city.
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.
- Honeywell
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.
- General Mills
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.
- Northern States Power — Riverside plant
Pine BendPine Bend, on the Mississippi south of St. Paul in Dakota County, is home to the state's largest refinery and the St. Paul Ammonia plant beside it; the trusts also file them under Rosemount and Roseport.
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.
- Pine Bend refinery (Great Northern Oil, later Koch Refining)
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.
- St. Paul Ammonia plant
CloquetCloquet, west of Duluth, is a paper and wood-products town: the Northwest Paper mill and the Wood Conversion Company, later Conwed.
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.
- Northwest Paper Cloquet mill (Potlatch)
DuluthDuluth, the head of the Great Lakes, shipped Iron Range ore and made steel at U.S. Steel's Duluth Works, with American Steel & Wire, the shipyards, and Minnesota Power & Light's plants alongside.
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.
- U.S. Steel Duluth Works (Minnesota Steel Company)
International FallsInternational Falls, on the Rainy River across from Fort Frances, Ontario, grew around its paper mill, run by the Minnesota & Ontario Paper Company and then Boise Cascade.
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.
- Boise Cascade International Falls mill (Minnesota & Ontario Paper)
Silver BaySilver Bay was built in the 1950s as Reserve Mining's company town on Lake Superior's North Shore, beside the plant that turned Iron Range taconite into pellets.
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.
- Reserve Mining taconite plant
Other Minnesota communitiesOne worksite each in 10 more communities.
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.
- Minnesota Power & Light — Clay Boswell plant — Cohasset
- Minnesota Power & Light — Laskin plant (Aurora Steam Electric Station) — Aurora
- Northern States Power — Black Dog plant — Burnsville
- Northern States Power — Prairie Island nuclear plant — Red Wing
- Otter Tail Power — Hoot Lake plant — Fergus Falls
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.
- International Refineries Wrenshall refinery (later Conoco) — Wrenshall
- Northwestern Refining St. Paul Park refinery (later Ashland) — St. Paul Park
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.
- Erie Mining Company taconite plant (later LTV Steel Mining) — Hoyt Lakes
- U.S. Steel Minntac plant (Oliver Iron Mining) — Mountain Iron
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.
- Blandin Paper mill — Grand Rapids
Mesothelioma settlement values at Minnesota's most-documented worksites
These worksites appear on the approved-site lists of at least four 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.
Northern States Power — Black Dog plant
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Burns & Roe | Not published | — | — |
| 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 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Owens-Illinois | $100,000 – $382,600 | 65% | $65,000 – $248,690 |
| Pittsburgh Corning | $175,000 – $500,000 | 19% | $33,250 – $95,000 |
| Turner & Newall | $200,000 – $600,000 | 2.9% | $5,800 – $17,400 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Pine Bend refinery (Great Northern Oil, later Koch Refining)
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABB Lummus | $1,000 – $400,000 | 9.5% | $95 – $38,000 |
| 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 | — | — |
| J.T. Thorpe (Texas) | $100,000 | 23% | $23,000 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Pittsburgh Corning | $175,000 – $500,000 | 19% | $33,250 – $95,000 |
| Plibrico | $350,000 – $750,000 | 0.94% | $3,290 – $7,050 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Boise Cascade International Falls mill (Minnesota & Ontario Paper)
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Flexitallic | $50,000 – $150,000 | 2.9% | $1,450 – $4,350 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Northwest Paper Cloquet mill (Potlatch)
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Plibrico | $350,000 – $750,000 | 0.94% | $3,290 – $7,050 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Waldorf Paper Products (Hoerner Waldorf)
| 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 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Minnesota Power & Light — Laskin plant (Aurora Steam Electric Station)
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACandS | $150,000 – $550,000 | 2.89% | $4,335 – $15,895 |
| Armstrong World Industries | $110,000 – $400,000 | 7.8% | $8,580 – $31,200 |
| 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 |
| Turner & Newall | $200,000 – $600,000 | 2.9% | $5,800 – $17,400 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Minnesota Power & Light — Clay Boswell plant
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burns & Roe | Not published | — | — |
| 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 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Turner & Newall | $200,000 – $600,000 | 2.9% | $5,800 – $17,400 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Reserve Mining taconite plant
