Paterson Plant

The Paterson Plant was an asbestos textile and insulation factory in Paterson, New Jersey, operated at different times by Union Asbestos and Rubber Company (UNARCO) and later Raybestos-Manhattan. From the 1930s into the 1950s, workers there spun and wove raw amosite and chrysotile asbestos, much of it for World War II military insulation, under extremely dusty conditions with little respiratory protection. The site became central to Dr. Irving Selikoff's landmark studies linking asbestos to mesothelioma and lung cancer.

Origin

The facility is named for the city of Paterson, New Jersey, a historic industrial center on the Passaic River. Its notoriety in asbestos history comes from Dr. Irving J. Selikoff, who in the 1960s studied insulators and former Paterson factory workers and documented striking rates of asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma, findings that became foundational evidence of asbestos disease.

Significance in Asbestos Context

The Paterson Plant is one of the most heavily documented asbestos worksites in American history. Selikoff's cohort studies of Paterson workers helped prove that even relatively short-term factory exposure caused mesothelioma and lung cancer, and the plant's payroll, employment, and medical records have been used as direct evidence in thousands of lawsuits. For patients or families with any connection to the plant (as workers, household members who washed dusty clothes, or nearby residents), this history can be powerful proof of exposure, and several defendant companies in the plant's supply and operating chain have established bankruptcy trusts that pay claims tied to Paterson work.

Example Sentence

When her father was diagnosed with mesothelioma, the family learned from his Social Security earnings record that he had worked at the Paterson Plant for eighteen months in 1944, which became the cornerstone of his exposure history.

Related Terms

UNARCO, Raybestos-Manhattan, Irving Selikoff, Amosite, Occupational Exposure, Asbestos Trust Fund

Notes

• Request a Social Security earnings statement (Form SSA-7050) to confirm employment dates at UNARCO, Raybestos-Manhattan, or successor entities in Paterson. This is often the single most important document for a claim.
• Ask older relatives whether any family member worked at the plant, since household (take-home) exposure from laundering dusty work clothes is a recognized cause of mesothelioma and is compensable.
• Preserve any union cards, pay stubs, photographs, or letters referencing Paterson, NJ employment in the 1930s–1950s; these can corroborate work history when official records are incomplete.
• Tell your treating physician and attorney specifically about any Paterson Plant connection. It triggers established medical-legal pathways including UNARCO and other trust fund claims.
• Military service members and shipyard workers who handled insulation made at Paterson during WWII may also have a documented exposure pathway worth investigating.