The brick smelter stack that still stands over Anaconda is a fair measure of Montana industry: few plants for so large a state, but big ones, and hot. Ore from the Butte mines went to the smelters at Anaconda and Great Falls, crude oil went to refineries on the Yellowstone, and the timber of the western valleys went to sawmills and a pulp mill outside Missoula. Every one of them ran on furnaces, boilers, and steam lines that asbestos insulated, lined, and sealed. The trusts' lists gather around a handful of places:
- Billings and Laurel — the Exxon refinery that Carter Oil built, the worksite most trusts recognize in the state, along with Continental Oil's refinery and the CENEX refinery at Laurel;
- the copper country — the Anaconda smelter, the Anaconda Company's Butte operations, and the Stauffer Chemical phosphorus plant at Silver Bow;
- Great Falls — the Phillips Petroleum refinery and the copper smelter across the Missouri at Black Eagle;
- the western timber valleys — the Hoerner Waldorf pulp and paper mill outside Missoula, and Plum Creek's lumber operations and the Anaconda Aluminum smelter at Columbia Falls;
- Libby — the St. Regis lumber mill and W.R. Grace's vermiculite operations; and
- the eastern plains — Montana-Dakota Utilities' Lewis & Clark Station and the Holly Sugar factory at Sidney.
Libby stands apart: there the asbestos came out of the mine with the vermiculite ore, and it reached miners' families and townspeople as well as workers.
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 Montana, those lists hold 285 entries across 51 communities, from 22 asbestos trusts. One plant can appear many times, under different names or on different trusts' lists.
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.
Montana filing deadlines and trust eligibility, in brief
Montana gives a diagnosed worker three years to file a personal-injury claim. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis. If an earlier X-ray, CT scan or screening showed asbestos-related scarring, a Montana court may count the three years from that earlier finding, so call us right away. A separate deadline applies once a worker has passed away. If your loved one is alive and diagnosed, calling early keeps more options open.
Montana 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 asbestos claims are a core part of our 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 Montana
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-one other trusts list Montana worksites. The number of Montana entries on each trust's list:
- Johns-Manville: no list of its own; every site on the other trusts' lists qualifies
- Babcock & Wilcox: 82 entries (industrial and utility boilers)
- A.P. Green: 40 entries (refractory brick, castables and cements)
- Owens Corning: 35 entries (Kaylo and high-temperature pipe and block insulation)
- Fibreboard: 25 entries (Pabco pipe and block insulation)
- W.R. Grace: 21 entries (Monokote spray fireproofing and Zonolite)
- Eagle-Picher: 17 entries (insulating cements and pipe covering)
- Combustion Engineering: 10 entries (boilers and refractory)
- Armstrong World Industries: 8 entries (insulation contracting and floor products)
- DII Industries (Halliburton): 7 entries (pumps, compressors and oilfield equipment)
- ACandS: 6 entries (insulation contracting)
- Kaiser Aluminum: 5 entries (refractory and insulating products)
- Pittsburgh Corning: 5 entries (Unibestos pipe insulation)
- DII Industries (Harbison-Walker): 4 entries (refractory brick and castables)
- Owens-Illinois: 4 entries (Kaylo pipe and block insulation)
- Turner & Newall: 4 entries (Limpet sprayed asbestos and asbestos textiles)
- Flintkote: 3 entries (roofing, flooring and building products)
- J.T. Thorpe (California): 3 entries (insulation and refractory contracting)
- Plibrico: 3 entries (refractory plastics and castables)
- ABB Lummus: 1 entry (refinery and petrochemical engineering)
- Fuller-Austin: 1 entry (insulation contracting)
- J.T. Thorpe (Texas): 1 entry (insulation and refractory contracting)
Trust coverage at this depth means most Montana 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.
Montana 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.
BillingsBillings is Montana's refining center: the Carter Oil refinery, later Humble's and Exxon's, and Continental Oil's refinery both appear on the trusts' lists, and CENEX's refinery stands just up the Yellowstone at Laurel.
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.