| 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 |
| Eagle-Picher | No fixed schedule | — | Set case by case |
| NARCO | $75,000 – $1,379,580 | 100% | $75,000 – $1,379,580 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Plibrico | $350,000 – $750,000 | 0.94% | $3,290 – $7,050 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
International Refineries Wrenshall refinery (later Conoco)
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABB Lummus | $1,000 – $400,000 | 9.5% | $95 – $38,000 |
| 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 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Owens-Illinois | $100,000 – $382,600 | 65% | $65,000 – $248,690 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
U.S. Steel Duluth Works (Minnesota Steel 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 |
| DII Industries (Harbison-Walker) | $144,897.50 – $610,000 | 60% | $86,938.50 – $366,000 |
| Fibreboard | $135,000 – $450,000 | 3.5% | $4,725 – $15,750 |
| Flintkote | $184,000 – $450,000 | 15% | $27,600 – $67,500 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Otter Tail Power — Hoot Lake plant
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Burns & Roe | Not published | — | — |
| Combustion Engineering | $75,000 – $400,000 | 15.3% | $11,475 – $61,200 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Turner & Newall | $200,000 – $600,000 | 2.9% | $5,800 – $17,400 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Erie Mining Company taconite plant (later LTV Steel Mining)
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
General Mills
| 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 |
| Fibreboard | $135,000 – $450,000 | 3.5% | $4,725 – $15,750 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Owens-Illinois | $100,000 – $382,600 | 65% | $65,000 – $248,690 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Northern States Power — Riverside plant
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACandS | $150,000 – $550,000 | 2.89% | $4,335 – $15,895 |
| Armstrong World Industries | $110,000 – $400,000 | 7.8% | $8,580 – $31,200 |
| Fibreboard | $135,000 – $450,000 | 3.5% | $4,725 – $15,750 |
| Pittsburgh Corning | $175,000 – $500,000 | 19% | $33,250 – $95,000 |
| Turner & Newall | $200,000 – $600,000 | 2.9% | $5,800 – $17,400 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Blandin Paper mill
| 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 |
| Fibreboard | $135,000 – $450,000 | 3.5% | $4,725 – $15,750 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Honeywell
| 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 |
| Fibreboard | $135,000 – $450,000 | 3.5% | $4,725 – $15,750 |
| Plibrico | $350,000 – $750,000 | 0.94% | $3,290 – $7,050 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
U.S. Steel Minntac plant (Oliver Iron Mining)
| 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 |
| Eagle-Picher | No fixed schedule | — | Set case by case |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
St. Paul Ammonia plant
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABB Lummus | $1,000 – $400,000 | 9.5% | $95 – $38,000 |
| Fibreboard | $135,000 – $450,000 | 3.5% | $4,725 – $15,750 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Owens-Illinois | $100,000 – $382,600 | 65% | $65,000 – $248,690 |
| Pittsburgh Corning | $175,000 – $500,000 | 19% | $33,250 – $95,000 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Northern States Power — Prairie Island nuclear plant
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burns & Roe | Not published | — | — |
| Fibreboard | $135,000 – $450,000 | 3.5% | $4,725 – $15,750 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Pittsburgh Corning | $175,000 – $500,000 | 19% | $33,250 – $95,000 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
3M St. Paul plant
| 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 |
| Fibreboard | $135,000 – $450,000 | 3.5% | $4,725 – $15,750 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
American Hoist & Derrick
| 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 |
| Eagle-Picher | No fixed schedule | — | Set case by case |
| Turner & Newall | $200,000 – $600,000 | 2.9% | $5,800 – $17,400 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
MacArthur Company
| 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 |
| Owens-Illinois | $100,000 – $382,600 | 65% | $65,000 – $248,690 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Northwestern Refining St. Paul Park refinery (later Ashland)
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Pittsburgh Corning | $175,000 – $500,000 | 19% | $33,250 – $95,000 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Hormel 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 |
| Eagle-Picher | No fixed schedule | — | Set case by case |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Northern States Power — Allen S. King 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 |
| Pittsburgh Corning | $175,000 – $500,000 | 19% | $33,250 – $95,000 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Northern States Power — Sherburne County (Sherco) plant
