General Electric manufactured a variety of asbestos-containing products, including electrical components and steam turbines. Unlike other asbestos companies, it never filed for bankruptcy or set up a trust fund. It continues to handle asbestos litigation through the courts and settlement offers.
Quick Facts About General Electric Asbestos Exposure
Founded:
1892
Years Operated:
1892 — Present
Headquarters:
Fairfield, Connecticut
Business:
Consumer products, energy, aviation, health care and finance
Asbestos Trust:
No
Bankruptcy Status:
Not bankrupt
Overview of General Electric Company Asbestos Compensation
General Electric Company has never filed for bankruptcy protection or established a trust fund to address the hundreds of thousands of asbestos claims against it. The company handles asbestos litigation through the court system and insurance. In 2024, General Electric split into 3 companies: GE Aerospace, GE Vernova and GE HealthCare. GE Aerospace retained the historic GE name and ticker and now handles asbestos claims tied to General Electric’s original products.
Key Facts About Compensation From GE
GE Aerospace holds the asbestos and environmental claims tied to General Electric’s historic operations.
GE has faced more than 400,000 asbestos lawsuits over the years, most of which are tied to its steam turbines.
GE maintains insurance coverage and financial reserves for legacy asbestos and environmental claims, though it hasn’t disclosed one specific reserve amount for asbestos alone.
Depending on individual circumstances, people can file an asbestos personal injury lawsuit, a wrongful death lawsuit or a claim for workers’ compensation with the help of a lawyer. These forms of mesothelioma compensation can help cover medical expenses and lost wages related to your diagnosis.
GE Aerospace’s financial strength and insurance coverage are why the company hasn’t needed to create an asbestos trust fund, even after the 2024 split. People with a mesothelioma diagnosis tied to GE products can talk to an experienced asbestos attorney about their compensation options.
Legal Help for People Exposed to General Electric Asbestos Products
It’s normal to find the legal process overwhelming after receiving a mesothelioma diagnosis. But you don’t have to handle the process alone. The company’s long history of asbestos exposure means that top mesothelioma lawyers have significant experience successfully fighting the company in court.
The first step is finding a lawyer with experience in cases like yours and whose communication style and overall approach helps you and your family feel comfortable throughout the process. A Patient Advocate can match you to the right lawyer for the details of your work history.
Your Patient Advocate can also find the right mesothelioma specialist to help you explore the best treatment options for you and schedule appointments for you. They can also help you navigate insurance, manage your VA benefits claims and access free medical and financial assistance resources.
Exposed to Asbestos by General Electric Products?
Gain access to trust funds, grants and other forms of compensation for you or your loved ones.
Many lawsuits against General Electric Company involve asbestos exposure from the company’s steam turbines. Workers around the country have developed mesothelioma and lung cancer decades after working around the company’s many asbestos products.
Settlement and Verdict Table
Case
Year
Amount
Plaintiff and GE connection
Outcome
Barone v. Vanderbilt Minerals (formerly International Talc Co.)
2024
$22.5 million ($15 million compensatory, $7.5 million punitive), paid by Vanderbilt Minerals
Nicolas Barone, a process engineer at GE’s Pittsfield, Massachusetts plant, was exposed to asbestos-contaminated talc supplied to the plant
A Connecticut jury found Vanderbilt Minerals liable. GE wasn’t a defendant in this verdict
Plumb v. Sears, Roebuck and Co. (GE settled separately)
2001
$1.5 million jury verdict against Sears; GE’s earlier settlement amount wasn’t disclosed
Howard Plumb, an electrician’s helper, worked with GE’s asbestos-containing electric cable in 1941
GE settled with Plumb before trial. At the trial that followed, the jury apportioned 98% of fault to GE and found Sears liable for the $1.5 million award
General Electric’s Connection to Asbestos
As a manufacturer of light bulbs, electrical components, power-generating equipment and electronics, General Electric used asbestos in many of its products, including steam turbines, consumer electronics, appliances and plastic molding compounds used in electrical boxes. The company’s early consumer electronics, such as radios, contained asbestos panels to help with the tremendous amount of heat the devices generated.
General Electric Company also used products from other asbestos manufacturers. Historical evidence shows GE power production plants used asbestos-containing cabling, wiring, furnace components and insulation. The toxic mineral added significant thermal and fire resistance, making it popular for insulating products and electrical shielding.
Asbestos fibers were frequently used in high-heat applications within the power and electrical industries. GE used asbestos parts heavily to manufacture tens of thousands of steam turbines. Exposure to asbestos in these turbines primarily occurred between 1966 and 1986.
GE installed these asbestos-containing turbines at more than 22,000 sites across the U.S. GE turbines powered many U.S. Navy ships and in shore-based power plants. Sailors such as machinists’ mates and boiler technicians, as well as civilian power plant and shipyard workers, were exposed to asbestos fibers when they cut, scraped or reapplied the insulation and gaskets around GE turbines. Veterans who served aboard steam-powered ships and later developed mesothelioma may be eligible to file a lawsuit in addition to their VA benefit claims.
General Electric Company’s Asbestos Products
General Electric sold asbestos-containing wires and cables under the brand name Deltabeston. It also produced infrared ovens under the brand name Wil-Son Patent-Flex.
Infrared ovens were used during World War II for commercial, industrial and military drying processes, such as applying coatings to equipment. Oven temperatures could reach more than 6,500 degrees Fahrenheit, so asbestos fibers were used for fire resistance.
Over the decades, GE grew into one of the world’s largest and most diverse manufacturers. Its products included early thermoplastics, consumer electronics, jet engines and nuclear reactors.