- Continental Oil (Conoco) Billings refinery
- Exxon Billings refinery (Carter Oil, Humble Oil)
Columbia FallsColumbia Falls, in the Flathead Valley, paired the Anaconda Aluminum smelter with Plum Creek's lumber operations.
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.
- Anaconda Aluminum smelter
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.
- Plum Creek Lumber
Great FallsGreat Falls grew up beside the copper smelter at Black Eagle; the trusts' lists add the Phillips Petroleum refinery and General Mills' flour mill.
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.
- Phillips Petroleum Great Falls refinery
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
LibbyLibby's lumber mill, run by J. Neils and then St. Regis, shared the town with W.R. Grace's vermiculite mine, whose ore carried tremolite asbestos.
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.
- St. Regis Libby mill (J. Neils Lumber, later Champion)
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.
- W.R. Grace vermiculite screening plant
SidneySidney, in the lower Yellowstone valley, is home to Montana-Dakota Utilities' Lewis & Clark Station and the Holly Sugar beet factory.
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.
- Holly Sugar factory
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.
- Montana-Dakota Utilities Lewis & Clark Station
Other Montana communitiesOne worksite each in 13 more communities.
Refineries and petrochemical plants. Refineries ran on heat: crude heaters, cat crackers, boilers, and miles of steam and process piping, all insulated, lined, and sealed with asbestos products into the late 1970s. Insulators, pipefitters, boilermakers, and the contract crews who worked turnarounds carried the heaviest exposure.
- CENEX Laurel refinery (Farmers Union Central Exchange) — Laurel
- Texaco Sunburst refinery (The Texas Company) — Sunburst
- Union Oil Cut Bank refinery — Cut Bank
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.
- Broeder Lumber Company — Creston
- Kaiser Cement & Gypsum — Montana City
- Waldorf / Hoerner Waldorf pulp and paper mill (later Stone Container) — Missoula
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.
- ASARCO East Helena smelter — East Helena
- Anaconda Company Butte operations — Butte
- Anaconda smelter (Anaconda Copper Mining Co.) — Anaconda
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.
- Stauffer Chemical (Victor Chemical) phosphorus plant — Silver Bow
Military installations. Military bases ran boiler plants, steam distribution systems, and aircraft and vehicle maintenance shops, and built and renovated for decades with asbestos-containing materials.
- Glasgow Air Force Base — Glasgow
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.
- Montana Power Colstrip plant — Colstrip
Railroads. Steam locomotives were insulated with asbestos, and railroad shops relined boilers and replaced brake shoes and gaskets on equipment that carried asbestos for decades after diesels arrived.
- Northern Pacific Railway shops — Livingston
Mesothelioma settlement values at Montana'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.
Exxon Billings refinery (Carter Oil, Humble Oil)
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| A.P. Green | $165,694 | 6.0% | $9,941.64 |
| ABB Lummus | $1,000 – $400,000 | 9.5% | $95 – $38,000 |
| 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 |
| Fuller-Austin | $58,500 | 45% | $26,325 |
| J.T. Thorpe (California) | Not published | — | — |
| Pittsburgh Corning | $175,000 – $500,000 | 19% | $33,250 – $95,000 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
CENEX Laurel refinery (Farmers Union Central Exchange)
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Pittsburgh Corning | $175,000 – $500,000 | 19% | $33,250 – $95,000 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Waldorf / Hoerner Waldorf pulp and paper mill (later Stone Container)
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Anaconda smelter (Anaconda Copper Mining 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 |
| 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 |
| J.T. Thorpe (Texas) | $100,000 | 23% | $23,000 |
| 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 |
St. Regis Libby mill (J. Neils Lumber, later Champion)
| 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 |
| Fibreboard | $135,000 – $450,000 | 3.5% | $4,725 – $15,750 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| W.R. Grace | $180,000 – $450,000 | 30.1% | $54,180 – $135,450 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Continental Oil (Conoco) Billings refinery
| 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 |
| Pittsburgh Corning | $175,000 – $500,000 | 19% | $33,250 – $95,000 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Phillips Petroleum Great Falls refinery
| 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 |
| 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 |
Montana-Dakota Utilities Lewis & Clark Station
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Stauffer Chemical (Victor Chemical) phosphorus 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 |