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Burns & Roe | Not published | — | — |
| 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 |
3M Chemolite plant
| 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 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
American Steel & Wire Duluth works
| 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 |
| 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 |
American Crystal Sugar — East Grand Forks factory
| 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 |
| Eagle-Picher | No fixed schedule | — | Set case by case |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Smith-Sharpe Company
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| A.P. Green | $165,694 | 6.0% | $9,941.64 |
| Eagle-Picher | No fixed schedule | — | Set case by case |
| 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 |
University of Minnesota
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Combustion Engineering | $75,000 – $400,000 | 15.3% | $11,475 – $61,200 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Turner & Newall | $200,000 – $600,000 | 2.9% | $5,800 – $17,400 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Northern States Power — Monticello nuclear 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 |
| 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 |
Mayo Clinic
| 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 |
| U.S. Gypsum | $155,000 – $450,000 | 10% | $15,500 – $45,000 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Sartell paper mill (Watab, St. Regis, Champion)
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Interstate Power Company — Fox Lake Station
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACandS | $150,000 – $550,000 | 2.89% | $4,335 – $15,895 |
| Armstrong World Industries | $110,000 – $400,000 | 7.8% | $8,580 – $31,200 |
| 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 |
Northern States Power Co
| 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 |
| GAF | $155,000 – $450,000 | 5.0% | $7,750 – $22,500 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Northern States Power — High Bridge plant
| 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 |
| Fibreboard | $135,000 – $450,000 | 3.5% | $4,725 – $15,750 |
| Western Asbestos | $117,087 – $524,025 | 51.1% | $59,831.46 – $267,776.78 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
A closer look at major Minnesota worksites
The worksites below are among those the most asbestos trusts recognize in Minnesota — from eleven down to seven, 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.
Northern States Power — Black Dog plant (Burnsville)
Northern States Power's Black Dog plant stands on the Minnesota River in Burnsville, on the southern edge of the Twin Cities. It burned coal from the 1950s and is now an Xcel Energy station. The trusts list it under Northern States Power, the Black Dog station, and Xcel Energy, and file it under Burnsville, Black Dog, and Nichols; it is one facility.
Workers exposed. Boilermakers, pipefitters, insulators, refractory workers, millwrights, mechanics, electricians, and power plant operators, along with the construction and overhaul crews.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 11 asbestos trusts — Babcock & Wilcox, Burns & Roe, Combustion Engineering, DII Industries (Halliburton), Fibreboard, Owens Corning, Owens-Illinois, Pittsburgh Corning, Turner & Newall, Western Asbestos, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1948 through 1982. No Minnesota worksite is recognized by more trusts.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. The Babcock & Wilcox and Combustion Engineering signatures reflect the station's boilers, with their pipe and block insulation, refractory, and gaskets and packing, and Burns & Roe did engineering and construction work at the plant. Because the Owens-Illinois trust signature is present, Owens-Illinois Kaylo high-temperature pipe insulation, an amosite (brown asbestos) product, was used at this site during the 1948–1958 manufacturing window, followed by Owens Corning's Kaylo line; Pittsburgh Corning's amosite-rich Unibestos and Fibreboard pipe insulation covered more of the steam and turbine piping. Turner & Newall's signature points to its sprayed Limpet insulation, an amosite product, Western Asbestos reflects the MacArthur Company's insulation crews, and the Halliburton signature reflects pumps and compressors from Ingersoll, Dresser, Pacific, and Worthington. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories.
Pine Bend refinery (Great Northern Oil, later Koch Refining) — Pine Bend
The Pine Bend refinery on the Mississippi in Dakota County, south of St. Paul, was built in the mid-1950s by the Great Northern Oil Company. Koch took control of it in 1969, and it is now Flint Hills Resources' Pine Bend refinery, the largest in Minnesota. The trusts list it under Great Northern Oil, Great Northern Refining, Koch, and the Pine Bend refinery, and file it under Pine Bend, Rosemount, Roseport, and Hastings; it is one facility. The St. Paul Ammonia plant beside it is listed separately.
