Cranite asbestos-sheet gasketing — Crane Co.

Product Description

Cranite asbestos-sheet gasketing were manufactured under the Crane Co. name and supplied throughout the period when asbestos was the routine sealing and insulating material in gasket and packing service. The Crane Co. catalog reached American industrial worksites, including power generation facilities, refineries, paper mills, shipyards, and major institutional construction projects.

According to asbestos litigation records, Cranite asbestos-sheet gasketing were supplied to American industry through the period when asbestos was treated as the routine sealing and insulating material for high-temperature service. Crane Co. built its market position around durability and reliability under demanding conditions — the same operating envelope that drove asbestos use across the gasket and packing category well into the late 1970s.

Asbestos Content

Court filings document allegations that Cranite asbestos-sheet gasketing incorporated asbestos in one or more of the structural roles common to gasket and packing of the era:

Compressed asbestos sheet — Gasket material was manufactured from compressed chrysotile and binders. Cutting, scraping, or grinding the material liberated respirable fiber.

Braided rope packing — Asbestos rope packing was supplied for stuffing boxes on pumps and valves. Cutting packing to length, installing it into stuffing boxes, and removing degraded packing during repacking operations all generated airborne fiber.

Spiral-wound gasketing — Spiral-wound gaskets used asbestos-filler windings sealed between metallic ribbon plies. Plaintiffs alleged these were used at high-pressure flange connections through the 1970s.

Disturbance during maintenance — The dominant exposure pathway was scraping residual gasket material from mating surfaces during overhaul of pumps, valves, and process equipment.

The asbestos in these components was not unique to Crane Co.; the materials in question were industry-standard well into the 1970s. The relevance to litigation lies in the volume of Cranite asbestos-sheet gasketing installed across American worksites and the frequency with which those components were disturbed during ordinary maintenance.

How Workers Were Exposed

Workers most likely to have encountered asbestos through Cranite asbestos-sheet gasketing include those whose trades brought them into routine contact with the equipment:

  • Pipefitters and steamfitters — cutting, installing, and removing gaskets and packing across industrial systems
  • Machinists and millwrights — overhauling pumps, valves, and process equipment
  • Refinery and chemical-plant turnaround crews — servicing high-pressure flanged equipment
  • Power-plant maintenance crews — working on feedwater, condensate, and main-steam piping
  • Shipyard workers — overhauling shipboard piping systems

Court filings document that bystander and take-home pathways were also common. Workers who did not directly handle Cranite asbestos-sheet gasketing but who shared confined work areas with those who did were alleged to have inhaled the same airborne fibers. Family members were exposed through fibers carried home on contaminated work clothing — a pathway recognized in occupational medicine and asbestos litigation as take-home or secondary exposure.

The latency period for asbestos-related diseases — mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, and pleural disease — ranges from roughly ten to fifty years between initial exposure and diagnosis. Workers exposed through Cranite asbestos-sheet gasketing during the 1940s through the early 1980s may only now be receiving diagnoses tied to that occupational history.

The current trust-fund and litigation status for products in the Crane Co. catalog is summarized on the manufacturer reference page linked at the top of this article. Where a Section 524(g) trust exists, claims may be filed in parallel with civil litigation against other defendants whose products contributed to the same exposure history. Where no trust exists, claims are pursued through the civil court system. Statute-of-limitations rules vary by state and disease type; the limitations clock generally begins at the time of diagnosis rather than the time of exposure.

Individuals who worked with or around Cranite asbestos-sheet gasketing and have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease should preserve documentation of employment history, jobsites, and product identification, and consult an attorney experienced in asbestos claims promptly after diagnosis.

Documented Product Identification

The following details are drawn from public asbestos litigation records, manufacturer catalog pages, technical manuals, and corporate history materials. Each item reflects the product as documented in those sources.

Documented asbestos-use period: 1920-1985

Corporate context: Crane Co. was established in 1855 and became the world’s largest manufacturer of valves and fittings. The company acquired Jenkins (1864-1965) and Pacific as subsidiaries, and also acquired certain industrial pump companies around 1961. Crane ceased HVAC manufacturing in 1968, selling that division to Amana Corporation.

Brand identification: CRANE imprinted directly on valves; Jenkins valves featured diamond-shaped logo with brand name Jenkins inside the diamond; Cranite label stamped directly on packing and gasket products

Documented asbestos components: packing, gaskets, discs, insulation.

Documented asbestos-component suppliers: the public records lists the following external suppliers of asbestos-bearing packing, gaskets, and seals used in conjunction with this manufacturer’s equipment — Goodyear, Johns-Manville.

Industries served: Heavy Industrial, Naval, Maritime, Chemical, Corrosive applications, Power plants, Oil refineries, Process piping.

Naval / marine service: This manufacturer’s equipment is documented in connection with U.S. Navy and commercial-marine service.

Documented product lines:

  • Industrial Valves (1858-mid-1980s). Crane Co’s principal business line of industrial valves used in heavy industrial and naval applications. — asbestos components: packing, gaskets, discs.
  • Jenkins Valves (1864-1965). Valves manufactured by Jenkins, a subsidiary of Crane Co., featuring a diamond-shaped logo with Jenkins inside. — asbestos components: packing, gaskets, discs.
  • Pacific Valves. Valves manufactured by Pacific, a subsidiary of Crane Co. — asbestos components: packing, gaskets, discs.
  • Cranite Packing Sheets (1920-1972). Asbestos-containing packing sheets containing 75-85% chrysotile asbestos, sold in sheet and pre-cut gasket form. — asbestos components: packing, gaskets.
  • Industrial Pumps (1961-). Industrial pumps acquired around 1961 that incorporated asbestos gaskets and packing purchased from other companies. — asbestos components: packing, gaskets.
  • Pacific Steel Boiler Corporation. Boiler division of Crane Co.
  • HVAC Equipment (-1968). HVAC manufacturing ceased in 1968 and sold to Amana Corporation.

Crane Co. supplied valves extensively to the U.S. Navy, providing 1,500 to 15,000 valves per ship during WWII. Cranite substitute gasket material was installed on numerous Allen M. Sumner and Gearing-class destroyers built at multiple shipyards. A 1981 internal memo acknowledged Crane was forced to continue specifying asbestos materials in products until acceptable alternatives were found.