| 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 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Anaconda Company Butte operations
| 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 |
| Babcock & Wilcox | $90,000 – $400,000 | 4.3% | $3,870 – $17,200 |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Anaconda Aluminum smelter
| 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 |
| Pittsburgh Corning | $175,000 – $500,000 | 19% | $33,250 – $95,000 |
| Plibrico | $350,000 – $750,000 | 0.94% | $3,290 – $7,050 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Montana Power Colstrip plant
| 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 |
| Plibrico | $350,000 – $750,000 | 0.94% | $3,290 – $7,050 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Plum Creek Lumber
| 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 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Union Oil Cut Bank refinery
| 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 |
| Owens-Illinois | $100,000 – $382,600 | 65% | $65,000 – $248,690 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Broeder Lumber Company
| 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 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
ASARCO East Helena smelter
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| A.P. Green | $165,694 | 6.0% | $9,941.64 |
| Kaiser Aluminum | Not published | — | — |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Glasgow Air Force Base
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eagle-Picher | No fixed schedule | — | Set case by case |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
General Mills
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eagle-Picher | No fixed schedule | — | Set case by case |
| Owens Corning | $215,000 – $650,000 | 4.3% | $9,245 – $27,950 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Northern Pacific Railway shops
| 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 |
Kaiser Cement & Gypsum
| Trust | Mesothelioma value | Payment % | Payment at that % |
|---|---|---|---|
| DII Industries (Harbison-Walker) | $144,897.50 – $610,000 | 60% | $86,938.50 – $366,000 |
| Kaiser Aluminum | Not published | — | — |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Holly Sugar factory
| 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 |
| Johns-Manville | $350,000 – $750,000 | 5.6% | $19,600 – $42,000 |
Texaco Sunburst refinery (The Texas Company)
| 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 |
A closer look at major Montana worksites
The worksites below are among those recognized by the most asbestos trusts in Montana — six or more, counting Johns-Manville. Each profile draws on the trust signatures present at the site to identify the products workers handled, the trades most heavily exposed, and the asbestos types they likely encountered. Your specific worksite may be documented even if it doesn't appear here — call us.
Exxon Billings refinery (Carter Oil, Humble Oil) — Billings
The Billings refinery on the Yellowstone was built by the Carter Oil Company, an affiliate of Standard Oil of New Jersey, and passed with Carter into Humble Oil & Refining, the company that later took the Exxon name. It has been one of eastern Montana's largest industrial employers. The trusts list it under Carter Oil, Humble Oil, and Exxon — Combustion Engineering's own list reads "Humble Oil & Refining (a/k/a Exxon)" — and it is one facility. Continental Oil's Billings refinery is a separate site, listed in the table above.
Workers exposed. Refinery operations of this scale required pipefitters, insulators, boilermakers, refractory workers (concentrated on process heaters, cat crackers, and reformers), mechanics, instrument technicians, and electricians, along with the contract crews who built the refinery and worked its turnarounds.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 10 asbestos trusts — ABB Lummus, A.P. Green, Babcock & Wilcox, Combustion Engineering, DII Industries (Halliburton), Fibreboard, Fuller-Austin, J.T. Thorpe (California), Pittsburgh Corning, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1947 through 1982.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. A.P. Green refractory lined the process heaters, cat cracker, and reformer, and Babcock & Wilcox and Combustion Engineering boilers powered the refinery's steam systems, with pipe and block insulation, refractory, and gaskets and packing on access doors and steam connections. Pittsburgh Corning's Unibestos, an amosite (brown asbestos) pipe insulation, covered high-temperature lines, and Fibreboard pipe and block insulation covered more of the steam and process piping. ABB Lummus did refinery engineering and construction here, the J.T. Thorpe (California) and Fuller-Austin signatures point to insulation contracting crews — Thorpe's listing goes back to the refinery's construction in the late 1940s — and 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, packing, and cement pipe of the refinery's acid service.