Workers exposed. Refinery operations required pipefitters, insulators, boilermakers, refractory workers (concentrated on the crude heaters, cat cracker, and process furnaces), mechanics, instrument technicians, and electricians, along with the contract crews who built the refinery and worked its turnarounds.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 11 asbestos trusts — ABB Lummus, DII Industries (Halliburton), Eagle-Picher, Fibreboard, J.T. Thorpe (California), J.T. Thorpe (Texas), Owens Corning, Pittsburgh Corning, Plibrico, Western Asbestos, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1954 through 1982. No Minnesota worksite is recognized by more trusts.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. J.T. Thorpe crews from both the California and Texas companies applied insulation and refractory while the refinery was being built and in the years after, and ABB Lummus did refinery engineering and construction. Plibrico plastic refractory lined the process heaters and the cat cracker. Pittsburgh Corning's Unibestos and Owens Corning's Kaylo line, both high-temperature pipe insulations made with amosite (brown asbestos), covered the hottest lines, with Fibreboard pipe insulation and Eagle-Picher insulating cement on the rest of the steam and process piping, and Western Asbestos reflects the MacArthur Company's insulation work. The Halliburton signature reflects pumps and compressors from Ingersoll, Dresser, Pacific, and Worthington, sealed with gaskets and packing. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories, and crocidolite (blue asbestos) appeared in the gaskets and packing of the refinery's acid service.
Boise Cascade International Falls mill (Minnesota & Ontario Paper) — International Falls
The International Falls mill stands on the Rainy River at the Canadian border, across from Fort Frances, Ontario. It was built and run by the Minnesota & Ontario Paper Company, known as Mando, until Boise Cascade took the company over in 1965, and it made newsprint, paper, and wood products in a continuous integrated pulp-and-paper operation. The trusts list it under Boise Cascade, Boise Cascade Paper Group, and Minnesota & Ontario Paper; it is one facility.
Workers exposed. Integrated paper-mill operations of this scale required pipefitters, insulators, boilermakers, refractory workers, papermakers, millwrights, and mechanics. The recovery boiler and lime kiln crews carried the heaviest refractory exposure; the paper machine and digester crews carried the heaviest gasket and packing exposure.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 10 asbestos trusts — A.P. Green, Babcock & Wilcox, Combustion Engineering, DII Industries (Halliburton), Eagle-Picher, Fibreboard, Flexitallic, Owens Corning, Western Asbestos, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1927 through 1984.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. A.P. Green refractory lined the recovery boilers, lime kilns, and power-house furnaces, and Babcock & Wilcox and Combustion Engineering boilers — including the recovery boilers at the heart of kraft pulping — carried pipe and block insulation and gaskets and packing on access doors and steam connections. Flexitallic spiral-wound gaskets sealed the high-pressure steam flanges. Owens Corning's Kaylo line, its high-temperature grades made with amosite (brown asbestos), Fibreboard pipe insulation, and Eagle-Picher insulating cement covered the steam and process piping, much of it applied by the MacArthur Company crews whose work the Western Asbestos trust answers for. The Halliburton signature reflects pumps and compressors from Ingersoll, Dresser, Pacific, and Worthington. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories, and crocidolite (blue asbestos) appeared in the gaskets and packing on the recovery boilers and in high-temperature steam service.
Northwest Paper Cloquet mill (Potlatch) — Cloquet
The Northwest Paper Company's mill at Cloquet, on the St. Louis River west of Duluth, was the center of one of Minnesota's oldest paper-mill towns. Potlatch took over Northwest Paper in 1964 and ran the mill until Sappi bought it in 2002. The trusts list it under Northwest Paper, Northwest Paper Mill, and Potlatch; it is one facility.
Workers exposed. Pulp-and-paper operations at this scale required boilermakers, insulators, refractory workers, pipefitters, millwrights, and papermakers. The Plibrico signature in particular reflects monolithic refractory installation and repair — heavy work for refractory crews patching and rebuilding furnace linings.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 9 asbestos trusts — A.P. Green, Babcock & Wilcox, DII Industries (Halliburton), Eagle-Picher, Fibreboard, Owens Corning, Plibrico, Western Asbestos, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1922 through 1982.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. A.P. Green and Plibrico refractory lined the lime kilns, recovery boilers, and power-plant furnaces, and Babcock & Wilcox boilers carried pipe and block insulation and gaskets and packing on access doors and steam connections. Owens Corning's Kaylo line, its high-temperature grades made with amosite (brown asbestos), Fibreboard pipe insulation, and Eagle-Picher One-Cote and magnesia insulating cement covered the steam and process piping, and Western Asbestos reflects the MacArthur Company's insulation crews. The Halliburton signature reflects pumps and compressors from Ingersoll, Dresser, Pacific, and Worthington, all common across pulp-and-paper process work. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories.
Waldorf Paper Products (Hoerner Waldorf) — St. Paul
Waldorf Paper Products ran a paperboard and box mill in St. Paul; after its merger with Hoerner Boxes the company was known as Hoerner Waldorf. The trusts list the mill under Waldorf Paper, Waldorf Paper Products, Hoerner Waldorf, and Waldorf Hoerner; it is one facility.
