National Grinding Wheel Co., Inc., formerly located and headquartered in North Tonawanda, New York, manufactured industrial grinding wheels used in heavy industrial applications. The company was founded in Buffalo, New York, in 1904 and relocated to North Tonawanda in 1929, where the company constructed its original 25,000-square-foot manufacturing plant on approximately 5.5 acres along Erie Avenue. The facility was located just east of the Durez Plastics plant at the corner of Erie Avenue and Walck Road in North Tonawanda, New York.
From the 1930s through the late 1970s—before federal asbestos regulations were enacted—workers at the National Grinding Wheel plant were exposed to asbestos from multiple sources. One significant source of exposure stemmed from the plant’s close proximity to the neighboring Durez Plastics facility.
The Durez Plastics plant used thousands of tons of raw asbestos in the manufacture of plastic molding compounds until the end of 1978. Large quantities of asbestos fibers escaped from Durez’s mixing operations and contaminated the surrounding environment. This contamination extended beyond the Durez property and into the surrounding neighborhood, including the National Grinding Wheel facility and nearby residential areas.
As a result, National Grinding Wheel employees were exposed to asbestos fibers migrating from the adjacent Durez facility. Outside contractors—including carpenters, electricians, ironworkers, insulators, and pipefitters—were likewise exposed during maintenance, construction, and repair work at the site.
Asbestos contamination in the Erie Avenue and Walck Road area created a risk of neighborhood exposure. Workers frequently carried asbestos fibers home on their clothing, shoes, and equipment, exposing family members through secondary or “take-home” exposure. Residents living near the National Grinding Wheel and Durez Plastics facilities were also at risk due to airborne asbestos dust released into the surrounding community over decades.
These exposures significantly increased the risk of developing mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, and other asbestos-related diseases, which often do not appear until decades after exposure.
Over the decades, the National Grinding Wheel facility expanded considerably. By the 1950s, the plant encompassed approximately 170,000 square feet of production space and manufactured multiple types of industrial grinding wheels.
In 1967, National Grinding Wheel merged with and became a division of Federal-Mogul Corporation of Detroit. At that time, the North Tonawanda plant employed more than 400 workers, with an additional 40 employees at a smaller operation in LeRoy, New York. The company’s financial performance fluctuated with demand from industries such as steel manufacturing.
In 1985, the operation was acquired by Radiac Abrasives, a subsidiary of American Optical, which attempted to modernize plant operations. Those efforts were unsuccessful, and the facility ceased operations in 1988. Later that same year, an investment group purchased the property and reopened it as Buffalo Abrasives, Inc., which continues to operate today.
Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC represents former workers, retirees, summer workers, neighborhood residents, and family members of individuals who were exposed to asbestos at or near the National Grinding Wheel plant in North Tonawanda, New York. Our firm has extensive experience handling mesothelioma and asbestos exposure claims involving industrial worksites and contaminated neighborhoods.
If you or a loved one worked at National Grinding Wheel, lived near the facility, or were exposed through a family member and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease, we encourage you to contact us to discuss your legal rights.
We hope that you will never be diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, or suffer a catastrophic injury, but if you are, contact us at Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford so we can begin the fight.
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