CENEX Laurel refinery (Farmers Union Central Exchange) — Laurel
The Laurel refinery, just west of Billings on the Yellowstone, belongs to the farm cooperative long known as the Farmers Union Central Exchange, or CENEX, today part of CHS. The trusts list it under CENEX, Farmers Union Central Exchange, and a misspelled "Canex"; it is one facility.
Workers exposed. Refinery operations required pipefitters, insulators, boilermakers, refractory workers, mechanics, and electricians, along with the contract crews who worked the refinery's turnarounds.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 9 asbestos trusts — A.P. Green, Babcock & Wilcox, Combustion Engineering, DII Industries (Harbison-Walker), Eagle-Picher, Fibreboard, Owens Corning, Pittsburgh Corning, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1955 through 1982.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. A.P. Green and Harbison-Walker refractory brick and castables lined the process heaters and cat cracker, and Babcock & Wilcox and Combustion Engineering boilers carried pipe and block insulation, refractory, and gaskets and packing on access doors and steam connections. Owens Corning's Kaylo line and Pittsburgh Corning's Unibestos, both made with amosite (brown asbestos) in their high-temperature grades, covered the hottest piping, while Fibreboard pipe insulation and Eagle-Picher One-Cote insulating cement covered the rest of the steam and process lines. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories, and crocidolite (blue asbestos) appeared in the gaskets, packing, and cement pipe of the refinery's acid service.
Waldorf / Hoerner Waldorf pulp and paper mill (later Stone Container) — Missoula
The kraft pulp and linerboard mill at Frenchtown, west of Missoula, started up in the late 1950s as Waldorf-Hoerner Paper Products, ran for decades as Hoerner Waldorf, and later belonged to Stone Container and Smurfit-Stone, which closed it in 2010. The trusts list it under Waldorf Paper, Waldorf-Hoerner, Hoerner Waldorf, Stone Container, and Smurfit-Stone, under both Missoula and Frenchtown; it is one facility.
Workers exposed. Pulp mill, recovery boiler, power plant, paper machine, and maintenance workers — boilermakers, pipefitters, insulators, refractory workers, millwrights, mechanics, and electricians — handled asbestos products across decades of mill operation. Recovery boilers are among the most refractory-intensive equipment in any American industry.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 9 asbestos trusts — ACandS, A.P. Green, Armstrong World Industries, Babcock & Wilcox, DII Industries (Halliburton), Fibreboard, Owens Corning, Turner & Newall, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1959 through 1982.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. Babcock & Wilcox boilers — including the recovery boilers at the heart of kraft pulping — carried pipe and block insulation, refractory, and gaskets and packing on access doors and steam connections, and A.P. Green refractory lined the recovery boilers and lime kiln. The ACandS and Armstrong signatures point to insulation contracting crews, whose listings name the mill's hot process softener tank, and Turner & Newall's listing reflects Limpet sprayed asbestos, amosite (brown asbestos) in its standard grade and crocidolite in Limpet Blue. Owens Corning's Kaylo line, its high-temperature grades also made with amosite, and Fibreboard pipe insulation covered the steam and process piping, and 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 pulp mill's acid and high-temperature service.
Anaconda smelter (Anaconda Copper Mining Co.) — Anaconda
Anaconda was founded in the 1880s to smelt the copper ore of the Butte mines, and the Anaconda Copper Mining Company's smelter there, the Washoe reduction works, was for decades one of the largest copper smelters in the world. The Anaconda Company was acquired by Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) in 1977, and the smelter closed in 1980; its brick stack still stands. The trusts list it under Anaconda Copper Mining, Anaconda Company, Anaconda Copper Company, the sulphuric acid plant, the smelter stack, and the company warehouse; it is one facility. The company's Butte operations are listed separately, in the table above.