Workers exposed. Boilermakers, pipefitters, insulators, millwrights, papermakers, mechanics, and electricians across the mill's power house, paper machines, and steam-heated dryer sections.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 9 asbestos trusts — A.P. Green, ACandS, Armstrong World Industries, Babcock & Wilcox, Eagle-Picher, Fibreboard, Turner & Newall, Western Asbestos, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1941 through 1982.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. Babcock & Wilcox boilers carried pipe and block insulation and gaskets and packing, with A.P. Green refractory in the furnaces. ACandS and Armstrong insulation crews worked at the mill in the mid-1960s, and Western Asbestos reflects the MacArthur Company's insulation work over a longer span. Turner & Newall's listing names turbine repair, pointing to its sprayed Limpet insulation, an amosite (brown asbestos) product. Fibreboard pipe insulation and Eagle-Picher insulating cement covered the steam lines feeding the paper machines' dryers. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories.
Reserve Mining taconite plant — Silver Bay
Reserve Mining, owned by Armco and Republic Steel, opened its taconite plant at Silver Bay on Lake Superior's North Shore in 1955, processing ore railed down from its mine near Babbitt into iron pellets. The plant became known nationally in the 1970s for the court fight over its taconite tailings in Lake Superior; it closed in the 1980s and reopened as Cyprus Northshore Mining. The trusts list it under Reserve Mining, the Lakeside Project, and Silver Bay Power, and file it under Silver Bay, Beaver Bay, and Norshore Junction; it is one facility.
Workers exposed. Taconite processing required refractory workers (concentrated on the pelletizing furnaces and kilns), boilermakers, pipefitters, insulators, millwrights, mechanics, and electricians, along with the power-plant crews and the contractors who built the plant.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 8 asbestos trusts — A.P. Green, Babcock & Wilcox, Eagle-Picher, NARCO, Owens Corning, Plibrico, Western Asbestos, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1952 through 1982.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. Pelletizing is refractory-heavy work: A.P. Green, NARCO, and Plibrico refractory brick, gun mixes, and plastics lined the induration furnaces and kilns and were patched and relined between campaigns. Babcock & Wilcox boilers in the plant's power station carried pipe and block insulation and gaskets and packing. Owens Corning's Kaylo line, its high-temperature grades made with amosite (brown asbestos), and Eagle-Picher insulating cement covered the steam piping, and Western Asbestos reflects the MacArthur Company's insulation crews. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories.
Minnesota Power & Light — Clay Boswell plant (Cohasset)
The Clay Boswell plant at Cohasset, on the Mississippi near Grand Rapids, is Minnesota Power's largest coal-fired station. It opened in the late 1950s and grew with larger units through the 1970s. The trusts list it under Minnesota Power & Light and Clay Boswell; it is one facility.
Workers exposed. Boilermakers, pipefitters, insulators, refractory workers, millwrights, mechanics, electricians, and power plant operators, along with the construction crews who built each new unit and the overhaul crews.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 8 asbestos trusts — Burns & Roe, Combustion Engineering, DII Industries (Halliburton), Fibreboard, Owens Corning, Turner & Newall, Western Asbestos, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1958 through 1982.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. The Combustion Engineering signature reflects the station's boilers, with their pipe and block insulation, refractory, and gaskets and packing, and Burns & Roe did engineering and construction work during the 1970s expansion. Turner & Newall's listing names the turbine station, pointing to its sprayed Limpet insulation, an amosite (brown asbestos) product. Owens Corning's Kaylo line and Fibreboard pipe insulation covered the steam and turbine piping, Western Asbestos reflects the MacArthur Company's insulation crews, and the Halliburton signature reflects pumps. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories.
International Refineries Wrenshall refinery (later Conoco) — Wrenshall
The Wrenshall refinery in Carlton County, south of Duluth, was a small refinery run by International Refineries; the trusts' lists also connect it with Conoco. The trusts' lists date it from the early 1950s. They list it under International Refineries, International Oil Refineries, Conoco, and the Wrenshall refinery; it is one facility.
