Combustion Engineering Trust Fund and Lawsuits

What Is the Combustion Engineering Asbestos Trust Fund?

Combustion Engineering’s asbestos liabilities pressured the Asea Brown Boveri Group, which acquired the company in 1990, to increase reserves for claims from $470 million to $940 million in 2001. Combustion Engineering filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2003, leading to a 2006 bankruptcy plan that established the asbestos trust fund with $1.43 billion to address current and future claims. 

ABB Group also contributed around $350 million in cash and stock from 2004 to 2009 to the asbestos trust fund. In 2023, it paid nearly $40 million on more than 23,000 claims.

Combustion Engineering Asbestos Trust Updates

1. Current payment percentage is 20% 
2. Mesothelioma has a scheduled value of $75,000
3. Lung cancer has a scheduled value of $25,000
4. Other cancers have a scheduled value of $6,000

In 2024, the trust paid $29 million on 3,928 Category A claims and $5.7 million on 9,422 Category B claims. It also manages a special reserve fund for administrative expenses and creditor claims, which contributed about $8.6 million in 2023, with an additional $500,000 set to transfer to the trust if no new claims arise within 2 years. The Combustion Engineering 524(g) Asbestos PI Trust maintains transparency through annual audited reports and court updates.

Legal Help for People Exposed to Combustion Engineering’s Asbestos Products

People exposed to asbestos from Combustion Engineering products can find legal help with navigating the asbestos trust fund process. Asbestos attorneys specializing in this type of claim will ensure your necessary documentation is compiled and they’ll make sure everything is filed within the deadline the Combustion Engineering asbestos trust has set.

Available around the clock, our Patient Advocates will find the legal support that’s right for you and your family, plus access to our free resources. We can arrange appointments with top mesothelioma doctors, connect you with support groups for patients and caregivers and help you navigate insurance issues.

If other companies may have played a role in your asbestos exposure, and there aren’t asbestos trust funds available for them, an experienced lawyer can assess if a mesothelioma lawsuit is also an option. Your attorney can manage your asbestos trust fund claim and any other appropriate litigation to help you secure mesothelioma compensation to cover medical costs, travel expenses for treatment and lost wages related to your diagnosis.

Asbestos Litigation Involving Combustion Engineering

Combustion Engineering used asbestos insulation in boilers before the 1980s, exposing workers to dangerous asbestos fibers. From 1990 to 2001, the company settled 204,326 asbestos cases and paid about $865 million. As of late 2002, 111,000 asbestos lawsuits remained unresolved. These claims led to the company’s decision to file for bankruptcy in 2003.

One notable mesothelioma lawsuit was a wrongful death case involving Kenneth Wayne Jackson, a former pipefitter who had been diagnosed with mesothelioma. His widow filed the suit that claimed his work at a Combustion Engineering plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, from 1952 to 1986 contributed to his death. Several other asbestos manufacturers were also named as defendants. Before trial, Combustion Engineering and all other defendants settled, except for North Brothers who were ordered to pay the Jackson estate $1.4 million in a 2009 trial verdict.

Combustion Engineering’s litigation history highlights the serious effects of asbestos exposure. Experienced attorneys have successfully held asbestos companies accountable and helped clients secure financial assistance. 

Combustion Engineering’s History With Asbestos

Combustion Engineering exposed workers and others to asbestos through its products and manufacturing processes. During World War II, the company built boilers lined with asbestos for Liberty ships. The use of asbestos continued in its steam systems and power plant assemblies into the mid-20th century. These products contained asbestos materials now known to pose serious health risks like mesothelioma.

The company began in 1912 as a developer of fossil and nuclear steam power systems in the United States. It built its first headquarters building in lower Manhattan in 1920. Early products included boilers, underfeed stokers, which are fuel systems for boilers and dryers. In the 1930s, Combustion Engineering worked to improve steam engines for locomotives. After merging with Superheater Company, the company expanded its manufacturing to power plant assemblies.

After World War II, the company broadened its product line to include plastics, synthetic fibers, solvents, cement and protective seals. By 1990 Combustion Engineering had stopped using asbestos. That same year ABB Group took control of its operations. The shift away from asbestos marked a significant change, coinciding with new ownership, ending a major chapter in the company’s industrial practices.

Combustion Engineering Occupations at Risk

Many types of workers faced risk of exposure to Combustion Engineering’s asbestos products. Workers in these jobs often operated, installed or repaired equipment and materials that contained asbestos. 

Higher Risk Jobs

• Boiler workers
• Chemical plant workers
• Construction workers
• Engineers
• Factory workers
• Insulators
• Lumberyard workers
• Metal workers
• Pipefitters
• Power plant workers
• Shipyard workers
• Veterans of the U.S. armed forces

Those who spent time in shipyards, factories, power plants and construction sites were especially at risk, as these settings commonly used Combustion Engineering products. Thousands of workers who came into contact with asbestos in these products later developed serious illnesses, many of which are directly related to asbestos exposure. 

According to a 2022 European Commission report, more than 70,000 workers died in 2019 from diseases linked to past asbestos exposure. Anyone who worked with or around these materials should be aware of the dangers associated with past exposure.

Combustion Engineering’s Asbestos Products

Combustion Engineering produced a large assortment of industrial parts and building materials that included asbestos and other substances now recognized as hazardous. Their products became widespread in factories, shipyards and other heavy industries across the United States.

Products That Contained Asbestos

• A-1199 Insulating Cement
• Asbestos Ropes
• Block Stick
• Boilers
• Buck Stay Cement A1360
• Calcrete 30 Insulating Cement
• Casing Cement
• Castablock Insulating Cement
• Expansion Joint Material
• Fibrous Adhesive
• Griptex Mineral Wool Block
• Gunisul
• Hilite Insulating Cement
• Hy-Temp. Flexible Cement
• Kaiser Hard Top Insulating Cement
• Kaiser M. Block
• Kaiser Plastic Insulating Cement
• Lite Wate 22
• Lite Wate 50
• MHD Finishing Cement
• Permaseal Weathercoating
• Pyroscat Fireproofing Cement
• SDK 50 Cement
• Stic-Tite Insulating Cement
• Stirrup Cement
• Super 711 Insulating Cement
• Super Finish Insulating Cement
• Super Finish Stick-Tite Ins. Cement
• Super Stick-Tite Ins. Cement
• Utility Thermal Finish Cement
• WeatherKote Protective Air-Check
• WeatherKote Protective Coating
• WeatherKote Protective Duriseal
• WeatherKote Protective Thermal Coat

Some of the asbestos used in their boilers was amosite asbestos, which is especially dangerous. Although these asbestos products were distributed to many different industries, the U.S. Navy was one of Combustion Engineering’s major customers. The Navy often purchased their boilers and insulation materials for their ships because of their resistance to high heat and fire.

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