Workers exposed. Smelting required refractory workers (the heaviest-exposed trade at any smelter, working on roasters, reverberatory furnaces, and converters), boilermakers, pipefitters, insulators, millwrights, mechanics, and electricians.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 8 asbestos trusts — A.P. Green, Babcock & Wilcox, DII Industries (Harbison-Walker), Fibreboard, J.T. Thorpe (Texas), Owens Corning, Owens-Illinois, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1915 through 1982.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. A.P. Green and Harbison-Walker refractory brick and cement lined the roasters, furnaces, and converters, and relining them was constant work. Babcock & Wilcox boilers, including the waste-heat boilers behind the furnaces, 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, at the sulphuric acid plant among other places, with Owens Corning continuing the Kaylo line afterward; Fibreboard pipe insulation covered more steam piping, and J.T. Thorpe crews applied insulation. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories, and crocidolite (blue asbestos) appeared in the acid-service gaskets and packing of the sulphuric acid plant.
St. Regis Libby mill (J. Neils Lumber, later Champion) — Libby
The J. Neils Lumber Company's mill was for decades one of northwestern Montana's largest industrial employers. St. Regis Paper bought J. Neils in 1957, and Champion International acquired St. Regis in the mid-1980s. The trusts list the mill under J. Neils Lumber, J. Neils Paper, St. Regis Paper, and Champion Paper; it is one facility. W.R. Grace's vermiculite operations outside town are listed separately on Grace's own list.
Workers exposed. Lumber and wood-products operations of this scale required boilermakers, insulators, pipefitters, refractory workers, millwrights, and mechanics. Workers in the maintenance and power plant departments carried the heaviest exposure to pipe and boiler insulation, and maintenance trades encountered constant gasket and packing exposure.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 8 asbestos trusts — ACandS, A.P. Green, Armstrong World Industries, Babcock & Wilcox, Fibreboard, Owens Corning, W.R. Grace, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1963 through 1982.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. Babcock & Wilcox boilers powered the mill's steam systems and dry kilns, with pipe and block insulation, refractory, and gaskets and packing on access doors and steam connections, and A.P. Green refractory lined the boiler furnaces. The ACandS and Armstrong signatures point to insulation contracting crews, and Owens Corning's Kaylo line, its high-temperature grades made with amosite (brown asbestos), and Fibreboard pipe insulation covered the steam piping. The W.R. Grace signature reflects Grace products, and in Libby Grace's vermiculite came from its own mine a few miles from the mill, ore contaminated with tremolite and related actinolite asbestos fibers that also drifted through the town. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories.
Phillips Petroleum Great Falls refinery — Great Falls
Phillips Petroleum ran the refinery on the Missouri River at Great Falls for decades; later owners have kept it running. The trusts list it under Phillips Petroleum, its refining department and warehouse, and the Great Falls Refinery; it is one facility.
Workers exposed. Pipefitters, insulators, boilermakers, refractory workers, mechanics, and electricians, along with the contract crews who worked the refinery's turnarounds.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 6 asbestos trusts — A.P. Green, Fibreboard, Owens Corning, Owens-Illinois, Pittsburgh Corning, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1955 through 1982.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. 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 covered high-temperature lines, and Fibreboard supplied more pipe and block insulation. A.P. Green refractory lined the process heaters and cat cracker, and gaskets and packing sealed every steam and process connection. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories, and crocidolite (blue asbestos) appeared in the gaskets, packing, and cement pipe of the refinery's acid service.
Montana-Dakota Utilities Lewis & Clark Station — Sidney
Montana-Dakota Utilities' Lewis & Clark Station is a coal-fired generating plant at Sidney in Richland County. MDU is a regional utility serving Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The trusts list the station under several spellings of Montana-Dakota Utilities and Lewis & Clark; it is one facility.
Workers exposed. Coal-fired utility operations required boilermakers, insulators, pipefitters, refractory workers, mechanics, and electricians. Boilermakers and pipefitters working on the boiler exteriors, steam piping, and access doors carried the heaviest exposure, along with the construction and overhaul crews.