Workers exposed. Pipefitters, insulators, boilermakers, refractory workers, mechanics, instrument technicians, and operators, along with the contract crews who built the refinery and worked its turnarounds.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 8 asbestos trusts — ABB Lummus, Combustion Engineering, DII Industries (Halliburton), Fibreboard, Owens Corning, Owens-Illinois, Western Asbestos, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1951 through 1982.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. ABB Lummus did refinery engineering and construction, and Combustion Engineering boilers and heaters carried pipe and block insulation, refractory, and gaskets and packing. Because the Owens-Illinois trust signature is present, Owens-Illinois Kaylo high-temperature pipe insulation, an amosite (brown asbestos) product, was used at this site during the 1948–1958 manufacturing window, followed by Owens Corning's Kaylo line, with Fibreboard pipe insulation on more of the process piping and Western Asbestos reflecting the MacArthur Company's insulation crews. The Halliburton signature reflects pumps and compressors from Ingersoll, Dresser, Pacific, and Worthington. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories, and crocidolite (blue asbestos) appeared in the gaskets and packing of the refinery's acid service.
U.S. Steel Duluth Works (Minnesota Steel Company) — Duluth
U.S. Steel built its Duluth Works through a subsidiary, the Minnesota Steel Company, and the mill began making steel in 1915, with the company town of Morgan Park built beside it. It was Minnesota's only integrated steel mill, smelting Iron Range ore at the western end of Lake Superior, and it closed in the 1980s. The trusts list it under U.S. Steel, the Duluth Works, and Minnesota Steel, and file it under Duluth, West Duluth, New Duluth, and Steelton; it is one facility. American Steel & Wire's Duluth works is listed separately.
Workers exposed. Steelmaking required bricklayers and refractory workers (blast furnaces, open hearths, coke ovens, and ladles), boilermakers, pipefitters, insulators, millwrights, crane operators, and electricians.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 7 asbestos trusts — A.P. Green, Babcock & Wilcox, Combustion Engineering, DII Industries (Harbison-Walker), Fibreboard, Flintkote, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1912 through 1982.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. A.P. Green and Harbison-Walker refractory brick and cement lined the blast furnaces, open hearths, soaking pits, and ladles. Babcock & Wilcox and Combustion Engineering boilers powered the mill's steam plant, with pipe and block insulation and gaskets and packing on every steam connection, and Fibreboard pipe insulation, its high-temperature grades made with amosite (brown asbestos), covered the steam lines. Flintkote documentation points to roofing and building products at the mill. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories.
Minnesota entries by city
The trusts' lists hold Minnesota entries in 240 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 |
|---|---|
| Minneapolis | 403 |
| St. Paul | 286 |
| Rochester | 122 |
| Duluth | 94 |
| Mankato | 32 |
| Winona | 31 |
| St. Cloud | 27 |
| Maplewood | 23 |
| Bloomington | 21 |
| Austin | 20 |
| Burnsville | 20 |
| Cloquet | 20 |
| Fergus Falls | 20 |
| Owatonna | 19 |
| Cottage Grove | 18 |
| International Falls | 18 |
| St. Louis Park | 18 |
| Virginia | 17 |
| Hastings | 15 |
| Red Wing | 15 |
| Rosemount | 15 |
| Minneapolis–St. Paul | 14 |
| Moorhead | 14 |
| New Ulm | 14 |
| South St. Paul | 14 |
| Albert Lea | 13 |
| Edina | 13 |
| Pine Bend | 13 |
| Roseville | 13 |
| White Bear Lake | 13 |
| Hopkins | 12 |
| Northfield | 12 |
| Aurora | 11 |
| Sartell | 11 |
| Silver Bay | 11 |
| St. Peter | 11 |
| Willmar | 11 |
| Grand Rapids | 10 |
| Anoka | 9 |
| Becker | 9 |
| Cohasset | 9 |
| Golden Valley | 9 |
| Hoyt Lakes | 9 |
| Marshall | 9 |
| St. Paul Park | 9 |
| Bayport | 8 |
| Brainerd | 8 |
| East Grand Forks | 8 |
| Faribault | 8 |
| Fridley | 8 |
| Hibbing | 8 |
| Monticello | 8 |
