WV Steel Plant Asbestos  – Workers Still at Risk


WV Steel Plant Asbestos exposure has affected generations of workers across the Mountain State. From Weirton to Wheeling, steelworkers labored in mills filled with asbestos insulation, pipe covering, and furnace materials that released deadly dust into the air. Today, many of those same men and women face mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses because of unsafe conditions inside West Virginia’s steel plants.

From the coke ovens of Weirton to the rolling lines of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel, West Virginia’s mills once roared with the sound of progress—and filled the air with deadly asbestos dust. For decades, workers who built America’s infrastructure carried home microscopic fibers that still cause mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis today.



🏭 How Asbestos Was Used in West Virginia Steel Plants

Steelmaking demanded extreme heat, and asbestos was the go-to insulator. Common exposure points included:

  • Furnaces and ovens: lined with asbestos brick and refractory cement.
  • Steam lines and boilers: wrapped in asbestos pipe covering and lagging.
  • Machinery and valves: sealed with asbestos gaskets and packing.
  • Maintenance work: millwrights and pipefitters cut and removed old asbestos insulation by hand without ventilation.

Even supervisors, clerical staff, and family members experienced secondary exposure from contaminated clothing.


🩺 The Health Toll of WV Steel Plant Asbestos

Asbestos exposure has a latency period of 20–50 years, meaning today’s retirees and widows are just now learning the truth about past workplace hazards.

Diseases include:

  • Mesothelioma: a rare cancer of the lining of the lungs or abdomen.
  • Asbestosis: permanent scarring of the lungs.
  • Lung cancer: caused by fiber inhalation and compounded by smoking.

Each diagnosis is a reminder of what companies knew but failed to disclose.


🧰 Major Facilities Linked to WV Steel Plant Asbestos

  • Weirton Steel (now ArcelorMittal Weirton) – insulating refractory workers and boilermakers handled asbestos daily.
  • Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel – Aliquippa and Steubenville divisions used pipe lagging and boiler insulation through the 1980s.
  • National Steel in Weirton and Mingo Junction – electrical and maintenance crews disturbed asbestos dust during shutdowns.
  • Union Carbide and Olin Chemical Plants – many steelworkers performed contract repairs there and suffered the same exposure.

👉 Search Asbestos Job Sites in West Virginia


⚖️ Legal Options for WV Steel Workers and Families

If you worked in a steel plant and developed mesothelioma or lung cancer, you may qualify for:

  1. Asbestos Trust Claims – Funds set aside by bankrupt manufacturers to compensate victims.
  2. Personal-Injury Lawsuits – against non-bankrupt defendants who supplied or installed asbestos materials.
  3. Wrongful-Death Claims – for spouses and children of workers who died from asbestos-related disease.

You owe no fee unless you win — and your case may be handled locally in West Virginia courts.


🕰️ West Virginia’s Time Limits

Under WV law, most claims must be filed within two years of diagnosis or death.

Do not wait—your claim’s value can drop if companies close or records disappear.

Attorney Lee W. Davis has handled asbestos cases since 1988 and understands the local industrial history behind these claims.


💼 Why Lee W. Davis Law Makes the Difference

  • Decades of asbestos litigation experience in WV, PA, and MI.
  • First-hand knowledge of Weirton, Wheeling, and Parkersburg sites.
  • Direct client contact—you speak to an attorney, not a call center.
  • Local office: 5239 Butler St., Suite 201, Pittsburgh, PA 15201.

The firm fights for families who built America’s steel legacy.


📞 Call for a Free Consultation

(412) 781-0525 or visit leewdavis.com

Justice isn’t automatic — it’s earned through action.

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