Premises Description

Cargill Inc. has been named as a premises defendant in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation for alleged asbestos exposure at its Minnetonka, Minnesota-headquartered national network of grain elevators, oilseed-crushing and solvent-extraction plants, feed mills, wet-corn mills, corn syrup plants, salt plants, and beef- and food-processing facilities.

Cargill sites include export grain elevators along the Mississippi, Illinois, and Ohio rivers and Gulf and Great Lakes ports; soybean and oilseed crushing plants across the Corn Belt; wet-corn mills producing corn syrup, ethanol, and starch; feed mills across the country; and a large beef- and food-processing footprint. Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that pre-1980 Cargill premises involved asbestos through:

  • Asbestos pipe covering on grain-elevator and oilseed-plant steam and process piping
  • Asbestos block insulation on solvent-extraction hexane strippers, distillation columns, and desolventizer-toaster (DT) units at oilseed plants
  • Asbestos sheet gaskets at process flanges, steam headers, and manways
  • Asbestos rope packing on elevator pumps, valves, augers, and conveyors
  • Asbestos-lined grain and meal dryers and toasters
  • Asbestos block and cork insulation on ammonia refrigeration compressors and cold rooms at beef- and food-plant facilities
  • Asbestos refractory, boiler insulation, and gaskets at Cargill powerhouse steam generators
  • Asbestos sprayed fireproofing on structural steel in headhouses, silos, oilseed plants, wet-corn mills, and beef plants

Grain-elevator explosions and fires at asbestos-era Cargill sites also produced major repair and reconstruction campaigns during which asbestos-containing insulation and refractory materials were disturbed by cleanup, demolition, and rebuild crews.

Workers Exposed

Plaintiffs allegedly worked at Cargill grain elevators, oilseed and solvent-extraction plants, feed mills, wet-corn mills, salt plants, and beef- and food-processing plants across the Corn Belt, Great Plains, Mississippi and Ohio river corridors, Gulf and Great Lakes ports, and elsewhere, in trades including:

  • Insulators (HFIAW) applying and removing asbestos pipe covering and block on grain-elevator, oilseed, and wet-corn mill piping
  • Pipefitters (UA) breaking asbestos-gasketed flanges on steam headers, extractors, and DT units
  • Boilermakers servicing asbestos-refractory-lined powerhouse boilers
  • Millwrights rebuilding roll stands, augers, extractors, and mill drives with asbestos packing
  • Grain elevator workers around fireproofed headhouses, silos, and dryers
  • Oilseed plant operators around asbestos-insulated hexane strippers and DT units
  • Refrigeration mechanics working on ammonia compressors and cork-insulated beef- and food-plant cold rooms
  • Electricians and IBEW workers on plant switchgear and motor-control centers

If You Worked at Cargill

If you or a family member worked at a Cargill Inc. grain elevator, oilseed plant, feed mill, wet-corn mill, salt plant, or beef- or food-processing plant before 1980 and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease, you may have a legal claim.

Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 936-2956