| Wrenshall | 8 |
| Chaska | 7 |
| Mountain Iron | 7 |
| Staples | 7 |
| Stillwater | 7 |
| Benson | 6 |
| Fairmont | 6 |
| Granite Falls | 6 |
| Hutchinson | 6 |
| New Brighton | 6 |
| Proctor | 6 |
| Sherburn | 6 |
| Sleepy Eye | 6 |
| Waseca | 6 |
| Alexandria | 5 |
| Blue Earth | 5 |
| Coon Rapids | 5 |
| Elk River | 5 |
| Eveleth | 5 |
| Keewatin | 5 |
| Little Falls | 5 |
| Melrose | 5 |
| Robbinsdale | 5 |
| Shakopee | 5 |
| Spring Valley | 5 |
| Wayzata | 5 |
| Albany | 4 |
| Brooklyn Center | 4 |
| Columbia Heights | 4 |
| Crookston | 4 |
| Eagan | 4 |
| Forbes | 4 |
| Inver Grove Heights | 4 |
| Le Sueur | 4 |
| Litchfield | 4 |
| Mora | 4 |
| Nashwauk | 4 |
| New Hope | 4 |
| New Prague | 4 |
| Renville | 4 |
| Richfield | 4 |
| Roseport | 4 |
| Worthington | 4 |
| Arden Hills | 3 |
| Brooklyn Park | 3 |
| Coleraine | 3 |
| Detroit Lakes | 3 |
| Emco | 3 |
| Farmington | 3 |
| Fulda | 3 |
| Glencoe | 3 |
| Montevideo | 3 |
| Montgomery | 3 |
| Morris | 3 |
| Mound | 3 |
| Newport | 3 |
| Oak Park Heights | 3 |
| Pine City | 3 |
| Redwood Falls | 3 |
| Taconite Harbor | 3 |
| Two Harbors | 3 |
| West St. Paul | 3 |
| Winsted | 3 |
The trusts' lists also name 125 other Minnesota communities.
Search the asbestos trusts' Minnesota 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.
More than 2,000 entries, as the trusts list them.
Court decisions: 25 asbestos cases from Minnesota courts
Worksites named in court opinions
Court decisions in our library name these Minnesota workplaces as places where people were exposed to asbestos.
Hormel plant
- Bootenhoff v. Hormel Foods Corporation (2012): Father's work at the plant; laundering his clothing
- Duffy v. American Standard, Inc. (2006): Welding repairman and foreman, 1948-1986
Conwed mill (Cloquet)
- Backe v. AW Kuettel & Sons, Inc. (2020): Mill worker, 1963 onward
Eddy Paper (Weyerhaeuser) plant
- Bootenhoff v. Hormel Foods Corporation (2014): Wife of worker who laundered his work clothes, 1955-1966
Waldorf paper mill
- Anderson v. AH Bennett Company (2025): Asbestos abatement manager and piping engineer, 1988-1993
Weyerhaeuser box plant
- Bootenhoff v. Hormel Foods Corporation (2014): Wife laundering husband's work clothes (husband a printing press operator, quality control worker, plant supervisor), 1955-1966
Every worksite named in Minnesota court decisions, with all their decisions
Plants that made asbestos products
Companies' sworn answers in asbestos lawsuits, the asbestos industry's trade journal and company records in our library name these Minnesota plants as places where asbestos products were made. Each plant's page says who ran it and when, what was made there, and which document says so. People who worked in these plants, their families, and people who lived nearby may have been exposed.
- MinneapolisZonolite Company, W. R. Grace & Co. · 1960–1972 · 2 products
- MinneapolisCertainTeed Corporation · 1934–1973
- ShakopeeCertainTeed Corporation · from 1974
- St. PaulUnited States Gypsum Company · 1967–1975 · 1 product
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 Minnesota 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.
Call 833-4-ASBESTOS for a free case review.
How a Minnesota case may work
James is a 76-year-old retired paper mill worker from International Falls. From 1972 to 2004 he worked at Boise Cascade Corporation, primarily in the maintenance and power plant departments. His daily work involved contact with asbestos insulation on steam lines, boilers, and process equipment throughout the mill complex — routine handling of refractory in the recovery boilers and lime kilns, gasket and packing maintenance across the paper machines and digesters, removal and replacement of pipe insulation on steam systems, and the everyday airborne fiber exposure characteristic of integrated pulp-and-paper operations. Before Boise Cascade, James spent four years (1968–1972) doing maintenance work at the Northwest Paper mill in Cloquet — additional documented Minnesota asbestos exposure layered on top of his Boise Cascade career. In late 2025 James was diagnosed with pericardial mesothelioma, epithelioid mesothelioma subtype.
