Nuclear-plant and weapons-complex workers were exposed to asbestos the same way workers in fossil power plants were — through the thermal insulation, gaskets, and packing on high-temperature steam systems — but often in even greater volume, because reactor buildings were densely piped and heavily lagged. Reactor internals, turbines, feedwater systems, and miles of process piping were insulated, sealed, and packed with materials allegedly made with asbestos.

How Nuclear Workers Were Exposed

Inside a nuclear station, the steam side of the plant was conventional and enormous. Pipe and block insulation — Kaylo, 85% magnesia, Unibestos — lagged the feedwater, main-steam, and auxiliary lines; reactor shields and vessel-head flanges were wrapped in asbestos fabric; and the turbine was cased in block insulation. Flanges throughout were sealed with compressed asbestos sheet gaskets, and valve stems and pump shafts — including reactor coolant and recirculation pumps — were sealed with asbestos packing. Insulators, pipefitters, and maintenance mechanics cut, tore off, and reapplied these materials during construction, outages, and repairs, releasing fiber into the reactor and turbine buildings. Weapons-complex and gaseous-diffusion workers faced the same lagging and refractory on their process equipment.

The Asbestos Materials — and the Products They Came In

Exposure tracked to reactor and turbine insulation, pipe covering, gaskets, packing, and refractory. Each links to products documented in the AsbestosIndex as allegedly asbestos-containing:

Reactor, turbine & pipe insulation — cut and torn off during construction and outages:

Sheet gaskets — sealed flanges throughout the steam and process systems:

Valve & pump packing — repacked on reactor coolant, recirculation, and feedwater equipment:

Refractory & cable insulation — on furnaces and electrical runs in the weapons complex:

Browse the full Pipe Insulation and Gaskets & Packing categories for more.

Take-Home Risk to Families

Insulation and packing dust settled into nuclear workers’ clothing during outages and rode home at the end of the shift, exposing spouses and children who never entered the plant — often through the laundry. See take-home asbestos exposure.

If you worked in a nuclear power plant or weapons-complex facility and were exposed to asbestos insulation, gaskets, packing, or refractory on the job, and you were diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease after that exposure, you may have a legal claim.

Product references reflect allegations documented in publicly filed asbestos litigation. This information is published by an independent media organization — not a law firm — and is educational only. It does not constitute legal advice or provide legal services.