Trust documentation: recognized by at least 6 asbestos trusts — Combustion Engineering, DII Industries (Halliburton), Fibreboard, Owens Corning, Turner & Newall, and Johns-Manville. The trusts' lists document their products here from 1956 through 1982.
Products, trust signatures, and asbestos types. The Combustion Engineering signature reflects the station's boiler, with its pipe and block insulation, refractory, and gaskets and packing. Turner & Newall's listing reflects Limpet sprayed asbestos, amosite (brown asbestos) in its standard grade and crocidolite in Limpet Blue, the grade used on the hottest surfaces. Owens Corning's Kaylo line, its high-temperature grades also made with amosite, and Fibreboard pipe and block insulation covered the steam and turbine piping, and the Halliburton signature reflects pumps. Chrysotile (white asbestos) ran through most of these product categories, and crocidolite (blue asbestos) appeared in Limpet Blue and in some high-temperature gaskets and packing.
Montana entries by city
The trusts' lists hold Montana entries in 51 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 |
|---|---|
| Billings | 48 |
| Missoula | 36 |
| Butte | 24 |
| Great Falls | 24 |
| Libby | 18 |
| Laurel | 14 |
| Anaconda | 13 |
| Sidney | 10 |
| Columbia Falls | 7 |
| Cut Bank | 7 |
| Helena | 7 |
| Black Eagle | 5 |
| Glasgow | 4 |
| Glendive | 4 |
| Colstrip | 3 |
| East Helena | 3 |
| Kalispell | 3 |
| Livingston | 3 |
| Miles City | 3 |
| Polson | 3 |
| Silver Bow | 3 |
| Three Forks | 3 |
Entries are also listed in Belgrade, Chestnut, Chinook, Clancy, Conkelley, Creston, Forsyth, Frenchtown, Hamilton, Hardin, Heath, Lewiston, Montana City, Mullan Tunnel, Philipsburg, Plains, Red Lodge, Silver Lake, St. Regis, Sunburst, Superior, Thompson Falls, Trident, Troy, Virginia City, Warm Springs, Washoe, Whitehall and Wicks.
Search the asbestos trusts' Montana 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.
285 entries, as the trusts list them.
Court decisions: 26 asbestos cases from Montana courts
Worksites named in court opinions
Court decisions in our library name these Montana workplaces as places where people were exposed to asbestos.
W.R. Grace vermiculite mine and mill (Zonolite Division)
- Maryland Cas. Co. v. Asbestos Claims Court (2020): Mill worker and equipment operator, 1968-1969
- Aarstad v. BNSF Railway Company (2018): Workers of WRG or Zolonite Company, 1963-1990
- Atchley v. Louisiana Pacific Corp. (2018): Worked on construction of a building, two to four weeks
- Baeth v. Liberty NW Ins. Corp. (2014): Wife washing husband's work clothes, 1968
- Monroe v. Maco Workers Comp Trust (2014): W.R. Grace employee, 1967-1990
- and 3 more
Libby lumber mill (J. Neils Lumber Co., Champion International, later Stimson Lumber)
- Atchley v. Louisiana Pacific Corp. (2018): Mill worker, 1955, 1958-1959, 1963-1971
- Erickson v. Air & Liquid Sys. Corp. (2015): Laborer, foreman, electrician and maintenance man, 1970s and 1980s
- Baeth v. Liberty NW Ins. Corp. (2014): Dryer feeder, plugger and patch cutter, 1989-1994
- Peterson v. Liberty NW Ins. Corp. (2013): Dryer tender, lift truck driver, de-barker worker, 1993-2002
- Johnson v. Liberty Northwest Insurance Corporation (2009): Dryer puller/off-bearer, dryer grader, dryer tender, dryer stacker, roundtable off-bearer, 1963-2001
BNSF railyard (Libby railyard)
- Wells v. BNSF Ry. Co. (2024): Community resident
- Wells v. BNSF Railway Company (2023): Resident who walked along the tracks and through the railyard
Asa Wood Elementary School
- McDowell v. Burlington Northern Santa FE Railway Company (2017): Resident and student
Cenex Laurel refinery
- Wommack v. National Farmers Union Property & Casualty Co. (2017): Laborer, 1968-1969
Glasgow Air Force Base
- Estenson v. Caterpillar Inc. (2015): Shop foreman, 1961-1968
Kootenai National Forest
- Rosling v. Associated Loggers Exchange (2019): Logger, 1973
LP Lumbermill
- Atchley v. Louisiana Pacific Corp. (2018): Security guard, 1985-1997
Every worksite named in Montana 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 this Montana plant as a place 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.
