De Laval Steam Turbine

The first American De Laval Steam Turbine plant was opened in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1901. In December 1900, the company placed an ad in the paper for experienced mechanics for a plant opening in May. Soon after its opening, the plant was fully functional and producing turbines, pumps, gears, compressors and other high-speed equipment.

De Laval蒸汽涡轮机被认为是这些材料的顶级制造商之一，并在第二次世界大战期间看到了相当大的增长。该公司是70多家发电设备的主要供应商之一海军船只。While De Laval had to downsize following the war and through the Great Depression, the company saw a similar boost during World War II and once again expanded its operations.

Unfortunately, throughout this time of growth, the company was incorporating石棉纤维进入他们的泵和其他船舶设备。从20世纪30年代到20世纪70年代，美国石棉在美国使用指数增长，特别是在需要维持高热，火和化学反应的产品和商品的行业中。所有产品De Laval生产面向高温环境，公司依靠石棉依靠石棉，使其商品可靠和耐用。

Until the 1960s, product catalogs show that De Laval Steam Turbine continued touse asbestos in their production。The company hit hard financial times around this period, as demand for shipbuilding decreased significantly, and they looked for a partner to buy a 70% share. In 1964, Transamerica Corporation, an insurance company that was branching into other industries, acquired De Laval.

The company emerged from its financial difficulties, seeing a period of growth from the 1970s to the 1980s. In 1986, the company rebranded as Imo Industries and once again became an independent company. By 1992, however, Imo Industries was cited by the Environmental Protection Agency for hazardous waste at their old plants, especially in华盛顿。该公司还开始面对前雇员面临的患有石棉疾病的法律索赔。

De Laval Steam Turbine continues to face石棉索赔today from the widespread impact of their past use of the toxin.

02. Asbestos Products

De Laval Steam Turbine Asbestos Products

De Laval是由于石棉使用臭名昭着的行业的一部分。汽轮机产生高温，因此在部件上使用石棉绝缘是一种控制温度并防止火灾的方法。

Shipyards和造船也大量使用bestos because of products from an array of manufacturers, including De Laval Steam Turbine. Reports estimate that some shipyards used upwards of 500,000 pounds of asbestos every month.

De Laval Steam Turbine products that may have contained asbestos or asbestos-containing parts include, but are not limited to:

• De Laval主饲料增压泵
• Centrifugal pump packaging

03. Occupational Exposure

De Laval Steam Turbine and Occupational Exposure

De Laval employed more than 2,000 people in their various plants during their periods of growth. Workers from other companies also risked exposure when working with De Laval parts on ships and in shipyards. Because the company’s turbines were so popular for Naval vessels, particularly驱逐舰andcarrier ships，数千名海军退伍军人也在服务时暴露在石棉。

04. Asbestos Litigation

反对拉瓦尔汽轮机的石棉诉讼

By 1992, De Laval Steam Turbine was named as a defendant in 7,000 pending石棉相关诉讼and had already settled a number of claims in the years prior. Because of the asbestos litigation filtering in against them, the company could not overcome their financial difficulties and was acquired by II Acquisition Corporation in 1997.

Since its acquisition, De Laval is still frequently named in万博专业版and asbestos lawsuits. The company purchased insurance worth $1.85 billion to cover its litigation expenses and defense costs for asbestos claims. In an insurance lawsuit brought forward by Imo Industries seeking better coverage, court documents showed that their insurance company, TIG Insurance Company, spent over $72 million on asbestos litigation between 1986 and 2014.

Prior to 1986, the document revealed Imo had spent around $33 million on such costs. The company relied on a number of insurance policies to help cover these costs. In 2003, insurance company Aetna noted paying over $15 million for these expenses and told Imo that the policy coverage was exhausted.

本公司今天继续面对石棉诉讼，面临数百万美元的成本，以弥补他们的防御和由此产生的支付给石棉受害者。