Nicolet (Keasbey & Mattison)

Keasbey and Mattison was founded in 1873 by Henry G. Keasbey, a businessman, and Dr. Richard V. Mattison, a chemist/pharmacist. These Philadelphia residents formed a company that would produce pharmaceuticals and asbestos products, an unusual combination.

Mattison moved the company from Philadelphia to one of the city's suburbs, Ambler, in 1881, where it remained for several decades. At the Ambler lab, it is said that Mattison, a brilliant scientist, was experimenting with milk of magnesia and discovered it would adhere to a hot metal pipe, and when mixed asbestos and other heat-resistant products, could be turned into an insulation material for steam pipes. This product would help reduce fuel costs for many, he imagined. Thus, in 1886, he changed the focus of the company. They would now manufacture asbestos building and industrial supplies and would no longer offer pharmaceuticals.

Keasbey and Mattison's soon-to-be-built factories and warehouses would shape the town of Ambler, bringing people there who would work in those facilities. Mattison would build homes for the company's workers and for its executives. He founded a library and built an opera house, offices and shops. The town of Ambler and the company continued to thrive, playing an important role in World War I, supplying asbestos products for ships and war plants.

However, the Great Depression was not kind to Keasbey and Mattison and the company was forced to sell to English company Turner and Newhall Ltd. in 1934. T&N operated the plant until 1962. In that same year, the property was purchased by CertainTeed Corporation and Nicolet Industries and divided in two. Both companies produced asbestos products and auto parts at this location.

Nicolet/Keasbey and Mattison and Asbestos Use

As a manufacturer of asbestos products, it is obvious that those who worked at Keasbey and Mattison and later, Nicolet, were exposed to asbestos on a daily basis. In the early decades of the 20th century, before the dangers of asbestos were widely known, these employees worked without protective masks or respirators, so inhalation of sharp asbestos particles was commonplace.

In addition, these plant workers brought asbestos dust home on their clothes and body, exposing family members and others to the toxic mineral as well. Many asbestos workers employed by these companies later developed asbestosis or mesothelioma because of this constant exposure. Others who may have been exposed to asbestos products made by these companies include shipyard workers, insulators, auto mechanics, welders, plumbers, pipefitters, boilermakers and many other tradesmen.

Keasbey and Mattison, as well as CertainTeed and Nicolet, also made it a practice to dispose defective products and manufacturing waste at the site of its plant from the late 1800s until some time during the 1960s. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) records show that Nicolet "pumped waste water containing asbestos from settling ponds into diked areas, creating wet asbestos piles which gradually dried as new diked areas were constructed and filled." The result was a severely contaminated site that was eventually placed on the EPA's National Priorities List in 1983 for cleanup. Another dumping site used by Keasbey and Mattison, dubbed the BoRit site, has just been placed on that same priorities list. According to the EPA, the nearby population "could potentially be exposed to airborne asbestos and to asbestos contamination" at the BoRit site.

If you have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease as a result of working for Keasbey and Mattison/Nicolet or with any of the company's products and would like to learn more about treatment options and financial assistance to help pay for medical costs, please fill out the form on this page to receive a comprehensive packet in the mail.