- HeathUnited States Gypsum Company · 1945–1972 · 1 product
Asbestos mines
The U.S. Bureau of Mines' and Geological Survey's yearbooks and the asbestos industry's trade journal, Asbestos, report these Montana mines producing asbestos fiber that was sold or shipped. Each mine's page says who worked it and when, what it produced and which document says so. Miners and millers, their families, and people who lived near these mines may have been exposed.
- Karst anthophyllite propertyGallatin Gateway · Peter F. Karst, Karstolite Co., Montana Asbestos Co. · 1933–1939
- Libby vermiculite mineLibby · Universal Insulation Co. · 1937
Our records also name 3 Montana asbestos deposits and mines with no sales reported: deposits and prospects the documents describe or report exploring, and mines they report worked without fiber sold. Each page says what the documents report.
3 deposits and mines with no sales reported
- Interstate Products Co. amphibole depositsWorked, no sales reported · Gallatin Canyon · Interstate Products Co., Inc. · 1949
- Chrysotile depositDeposits and prospects · Beaverhead County
- Madisonian Mining & Milling Co.Deposits and prospects · near Cliff Lake · Madisonian Mining & Milling Co.
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 Montana 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 Montana workers had careers that spanned the Yellowstone refineries, the Libby mills, the Butte-Anaconda copper operations, and the state's power plants — we reconstruct the full exposure profile across every site.
Call 833-4-ASBESTOS for a free case review.
How a Montana case may work
Robert is a 72-year-old retired mill worker from Libby. From 1972 to 2004 he worked at the St. Regis mill (later Champion's), primarily in the maintenance and power plant departments. His work brought him into daily contact with pipe insulation on the steam lines, block insulation on the boilers, gaskets and packing on the mill equipment, and refractory work during boiler turnarounds. He also lived in Libby across those same decades, in a town where dust from W.R. Grace's vermiculite operations reached homes, yards, and schools. In late 2025 Robert was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma of the biphasic mesothelioma histological subtype. Like many Montana mill workers of his generation, he had no idea his decades of mill work — combined with his Libby residence — could cause cancer this late in life.
After Robert's daughter called us on his behalf, we matched his employment history to the asbestos bankruptcy trusts that list his worksite, together with his product-handling reconstruction. His pre-1982 exposure history triggers automatic eligibility for the Johns-Manville Settlement Trust — that channel does not require proof of any specific product at any specific site. Beyond Johns-Manville, the St. Regis Libby listings support filings against at least seven site-specific trusts — ACandS, A.P. Green, Armstrong World Industries, Babcock & Wilcox, Fibreboard, Owens Corning, and W.R. Grace — and his years living in Libby are part of his claim against Grace's trust. Because Libby is the site of the EPA's 2009 public health emergency declaration, Robert may also qualify for the special Medicare coverage available to people with asbestos-related disease from Libby. Some of these paths interact, so we coordinate them case by case with the trial team. Recoveries from cases like Robert'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 Montana worker is the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, where advanced treatments like 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. Robert's wife and adult children are eligible for free asbestos health screening through our firm, given the take-home exposure pathway from Robert's mill clothing across his thirty-two-year career. How legal recovery funds mesothelioma treatment access →.
