Job Site City: Buffalo

The Claxton Asbestos Company was formed in 1928 in Buffalo, New York.  Claxton was involved in the sale, distribution and installation of asbestos insulation products at commercial and industrial job sites throughout Western New York. On June 28, 1959, Claxton was sold and changed its name to Claxton Asbestos Company, Inc. The new owners continued […]

Since 1915, The Colonel Francis G. Ward Pumping Station has pumped Buffalo, New York’s, drinking water from Lake Erie. When constructed, it was originally the largest pumping station in the United States, and, today, it remains one of the largest and most well-equipped water treatment and pumping stations in the world. Originally, five gigantic steam-driven […]

Below is a list of job titles or occupational trades that may have been exposed to asbestos at the Bethlehem Steel Lackawanna Plant. Boilermakers Bricklayers Carpenters Construction Workers Crane Operators Electricians Firefighters Fireproofers Foremen Freight and Material Handlers Iron Workers Insulators Laborers Larry Car Driver Lidman Managers Maintenance Workers Masons Millwrights Painters Pipe coverers Pipefitters […]

Laborers who worked in the steel industry were at high risk for asbestos exposure. Asbestos was utilized throughout the Bethlehem Steel Lackawanna Plant and could also be found in workers’ protective clothing. Workers who handled asbestos materials or were in the vicinity of others who did, were at a high risk for injurious exposure, and […]

The steel making process involved many different types of furnaces and ovens, all of which were lined with asbestos insulation. Asbestos refractory materials were used as an insulator and binder in the following units: Coke Ovens – The function of the coke ovens at Bethlehem Steel was to take the raw material, coal, and convert it […]

There are many components of the steel making process. One main ingredient in the steel making process is a material called coke. Coke is produced by heating coal in a large refractory oven or retort, from which air is excluded, which in turn drives off volatile contents of the coal and leaves behind a residue […]

In 1964, Bethlehem Steel in Lackawanna began to produce steel using basic oxygen furnaces (BOF). These furnaces processed metal more quickly than the open hearth furnaces and were cheaper to operate. Prior to the late 1970s, asbestos-containing refractory and insulating materials were used in the construction, maintenance and operation of basic oxygen furnaces. Asbestos was […]

At Bethlehem Steel in Lackawanna, New York, the open hearth furnaces were the primary means of producing steel from pig iron. Open hearth furnaces remove impurities from molten iron, scrap steel and limestone when charged in the furnace. Heat for the furnace is supplied by blowing a combination of air and fuel gas into the […]

A hot top is located on the top of a steel mold or ingot, and it traps impurities that rise out of steel as it cools and takes shape in the mold. During the steel making process, when molten steel has been sufficiently heated, it is poured into an ingot mold. While the steel cools, […]

Boilers heat water to the point where it is changed into steam. They are used in many applications, from residential heating to ship propulsion. Boilers can be very simple in design or quite complex. Because boilers operate at very high temperatures, exposed surfaces need to be insulated to retain heat and to prevent injury. There […]

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Bliss & Laughlin Steel was originally founded in 1891 in Harvey, Illinois. In 1929, Bliss & Laughlin constructed a bar mill in Buffalo in order to manufacture steel bars. The steel mill’s location enabled Bliss & Laughlin to provide easier access to markets on the East Coast. Located on Hopkins Street in South Buffalo, the […]

Buffalo Acoustical was established in 1955 by Thomas George and Russell Walsh. Laborers who were employed by Buffalo Acoustical installed asbestos-containing ceiling tiles and sprayed-on acoustical insulation. Buffalo Acoustical held a franchise agreement with National Gypsum and used some of their building products. In 1968, Buffalo Acoustical merged with the Mader Corporation, a building contractor that, […]

Established in 1898 as McCarthy Brothers & Ford, Buffalo Electric was a major electrical contractor in Upstate New York for nearly a century. In addition to electrical contracting, Buffalo Electric also performed electrical motor repair and control panel fabrication at its workshop on West Mohawk Street in Buffalo, New York. Electricians employed by Buffalo Electric […]

In 1878, the Buffalo Forge Company was founded by Charles Hammelmann and William Wendt. Initially, the company focused on the production of blacksmith forges. The forge, manufactured by Buffalo Forge was an innovative design that used a mechanically-driven blower in order to deliver air into the forge, instead of the traditional blacksmith’s bellows. Over the […]

Buffalo General Hospital was founded in 1858 by several local doctors and businessmen. On June 24, 1858, former President of the United States Millard Fillmore presided over the dedication ceremony. Located on High Street in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo General was the first hospital in the state of New York, outside of New York City, […]

The current Buffalo Police Headquarters building was erected in 1937, and it serves as police headquarters for the city of Buffalo, New York. The police headquarters building is located at the corner of Franklin and Church Streets, and it includes office spaces, filing rooms, jail cells, firing range and garage. This building replaced the former […]

Buffalo Savings Bank was established in 1846, and it was the first savings bank in the City of Buffalo. In 1901, its headquarters opened on the corner of Main and East Huron Streets in Downtown Buffalo. The bank’s headquarters became known for its massive copper-clad dome roof, which, in 1954, was covered in gold leaf. […]

