Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) — Plants in Missouri

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that they were exposed to asbestos while working at Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) plants in Missouri. This page documents the Missouri portion of Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa)’s multi-state operations. For the full corporate summary and plants in other states, see the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) manufacturer page.

Premises Description

Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa — founded 1888 as Pittsburgh Reduction Company; today Alcoa Corporation) was through the 20th century the dominant U.S. and global aluminum producer. Alcoa operated through the asbestos era a comprehensive vertically-integrated U.S. aluminum production network including bauxite mining, alumina refining (the Bayer process), aluminum smelting (the Hall-Héroult process — invented at Alcoa), rolling mills, and downstream fabrication. Major Alcoa asbestos-era U.S. sites included:

  • Alcoa TN — the company’s namesake smelter and rolling mill complex (Blount County)
  • Massena NY — historic St. Lawrence Seaway hydroelectric-powered smelter
  • Rockdale TX — lignite-powered Texas smelter
  • Wenatchee WA and Vancouver WA — Pacific Northwest hydroelectric smelters
  • Badin NC — Yadkin River hydroelectric smelter
  • Davenport IA — sheet and plate rolling mill
  • Lafayette IN and Logan County WV — additional operations
  • Point Comfort TX, Mobile AL, St. Croix VI, Bauxite AR — alumina refining

Aluminum smelting is one of the most asbestos-intensive industrial processes documented in U.S. occupational asbestos litigation. The Hall-Héroult electrolytic reduction cells (potlines) operate continuously at temperatures around 950°C with high-current electrical service — every reduction cell was specified with extensive asbestos refractory, asbestos electrical insulation, and asbestos thermal protection through the documented era.

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that Alcoa — as premises owner of its U.S. smelter, mill, and refining operations — exposed its aluminum-worker workforce (United Steelworkers Local representation) and contractor pipefitters, insulators, boilermakers, and trade workers to extensive asbestos through:

  • Asbestos refractory and block insulation on Hall-Héroult reduction cells, anode-baking furnaces, holding furnaces, and reheat furnaces
  • Asbestos electrical insulation on potline bus bars, anode-bus connections, and rectifier-yard electrical systems
  • Asbestos pipe covering on plant steam, alumina, and process piping
  • Spray-applied asbestos fireproofing on smelter structural steel and crane runways
  • Asbestos gaskets and packing at process flanges, pumps, and valves

Aluminum Company of America has been named as a Premises Defendant in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation.

Workers Exposed

  • United Steelworkers Local members at Alcoa TN, Massena NY, Rockdale TX, Wenatchee WA, Badin NC, and Alcoa refineries
  • Refinery and mill pipefitters and millwrights working Alcoa capital projects
  • Insulators (HFIAW Local members) on Alcoa construction and turnaround crews
  • Boilermakers (IBB Local members) building Alcoa smelter and refinery pressure vessels
  • Electricians (IBEW Local members) working Alcoa potline and rectifier electrical systems
  • Construction-trade workforces on Alcoa EPC projects

If You Worked at an Alcoa Smelter, Refinery, or Mill

If you worked at an Alcoa aluminum smelter, alumina refinery, rolling mill, or fabrication plant during the asbestos era — as an Alcoa employee or as a dispatched contractor trade worker — and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or another asbestos-related illness, you may have legal rights.

Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 936-2956

Named Plants and Operating Era

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that Alcoa-connected asbestos-era work touched Missouri through downstream fabrication, warehouse and freight-handling operations, and the historic bauxite supply chain from Bauxite AR through the St. Louis and Southeast Missouri rail corridor. Alcoa did not operate a primary aluminum smelter in Missouri. Documented Alcoa-connected footprint in Missouri:

  • Alcoa Bauxite AR Supply Chain (through Missouri) — bauxite mined at the historic Alcoa Bauxite AR operations (Saline County AR, adjacent to the Missouri Bootheel labor market) allegedly moved north through Missouri rail corridors (Frisco / Missouri Pacific / Cotton Belt) to Ohio River and Mississippi River shipping points and to downstream fabrication customers. Missouri railroad shop workers and freight handlers allegedly handled Alcoa bauxite / alumina traffic during the asbestos era.
  • St. Louis Area Aluminum Fabrication / Warehouse Operations — in Greater St. Louis MO, Alcoa maintained downstream sales offices, aluminum stock warehouses, and fabrication support in the St. Louis industrial corridor during the asbestos era, coordinating supply of Alcoa mill product to Missouri manufacturing customers.

Plant-Era ACM Narrative

At Alcoa-connected Missouri operations, plaintiffs alleged the following plant-era asbestos exposure pathways during the principal U.S. asbestos era (approximately 1930s-1980):

  • Asbestos-lagged steam pipe, boiler, and heating systems in St. Louis-area warehouse and fabrication support buildings serving Alcoa mill-product distribution
  • Asbestos-brake and asbestos-clutch material on freight-handling equipment, hi-lifts, and rail yard locomotives moving Alcoa bauxite / alumina / ingot traffic through the St. Louis and Southeast Missouri corridors
  • Asbestos-cement bulkhead panels and asbestos wire insulation in the electrical rooms of St. Louis-area Alcoa distribution facilities
  • Asbestos gaskets and packing on utility steam, compressed-air, and process piping in Missouri aluminum fabrication support operations

Trades and Local Union Coverage

Plaintiffs alleged that Missouri Alcoa-connected work was performed by tradesmen from the following unions and Locals during the asbestos era:

  • HFIAW Insulators Local 1 (St. Louis) — asbestos pipe covering and block insulation at St. Louis-area Alcoa distribution and warehouse facilities
  • UA Pipefitters Local 562 (St. Louis) — flange bolt-up, gasket work, and process piping at St. Louis Alcoa operations
  • IBEW Electricians Local 1 (St. Louis) — switchgear and motor-control center work at Missouri Alcoa facilities
  • BAC Bricklayers Local 1 MO (St. Louis) — refractory and boiler-setting work at Missouri industrial support buildings
  • International Brotherhood of Boilermakers — the St. Louis-area Local — boiler maintenance and pressure-vessel work
  • Railroad trades (Frisco / Missouri Pacific / Cotton Belt) — handling Alcoa bauxite / alumina / ingot traffic north from Bauxite AR through the Missouri rail corridor

Documented ACM Product Vectors Named in Litigation

Products from AP defendant manufacturers that plaintiffs alleged were supplied to or specified at Alcoa-connected Missouri operations during the asbestos era: