ASARCO

ASARCO’s History With Asbestos

Founded in 1899, the American Smelting and Refining Company consolidated several mining, refining and smelting operations in the U.S and Mexico. The company entered the asbestos mining industry in the 1950s and started an asbestos pipe manufacturing business in the 1960s.

From the early 1950s through 1989, ASARCO owned an asbestos mine in Black Lake, Quebec. The discovery of asbestos beneath Black Lake led to a dredging project that created one of the largest open-pit asbestos mining operations in the world. ASARCO’s mine supplied its pipe subsidiary with asbestos. CAPCO and other manufacturers used the material in piping for its resistance to corrosion.

Today, ASARCO is an Arizona-based miner, smelter and refiner of copper. Grupo Mexico owns the company. 

Development of the ASARCO Asbestos Trust

ASARCO filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 2005. The reorganization plan allocated more than $900 million to fund a trust to compensate current and future asbestos claimants. It also required ASARCO to pay $1.79 billion to fund environmental cleanup at more than 80 sites contaminated by mining operations in 19 states.

In December 2009, the ASARCO Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust began accepting claims. By 2016, its assets exceeded $1 billion. The trust’s most recently available financial report shows more than $735 million in net assets as of 2022. Since its inception, the trust has paid more than 473,000 personal injury claims. 

The scheduled value for mesothelioma claims with the trust was established at $170,000. In 2014, the trustees agreed that it may award mesothelioma claims up to six times the initial scheduled value. The current payment percentage is 35%, which is relatively high compared to other asbestos trust funds.

Asbestos Litigations and Lawsuits Against ASARCO

Thousands of lawsuits have accused ASARCO and its subsidiaries, including CAPCO and Lake Asbestos of Quebec, of liability for asbestos exposure that led to mesothelioma, asbestosis and other asbestos-related diseases.

Many of the lawsuits claimed the plaintiffs experienced exposure to asbestos supplied by ASARCO’s Lake Asbestos of Quebec. In addition to these mining operations in Canada, exposure to ASARCO’s asbestos fibers often occurred at asbestos product manufacturing plants in the U.S. 

ASARCO’s Asbestos Products & Workers at Risk

ASARCO’s asbestos mine in Canada produced asbestos fibers that it sold to other ASARCO subsidiaries, including CAPCO. The mine also sold the toxic fiber to hundreds of asbestos product manufacturing plants throughout the U.S. 

The biggest asbestos companies, including Armstrong, Celotex, GAF, Garlock, Johns Manville, Raybestos Manhattan, Owens Corning, U.S. Gypsum and Union Carbide, owned many of these plants. 

ASARCO’s subsidiaries also exposed workers to asbestos fibers. Lake Asbestos of Quebec exposed miners and millers to raw asbestos ore and processed fibers. Employees who manufactured pipes at CAPCO worked directly with asbestos fibers.

CAPCO operated asbestos pipe manufacturing plants in Ragland, Alabama, and Van Buren, Arkansas. The company used about 6,000 tons of asbestos annually to make pipes. Exposure also occurred when construction workers and pipefitters installed these asbestos pipes, which included sewer pipes.

People who developed asbestos-related illnesses from these asbestos products may file claims with the ASARCO Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust.

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