For the full doctrinal treatment of Montana's discovery rule, comparative fault framework, premises liability standard, and damages framework, see the Montana 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 Montana 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 285 Montana entries on the asbestos trusts' lists
- Worksite-specific knowledge — we operate from documented trust coverage rather than generic intake scripts; we can speak to the products, trades, and trust channels at your loved one's worksite from the first call
- Trust + civil + federal benefits coordinated case by case with the trial team — Johns-Manville and the site-specific trusts, the W.R. Grace trust for Libby workers and residents, civil lawsuits against still-solvent manufacturers and premises owners, and VA service-connected benefits for veterans
- Remote case handling — phone, video, or home visit; no travel to our offices required at any point
- Free family asbestos health screening for relatives of every client who may have been exposed at home
- No fee unless we recover compensation for your family
Frequently asked questions
Is my Montana worksite documented?
Probably yes. The asbestos trusts' approved-site lists hold 285 Montana entries in 51 communities — refineries, smelters, paper and lumber mills, utility power plants, sugar factories, military installations, railroad shops, and a 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?
When an asbestos manufacturer went bankrupt, federal bankruptcy courts required the company to set up a trust to compensate workers who developed asbestos-related diseases. Trust coverage at a worksite means a trust has recognized that its company's products were present at that site. Each trust pays a percentage of a scheduled value for qualifying claims. Most Montana workers with significant industrial exposure histories trigger filings against multiple trusts simultaneously.
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.
What if my loved one worked in Libby or was exposed to Zonolite attic insulation?
Libby exposures support more than the standard trust filings. Workers at the W.R. Grace vermiculite operations, workers at other Libby worksites such as the St. Regis mill, Libby residents exposed to the dust that reached the town, family members exposed through a worker's clothes, and people exposed to Zonolite attic insulation in their homes anywhere in the country — much of Zonolite was made from Libby vermiculite, and it went into millions of American homes — may have claims against the W.R. Grace asbestos trust and in civil court. People with asbestos-related disease from Libby may also qualify for special Medicare coverage. Call us if anyone in your family had Libby connections or Zonolite exposure at home.
Do I need to know which asbestos products my loved one handled?
No. Most families do not arrive with product names, dates, or work records — and that does not slow down the case. We reconstruct the exposure history using the trusts' site lists, the trust documentation for each manufacturer, employment and union records, coworker interviews, and the well-documented patterns of which products were used at each industrial site type in Montana during the relevant decades.
What if my loved one worked at multiple Montana sites?
That is the typical Montana career, not the exception. We build a complete career-spanning exposure profile that captures every site — the Yellowstone refineries, the Libby mills, the Butte-Anaconda copper operations, Montana-Dakota Utilities, Malmstrom Air Force Base, and smaller industrial sites across the state. Each site triggers its own trust filings, and the combined exposure record supports the civil case as well.
What if my loved one's worksite has closed or been demolished?
The site does not need to still exist for the trust filings to proceed. The trusts' lists document historical operations regardless of a site's current status. The Libby vermiculite mine closed in 1990 and the Anaconda smelter in 1980; the trust filings are unaffected. Many Montana refining, paper, and lumber operations have changed corporate hands or closed; the trust filings are unaffected.
Can we file a claim if my loved one already passed away?
Yes. Wrongful death asbestos claims are a core part of our practice. The Montana wrongful death deadline is three years from the date of death. If your loved one passed away from mesothelioma, lung cancer, or asbestosis, call us — we handle these cases routinely, and the family does not need to have started the process before the death to bring a wrongful death claim.
Are Malmstrom Air Force Base and Glasgow Air Force Base documented?
Yes, both appear on the trusts' lists. Malmstrom Air Force Base at Great Falls is home to the 341st Missile Wing, one of the three operational ICBM wings in the U.S. Air Force, and has supported continuous Air Force operations for decades. Glasgow Air Force Base operated as a Strategic Air Command B-52 installation from 1957 to 1968. Federal civilian employees are typically covered by FECA (Federal Employees' Compensation Act). Air Force veterans may be eligible for VA service-connected disability — available with proof of in-service asbestos exposure and a doctor's opinion linking it to service. Trust claims and federal benefits run in parallel, though some must be coordinated, because a few programs carry offsets or repayment rules.
Talk with a Montana 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.