Orange and Rockland Utilities Lovett Power Plant Asbestos Exposure

Orange and Rockland Utilities began as Rockland Light & Power Co. in Nyack, NY in 1899. In 1958 they merged with Orange and Rockland Electric Company and became known as Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc., with their subsidiary, Rockland Electric Company, they are wholly known as Consolidated Edison, Inc. (since 1999).

Today they provide electric and gas services to more than 300,000 households and businesses in the North Western Suburbs of NYC and Northern New Jersey. Orange and Rockland Utilities had two powerhouses: The Bowline Powerhouse in Haverstraw, NY, and Lovett Powerhouse located in Tompkins Cove, NY.

The work being done at these powerhouses from the 1950s until the 1980s utilized many asbestos-containing products by its employees and independent contractors who would work at these two sites. Employees were exposed to asbestos from work being performed on boilers, pumps, valves, steam traps, pipes, generators, turbines, and many other pieces of equipment. Trades such as electricians, boiler makers, boiler operators, laborers, insulators, carpenters, metal workers, and millwrights used asbestos-containing products such as insulation, pipe covering, gaskets, refractories, and many other products. Workers would often have to replace, remove, and maintain pieces of equipment which meant they were removing and replacing asbestos-containing products regularly. The process of removing and replacing these products would create visible dust around the worker and bystanders. The air would then be contaminated with asbestos which would remain suspended in the air for long periods of time causing many workers to be exposed throughout the day. These exposures were a substantial cause in workers at Orange and Rockland Utilities developing asbestos-related diseases such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma.

At Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC we represent workers and family members who were exposed to asbestos and as a result have developed an asbestos-related disease 10-40 years later. These types of diseases are asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma. If you or a loved one worked at an Orange and Rockland facility in the 1950s-1980s and have recently been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease please contact us immediately to let you know what your legal rights and options are.

This powerhouse is located in Haverstraw, NY, and has generated power for Rockland County and the surrounding area for several decades. This site is situated across 150 acres and is operated and maintained by employees and various skilled union workers. Once owned by Consolidated Edison, Inc. it is now owned by NRG Energy.
The Bowline Powerhouse has an active pipeline, blending site, waste treatment processor, oil tank farm, transition lines, switchyard, and staff buildings. It also houses large generator stations, boilers, storage systems for fuel, chemicals, and an emissions unit.

Employees and skilled union workers such as electricians, plumbers, pipefitters, carpenters, metal workers, insulators, millwrights, boiler makers, and laborers who have worked at the Bowline Powerhouse likely have been exposed to asbestos from the work they performed or work that was being performed around them. Orange and Rockland Utilities would hire independent contractors to perform maintenance work on their machines and equipment. Asbestos exposure at Bowline could have come from insulation being repaired, maintained, and installed on the turbines, boilers, piping, pumps, valves, and steam traps. There was also exposure from pipefitters performing work on pumps, valves, and steam traps when they replaced old asbestos-containing gaskets and replaced with new asbestos-containing gaskets. Laborers would be exposed to asbestos from helping skilled workers perform this work and when they would clean up after them. This type of work created visible dust in the air. The dust in the air would contain invisible asbestos fibers that were released from these products. Workers and bystanders would then breathe in the asbestos-contaminated air which 10-40 years later can cause asbestos-related diseases such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma.

If you or a loved one performed work at the Bowline Powerhouse and were diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease such as asbestosis, lung cancer, or mesothelioma, do not hesitate to call us to get more information on what your legal rights and options are.

The Lovett Power Station was opened in 1955 by Orange and Rockland Utilities. It is situated on the Hudson River and used the river as its water source. In 1986 the plant was converted to run entirely on coal, this work was contracted to Hatzel & Buehler to perform the renovations. Foster Wheeler and Allen Sherman-Hoff also assisted in the renovations of the power plant. In 1999 the plant was then sold to GenOn. In 2007-2008 due to the passage of the 2003 Clean Air Act, the power plant was closed due to its inability to meet the air pollution emissions standard.

Work at power plants like the Lovett Powerhouse involved using many asbestos-containing products. Electricians, boilermakers, insulators, millwrights, carpenters, plumbers, pipefitters, and laborers would be exposed to asbestos from the work being done on pumps, valves, steam traps, boilers, generators, turbines, and other equipment. Work such as fixing a pump, valve, or steam trap could cause the workers and bystanders to become exposed when they would replace old asbestos-containing gaskets with new asbestos-containing gaskets and the removal and replacement of insulation around these pieces of equipment. Boilermakers and boiler operators at this plant would have been exposed from removing and replacing asbestos-containing block insulation and from asbestos-containing gaskets from the pumps and valves on the boilers and opening the doors on the boilers which were often sealed with asbestos-containing refractories. Electricians were exposed from their work in the power plant due to removing asbestos-containing insulation so they could perform their work on generators and turbines. Laborers were often nearby workers performing this work and would become exposed from breathing in asbestos-contaminated air which was the result of this work and would be exposed when cleaning up after these skilled workers. These exposures are then a significant cause of workers at this site being diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma.

If you or a loved one performed work at the Lovett Powerhouse and were diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease such as asbestosis, lung cancer, or mesothelioma, do not hesitate to call us to get more information on what your legal rights and options are.