By 1969, the company was manufacturing roughly 60 million pounds of phenolic molding material (phenolic resin), a hard molded plastic compound, often containing asbestos. At trial, Nicolas Barone testified that toxic asbestos dust was present “everywhere” in the General Electric phenolic resin plant where he worked. He said: “It came in bulk in boxcars. It was manually unloaded. Guys used to screw around, having snowball fights with it.”
GE’s Asbestos-Containing Products
Product
Type
Era / years
Where used
Occupations exposed
Deltabeston cables and wires
Electrical insulation
1940s to 1960s
Power plants, appliances, switchboards, locomotives
Electricians, electrical engineers
Electrical arc chutes
Electrical component
1960s
Switchgear and electrical equipment, made from GE’s phenolic resin compounds
Electricians
Furnaces
Heat equipment
1957 to 1975
Power production plants
Power plant workers, insulators
Phenolic molding material
Thermoplastic compound
1960s (60 million lbs./year by 1969, most containing asbestos)
Electrical boxes, arc chutes, molding
Plant workers
Steam turbines
Power-generating equipment
1966 to 1986
Navy ships, power plants
Machinists, boiler workers, shipyard workers
Stovetops
Consumer appliance
1940s to 1970s
Homes, appliance assembly
Appliance assemblers
Wil-Son Patent-Flex infrared ovens
Industrial oven
WWII era
Commercial, industrial and military drying processes
Industrial workers
General Electric Asbestos Exposure Sites and Facilities
GE’s industrial footprint stretched across the U.S. and included some of the country’s largest manufacturing and engineering facilities. The company operated plants that produced appliances, jet engines and electrical equipment, as well as facilities dedicated to research, power generation and specialized manufacturing. The size and variety of these operations meant working conditions differed considerably from one GE location to another. Several major facilities stand out in the company’s history.
Schenectady Works, New York
GE’s Schenectady Works in upstate New York was one of the company’s largest industrial campuses, with research laboratories, power stations and machine and tool rooms spread across many buildings. Workers were exposed to asbestos in pipe covering, block insulation, gaskets and turbine parts.
Appliance Park, Louisville, Kentucky
GE purchased more than 900 acres of farmland in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1950 and began construction the following year. The Appliance Park complex shipped its first product, a clothes dryer, in 1953. It grew into the world’s largest appliance-manufacturing operation, employing more than 23,000 people at its peak. Workers who assembled, wired or maintained appliances and the plant’s own equipment could be exposed to asbestos used in components and insulation.
Ohio Plants, Evendale, Dayton and Cleveland
In Ohio, GE leased space in a former Wright Aeronautical plant near Cincinnati in 1948 and officially opened it in February 1949 as a jet-engine manufacturing hub, in what became known as Evendale. GE also has a long-standing presence in the Dayton area and once operated a lightbulb-manufacturing facility in Cleveland. Workers at these plants could be exposed to asbestos in insulation, furnace components and high-heat equipment.
Who Was at Risk of Asbestos Exposure From General Electric?
Anyone who installed, repaired or worked near General Electric products that contained asbestos may have been exposed to harmful amounts of the dangerous material. When maintenance technicians scraped away and reapplied asbestos insulation, the toxic fibers became airborne. Asbestos dust didn’t just affect the maintenance personnel; nearby laborers also breathed it in.
Steel workers, shipyard workers, naval employees and other government workers also faced occupational asbestos exposure. Employees at GE energy plants, distribution plants or factories that made asbestos-containing products should pay close attention to their health, such as scheduling yearly cancer screenings. Mesothelioma symptoms may not appear for decades, but treatment is more effective when doctors catch the illness early.
Exposure wasn’t limited to people on the job. Workers often inadvertently brought asbestos fibers home on their clothes, hair and tools. Take-home or secondary exposure puts family members at risk. Homeowners can also be exposed to asbestos in older GE appliances.
Did General Electric make products that contained asbestos?
Yes. General Electric made many asbestos-containing products, including Deltabeston electric cables and wires, steam turbines, furnaces, phenolic molding material and Wil-Son Patent-Flex infrared ovens. The toxic mineral was used to add heat and fire resistance to electrical and power equipment.
Which GE plants used asbestos?
GE used asbestos at major industrial sites, including Schenectady Works in New York, Appliance Park in Louisville, Kentucky and its Ohio operations in Evendale, Dayton and Cleveland. Workers at these sites handled or worked near asbestos insulation, cabling and turbine parts.
Which workers were exposed to GE asbestos?
Electricians, power plant workers, boiler workers, insulators, shipyard workers and GE plant employees were among those with some of the highest risk of asbestos exposure. Family members could also be exposed to fibers carried home on work clothing.
Can I get compensation for General Electric asbestos exposure?
Your eligibility to pursue compensation depends on the circumstances of your case. An experienced mesothelioma lawyer can explain the options that best fit your work and personal details. Because GE never filed for bankruptcy and has no asbestos trust fund, people pursue GE-related compensation directly through lawsuits.
Were Navy veterans exposed to GE asbestos?
Yes. GE steam turbines were installed aboard many U.S. Navy ships. Sailors and shipyard workers who serviced that equipment were exposed to asbestos insulation and gaskets. Veterans may qualify to file a lawsuit in addition to their VA benefit claims.
What GE products most commonly caused asbestos exposure?
GE steam turbines are the products most often named in GE asbestos claims, as well as Deltabeston electric cable and phenolic molding material. Turbine exposure primarily occurred between 1966 and 1986.
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D. Carl Money is an attorney at Nemeroff Law. He has devoted his career to fighting for workers diagnosed with mesothelioma and their families. Money has more than 25 years of experience fighting for people with asbestos-related diseases. He’s licensed in Texas, New York, England and Wales and belongs to various legal organizations across the U.S. and U.K.
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