In this video, attorney Joseph T. Kremer details the widespread asbestos exposure at Kodak Park in Rochester, New York. He explains how insulation, piping, and plastic molding processes throughout the 1,200-acre facility exposed workers—and their families—to dangerous levels of asbestos dust. You’ll learn how Kodak’s operations prior to modern safety regulations contributed to long-term health risks, including mesothelioma and lung cancer.

Hello, my name is Joe Kremer. I’m an attorney and partner at Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford. Today, I want to talk to you about Kodak—specifically, Kodak Park in Rochester, New York.

Kodak Park was massive, covering over 1,200 acres in downtown Rochester. For context, that’s about one-third larger than Central Park in New York City. But that’s where the similarities to a park end. While many may picture Kodak as a clean, high-tech environment with workers in bright, dust-free rooms, the reality is quite different. Kodak was, at its core, a chemical manufacturing facility—similar in many ways to Hooker Chemical in Niagara Falls.

Kodak produced film using a wide range of chemicals and developed photographic processing fluids for labs across the country. To do this, they relied on an extensive network of infrastructure—hundreds of miles of piping, along with boilers, tanks, kettles, steam traps, pumps, and valves. These components often operated at high temperatures, and nearly every heated surface in the facility was coated in thermal asbestos insulation.

Until 1973, when OSHA regulations were introduced under the Nixon administration, there were no meaningful protections in place to control asbestos exposure. The way asbestos was installed and removed at Kodak prior to that time was extremely hazardous. Much of the insulation was located near the ceilings, 20 to 30 feet in the air. Insulators would climb scaffolds or ladders, cut the wire or metal band securing the asbestos, and allow the material to fall to the ground. As it hit the floor, the asbestos shattered—much like a light bulb—into a dusty cloud that filled the air.

Today, asbestos abatement is handled under strict containment procedures, including plastic sheeting and air monitoring. But back then, insulation work was done in the same rooms where other employees continued working. Asbestos dust contaminated the air and remained in the breathing zones of insulators, pipefitters, steamfitters, and even factory workers with no direct connection to the insulation. The fibers didn’t just linger for hours—they remained in the air and settled into the environment for years. Workers continued to inhale them and often brought them home on their clothing, unknowingly exposing their families.

In some cases, the pipes themselves were made of asbestos-containing materials. One common product used was called transite pipe—an asbestos-cement pipe employed for transporting water, sewage, and even housing electrical wiring. Another type of asbestos pipe was used to carry acids and other caustic materials, since metal pipes would corrode. Up until the late 1970s, Kodak workers regularly installed, cut, and removed these pipes using power tools like circular saws, which produced large amounts of airborne asbestos dust.

Kodak also had operations involving specialized plastic components. In one building, workers molded parts for cameras using a substance called thermoset plastic. Unlike common recyclable plastics, thermoset plastic hardens permanently after being heated and molded—it cannot be melted down again. This material arrived at Kodak in powder or granular form, often resembling dark-colored dust or kitty litter. It was packaged in paper bags or fiber barrels and, when poured or handled, released asbestos fibers into the air.

Once molded, these plastic parts required finishing. Workers would sand or grind off excess material—known as “flash”—similar to trimming off excess from a model airplane or car. These finishing processes also generated significant dust containing asbestos.

We hope you are watching this for informational purposes only, and that neither you nor your family has been affected. Unfortunately, many workers and their loved ones have developed serious illnesses such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma from exposures like these.

If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease and worked at Kodak or lived with someone who did, please contact us. We would be honored to come to your home, provide a free consultation, and discuss your legal rights.

Thank you.

Free Consultation

Since 1995, the attorneys at Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC have been helping clients in Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, NY, who have been injured due to asbestos exposure. Through our tireless efforts, we have helped to shape and reform asbestos laws throughout the state of New York. We have a full team of lawyers devoted to representing people exposed to asbestos.

If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or lung cancer, please contact us today and we will schedule an appointment to come to your home and meet with you and your family to explain your legal rights.