Unarco
Originally known as the Union Asbestos and Rubber Company, maker of a full line of asbestos-containing insulation products, Unarco now manufactures shopping carts as part of the Marmon Retail Services group of companies.
History of Unarco
The Union Asbestos and Rubber Company was founded in Paterson, New Jersey in 1941 and was operational at that location until 1954 upon which time it moved to the Bloomington, Illinois area.
In 1962, the company purchased the Folding Carrier Corporation, the nation's leading producers of shopping carts, made of both metal and plastic. Unarco is now based in Wagoner, Oklahoma and is no longer involved in the manufacture of asbestos products.
Unarco and Asbestos
Unarco manufactured asbestos insulation products for pipes, turbines, boilers, and other industrial uses using highly-toxic amosite asbestos mined in South Africa. An ad in an old Unarco brochure states that: "The natural fibrous rock is partially fiberized at the mines [in South Africa], then shipped to UNARCO's plants for final fiberizing and processing. Amosite fibers, together with inorganic binders and fillers and years of manufacturing experience, impart to UNIBESTOS insulations many outstanding properties."
As early as 1951, records show that 17 Unarco employees had already filed compensation claims against the company, alleging asbestos-related illnesses. A few years later, Dr. Irving J. Selikoff, Professor Emeritus of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, a world-renowned expert on asbestos-related diseases, conducted a survey of the 933 men employed at Unarco's Paterson, New Jersey factory from 1941 to 1945. Dr. Selikoff's reported demonstrated that those men suffered from asbestos-related disease "in much greater proportion than that which could be expected in the general population."
Problems with asbestos diseases such as mesothelioma continued to escalate throughout the next few decades until Union Asbestos and Rubber finally declared bankruptcy in 1982, faced with tens of thousands of lawsuits by employees and others who encountered their products on the job, including welders, boilermakers, plumbers, pipefitters, shipyard workers and many others. They were the first asbestos products manufacturer to declare bankruptcy, though doing so didn't spark much concern because they were a relatively small company. (However, 11 other companies, including industry giant Johns-Manville, quickly followed suit and also declared bankruptcy that year.)
During the reorganization process, Union Asbestos and Rubber changed its name to Unarco and set up an asbestos trust fund for the purpose of addressing unsettled and future asbestos claims. The fund still exists as former Union Asbestos employees and others exposed to the company's products are still being diagnosed with mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
If you have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease as a result of working for Unarco or with any of the company's products and would like more information on treatments options or financial assistance, please fill out the form on this page to receive a complimentary packet in the mail.
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Last Modified Tuesday, December 20th, 2011 | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy |
The information provided by The Mesothelioma Center is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Sponsored by a law firm concentrating in asbestos litigation, The Peterson Firm, LLP with offices at 1350 Connecticut Ave, NW, Fifth Floor, Washington DC 20036.