The Buffalo State Hospital, also known as the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane, was established in 1880 for the purpose of treating the mentally ill. The hospital was one of the first mental institutions in New York State to therapeutically treat mental illness. The buildings were designed by noted architect Henry Hobson Richardson, and […]

The Buffalo Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center was established in 1950 in order to provide medical care to United States military veterans in Western New York. Located on Bailey Avenue in Buffalo, the VA Medical Center is a 12-story, 199-bed hospital that provides inpatient and outpatient care to veterans. Also known as the VA Western […]

The Buffalo Copper & Brass Rolling Mills Company was established in 1906 at the corner of Sayre Street and Military Road in Buffalo, New York. At the time, the facility was the largest brass rolling mill in the United States. In 1917, it was purchased by the American Brass Company. The Anaconda Copper Mining Company […]

American Radiator and Standard Sanitary Corporation’s beginnings date back to 1886 when Clarence Mott Woolley formed the Michigan Radiator & Iron Company of Detroit. Woolley’s company manufactured cast iron (rather than the more expensive steel) radiators. The business was a success, and by 1891 the company merged with the Detroit Radiator Company and the Pierce […]

In 1930, Amherst Central High School (ACHS) was established as a public school. Located in Snyder, New York, Amherst Central High School caters to grades 9-12. Serving Eggertsville, Snyder and a portion of the Village of Williamsville, ACHS is the only high school in the Amherst Central School district system. Today, it has a student population […]

Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC represents numerous former and retired workers who were once employed at the Ashland Oil, Tonawanda, NY refinery.  In recent years,  former employees at Ashland Oil have developed and died of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. Our Firm has represented Ashland Oil workers with mesothelioma who worked in a wide variety of jobs at the […]

The history of Ashland Inc. (Ashland Oil) began in 1910 when J. Fred Miles founded the Swiss Drilling Company in Oklahoma. The growth of Ashland Inc. occurred during the years following the federal government’s breakup of the Standard Oil monopoly in 1911, during a time when low prices offered for crude oil made it difficult […]

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In 1941, the Bell Aircraft Company constructed an aircraft manufacturing plant in Wheatfield, New York. Due to the numerous wars raging around the world at the time, the United States government provided the funding for this vital facility. Located at the corner of Niagara Falls Boulevard and Walmore Road, the plant consisted of fifty buildings […]

Bennett High School was established in 1925 as a public school in the Buffalo City School District. It was named for Lewis J. Bennett, who donated the land for the school. Located on Main Street in the University Heights neighborhood, Bennett High School is a four-story, 270,000 square foot building that enrolls around 1,100 students […]

In recent years, former employees of Bethlehem Steel have developed and died of mesothelioma, lung cancer and other asbestos-related diseases. Individuals who worked in the steel industry were at high risk for exposure to asbestos and coke oven emissions. Asbestos was utilized throughout the Bethlehem Steel Lackawanna Plant and could also be found in workers’ protective clothing. […]

Originally founded in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the Lackawanna Steel Company moved its operations to Lackawanna, New York (a small city just outside of Buffalo) in 1902. After its transition from Scranton, the Lackawanna Steel Company grew rapidly, thereby removing workers and machines from its Scranton operations. Lackawanna’s new steel plant quickly grew and prospered as the […]

In 1919, Allan Ramming established the Electro Refractories and Alloys Corporation in six buildings on Willett Road in Blasdell, New York. The company added an abrasives division in 1949 and changed its name to the Electro Refractories and Abrasives Corporation. It manufactured abrasives, refractories, grinding wheels and crucibles used in foundries. In 1968, Electro merged […]

The Albright-Knox Art Gallery first opened in 1905, through funds donated to the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy by John J. Albright. The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is the fourth-oldest art museum in the United States. Located on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo, New York, the Albright-Knox was known as the Albright Art Gallery until 1962, when Seymour […]

In recent years, workers involved in the operation and maintenance of Allied Chemical facilities, a.k.a AlliedSignal, now Honeywell International Inc., have developed and died of mesothelioma, lung cancer and other asbestos-related diseases. Allied Chemical maintained three production facilities in Western New York: Semet-Solvay (Tonawanda Coke), Buffalo Color and Solvay Process Company. Asbestos insulation lined steam and chemical […]

In December 1920, five chemical companies, including Barret Chemical Company, General Chemical Company, National Aniline and Chemical Company, Semet-Solvay Company, and Solvay Process Company merged to form the Allied Chemical & Dye Corporation. At the time, German chemical companies controlled the majority of the world’s chemical industry. Because of the economic devastation brought on by […]

Asbestos-containing materials covered a vast majority of the pipe lines and associated equipment throughout Allied Chemical’s plants and production facilities. Throughout its three Western New York plants, the coke ovens, chemical manufacturing facilities, dye plants, and boiler houses all contained asbestos refractory or insulation materials. A refractory material is a non-metallic material capable of resisting […]

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