For James's family, the case structure is straightforward. James's pre-1982 paper-mill career qualifies him for the Johns-Manville Settlement Trust, independently of the site-specific Boise Cascade trust filings. On the site-specific side, the trusts' International Falls listings support filings against at least nine trusts — A.P. Green, Babcock & Wilcox, Combustion Engineering, DII Industries (Halliburton), Eagle-Picher, Fibreboard, Flexitallic, Owens Corning, and Western Asbestos — and his earlier Cloquet years add Plibrico and confirm several of the same trusts at a second mill. We also pursue civil claims against the still-solvent manufacturers; claims against his own former employers go through workers' compensation. Trust claims and civil claims can both go forward, and the order of filing depends on the case. James's wife and adult children also receive free asbestos health screening as part of our representation, because pericardial mesothelioma is often associated with take-home exposure pathways.
Recoveries from cases like James'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 a Minnesota worker is the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center at Rochester — internationally recognized for mesothelioma care, with full access to lung-sparing surgery, HIPEC for peritoneal cases, advanced radiation, and the latest immunotherapy combinations. 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. How legal recovery funds mesothelioma treatment access →.
For the full doctrinal treatment of Minnesota's filing deadlines, comparative fault framework, premises liability standard, and damages framework, see the Minnesota 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 Minnesota 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 of the more than 2,000 Minnesota entries on the asbestos trusts' lists; several clients with Minnesota job sites
- Worksite-specific knowledge. We open the conversation already knowing the trust signatures and product profiles at most Minnesota industrial sites. You do not have to explain what your loved one's worksite was.
- Trust + civil + federal benefits coordinated case by case with the trial team. Trust claims for relatively fast paper recovery; civil cases for fuller recovery; FECA and VA benefits where applicable.
- Remote case handling. Phone, video, or home visit — no travel to our offices required.
- Free family asbestos health screening for spouses and adult children of every client who may have been exposed at home through a worker's clothing or vehicle.
- No fee unless we recover compensation for your family.
Frequently asked questions
Is my Minnesota worksite documented?
Probably yes. The asbestos trusts' approved-site lists hold more than 2,000 Minnesota entries in 240 communities — paper mills, taconite plants, refineries, power stations, Twin Cities factories, hospitals and schools, and a wide range of smaller industrial and commercial operations across the state. 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 the worksite name and we can confirm coverage during the first conversation.
What does "trust coverage" mean for my case?
It means that a specific asbestos manufacturer's bankruptcy trust has recognized historical product presence or activity at your loved one's worksite. Each trust is an independent paper-claim recovery pathway, separate from any lawsuit. Most Minnesota workers with significant industrial exposure appear on several trusts' lists.
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 history using the trusts' site lists, the trust documentation for each manufacturer that operated at the site, employment and union records, and coworker interviews. You do not need to come to the call with product names or exposure dates.
What if my loved one worked at multiple Minnesota sites?
That is the typical Minnesota case, not the exception. Paper-mill workers move between mills; utility workers move between stations; Iron Range workers move between mining and taconite operations; Twin Cities industrial workers cycle through multiple plants. We build a career-spanning exposure profile that captures every site and every trust that applies.
What if my loved one's worksite has closed or been demolished?
It does not affect the case. Many of the sites on the trusts' lists — historical paper mills, decommissioned utility stations, closed Iron Range operations, demolished Twin Cities plants — no longer operate. Trust claims and civil claims are based on historical exposure documentation, not on whether the facility is still standing.
Can we file a claim if my loved one already passed away?
Yes. Wrongful death cases on behalf of a deceased Minnesota worker are part of our standard practice. A Minnesota wrongful-death claim must be filed within three years of the death and within six years of when the cancer was linked to asbestos, so call as soon as you can.
What if my loved one worked for a Minnesota insulation distributor — Smith-Sharpe, MacArthur, or Paul W. Abbott?
Distributor employees handled asbestos products directly and continuously. Warehouse, sales, delivery, and field installation staff at Smith-Sharpe (Minneapolis), MacArthur (St. Paul), and Paul W. Abbott (St. Paul) cut and broke open product cartons, palletized and loaded delivery trucks, and supported installation work in the field. Each of the three appears on the lists of at least four asbestos trusts, counting Johns-Manville, and the MacArthur Company's own insulation work is answered for by the Western Asbestos trust. Call us — distributor cases are a core part of our Minnesota practice.
Talk with a Minnesota 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.
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.