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Johns-Manville plant at Billerica, Massachusetts

In February 1939, Asbestos, the industry's trade journal, printed Johns-Manville's announcement of "a new plant at North Billerica, Mass. (near Lowell), for the manufacture of Marinite and Marine Sheathing."1 The factory was in "the former carshops of the Boston & Maine Railroad," on which J-M had signed a long-term lease; it had "a floor space of 109,400 square feet—about 2½ acres," and would "employ an initial force of 75 and 100 men."1 J-M described both products as "homogeneous sheet materials formed from asbestos fibre and an inorganic binder."1 In 1990, the fund that answered lawsuits for Manville Corporation gave the plant's address in its sworn answers as High Street, Billerica, and dated it "1940 to 1985."2

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What the plant made

In 1950, Asbestos listed Billerica among the places where a new J-M manager would supervise production of "Johns-Manville industrial products."3 J-M's own items name Billerica as a plant for Reeferite: a 1961 item says "Marine products are made at Billerica and Nashua plants," a 1967 item that Reeferite was "also manufactured at our Billerica Plant," and a 1970 letter from M. W. Burleson, general manager of J-M's Industrial Insulations Division, names the Billerica Plant for both Reeferite and Marinite 36.4,5,6

J-M called Reeferite "an incombustible, corrosion-proof panel composed of a solid aluminum core faced on both sides with sheets of colored J-M asbestos-cement Marine Veneer," for "refrigerated cargo holds and ship's stores" among other uses.4,5 It called Marinite 36 an "Inorganic Fireproof Structural Insulating Board For Industry," used for ovens and driers and for bulkheads and linings on ships.5,7,8 Manville's own descriptions of these products, reported to the EPA and published in 1990, give Reeferite "asbestos fiber, 25 to 35%," produced 1950 to 1974, and Marinite 36 "asbestos fiber, 25 to 65%," produced 1936 to 1978; those figures describe the products, not Billerica's output in particular.9

The Manville fund's 1990 answers list the Billerica products, from Asbestocite and a long run of Marinite grades to Pallite, Permatone Corrugated Transite, Reeferite, Terraceran, Thermostone and Veneered Marinite.2

The doctors

The same answers name the doctors who served the Billerica plant, beginning with Orland S. Marshall, M.D., in 1939 and Solomon G. Hajjar, M.D., of North Billerica, from 1941 to 1966; the last entries run to 1985.2

Location

Billerica, Massachusetts, the city named in the documents. The dot marks the city, not the plant's address.

Pictures of products made here

Labels, packages, photographs and catalog pages from our library of products documents say were made at this plant. Each picture has its own page and library number.

Asbestos products made here

The products documents say were made at this plant, with the years a document gives for the product here. Each product's page has what the documents say about it, including its asbestos content.

Asbestos claims

If you or a family member worked at this plant, lived with someone who did, or worked with its products, and later developed mesothelioma or another asbestos disease, a claim may be paid by the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust. Free case review.

What each document says

Every statement about this plant in the documents, in each document's own words.

Asbestos Magazine, 1939, February 1939

  • Asbestos products made: “Marinite and Marine Sheathing ... formed from asbestos fibre and an inorganic binder” (Johns-Manville), said by Johns-Manville, as recorded by Asbestos (magazine), p. 401
  • Opened: “new plant at North Billerica, Mass. (near Lowell), for the manufacture of Marinite and Marine Sheathing” (Johns-Manville), said by Johns-Manville, as recorded by Asbestos (magazine), p. 401
  • Description: “long-term lease of the former carshops of the Boston & Maine Railroad; 109,400 sq. ft.” (Johns-Manville), said by Johns-Manville, as recorded by Asbestos (magazine), p. 401
  • Workforce: “initial force of 75 and 100 men” (Johns-Manville), said by Johns-Manville, as recorded by Asbestos (magazine), p. 401

Manville Fund's Responses to Plaintiffs' Interrogatories in Moore v. H.K. Porter (1990)

  • Operated: “High Street, Billerica, Massachusetts 01862 (1940 to 1985)” (Johns-Manville), p. 182
  • Dust and health: “Billerica, MA Plant: 8 physician entries” (Johns-Manville), p. 522
  • Products made: “Asbestocite; Heat Treated Molten Metal Marinite; Heat Treated Thermostone; Imperial Marinite; Marimet 45; Marinite; Marinite 23; Marinite 30; Marinite 36; Marinite 65; Metal Veneered Marinite; Molten Metal Marinite; Pallite; Permatone Corrugated Transite; Reeferite; Terraceran; Thermostone; Veneered Marinite” (Johns-Manville), p. 202

Asbestos Magazine, 1950, February 1950

  • Operated: “Johns-Manville industrial products at Billerica, Mass.” (Johns-Manville), p. 423

Other names

Documents call this plant “Billerica Plant”, “Billerica, Massachusetts”, “Billerica, MA Plant”, “Billerica”.

See also

References

  1. Asbestos Magazine, 1939, February 1939 (February 1, 1939), p. 40.
  2. Manville Fund's Responses to Plaintiffs' Interrogatories in Moore v. H.K. Porter (February 15, 1990), pp. 18, 20, 52.
  3. Asbestos Magazine, 1950, February 1950 (February 1, 1950), p. 42.
  4. J-M News Pictorial, 1961, March 1961 (March 1, 1961), p. 11.
  5. J-M News Pictorial, 1967, September 1967 (September 1, 1967), p. 3.
  6. M. W. Burleson's Notice to the Industrial Insulations Division on Health Hazard Caution Labels (July 1, 1970), p. 2.
  7. Johns-Manville Caution Labels for Marinite Products (About 1964) (January 1, 1964), p. 1.
  8. J-M Industrial Insulations to the National Sanitation Foundation Testing Laboratory on Marinite 36 (October 22, 1957), p. 1.
  9. Asbestos; Publication of Identifying Information (February 13, 1990), pp. 14–15.

Mentioned on this site

Cite this page

“Johns-Manville plant at Billerica, Massachusetts.” AsbestosClaims.Law Library. https://asbestosclaims.law/library/plants/billerica-ma-johns-manville.

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