Carborundum Company, based in Niagara County, New York, was located in both the city of Niagara Falls and in Wheatfield. Carborundum manufactured general purpose grinding wheels that were used to grind steel, metal alloys and other materials. These diamond wheels were used in Carborundum’s Super Abrasive Division, and used to grind materials harder than steel.
Laborers employed at both the Buffalo Avenue and Walmore Road plants were at high risk for exposure to asbestos-containing materials. Carborundum diamond grinding wheels contained asbestos, which was used in the core of the grinding wheel that was made from Bakelite, a material known to contain asbestos fibers. When drill press operators at Carborundum drilled holes in the asbestos-laden Bakelite core, raw asbestos fibers were released into the air and breathed in by the drill press operators. Cleaning and sweeping dust around the drill presses caused the hazardous asbestos fibers to be airborne.
From 1900 to the late 1970s asbestos-containing materials were utilized in the machinery and equipment. Millwrights and individuals who worked on or in the vicinity where machinery was being repaired or maintained are also at risk for developing asbestos-related diseases, such as mesothelioma. Workers who maintained and repaired boilers, pumps, valves, condensers, presses, and other types of machinery were exposed to asbestos from molding compounds, gaskets, packing material, insulation, pipe coverings, and brakes at both Carborundum plants.
Carborundum had over 60,000 different product lines, including 45 grinding wheel products with many different variations. Some of Carborundum’s products include:
- Grinding wheels (Black Diamond Wheel)
- Coated abrasive belts, discs, strips, rolls, sheets, and wheels
- Fibratex hand pads, discs, depressed center wheels, rolls, belts, and flap wheels
- Bonded grinding wheels
- Wire brushes
Our office has represented countless workers with mesothelioma and lung cancer that worked at the Carborundum jobsites in Niagara Falls. The evidence we gathered in those cases can help you. If you worked at Carborundum and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or other asbestos-related disease, please contact Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford for a free consultation. You may be entitled to receive compensation.