Crane Co. Pumps with Asbestos Stuffing Box Packing

Product Description

Crane Co. is an American industrial manufacturer with origins dating to 1855, producing a broad range of fluid-handling equipment including valves, pumps, fittings, and related piping components. Among its product lines, Crane Co. manufactured and distributed pumps equipped with stuffing box assemblies — mechanical sealing systems designed to prevent fluid leakage along the rotating shaft of a pump. These stuffing boxes were packed with compressed sealing material to create a tight barrier between the pump housing and its rotating shaft.

For much of the twentieth century, asbestos-containing packing was the industry standard material used in stuffing box assemblies. Asbestos offered properties that made it highly attractive for this application: it was heat-resistant, chemically stable across a wide range of industrial fluids, compressible under mechanical force, and capable of withstanding the friction generated by a continuously rotating shaft. Crane Co. pumps incorporating asbestos stuffing box packing were deployed across an extensive range of industries, including petrochemical refining, power generation, marine applications, paper and pulp mills, chemical processing plants, and heavy manufacturing facilities.

The use of asbestos packing in pump stuffing boxes was not incidental — it was a deliberate engineering choice suited to the demanding thermal and mechanical conditions present in industrial pump installations. These products remained in service at facilities throughout the United States for decades, with some installations persisting well into the 1980s and beyond.

Asbestos Content

Stuffing box packing used in Crane Co. pumps during the mid-to-late twentieth century was manufactured using asbestos fiber — typically chrysotile (white asbestos), and in some formulations, amphibole varieties such as amosite. The packing material was generally produced in braided, woven, or compressed rope form, with asbestos fibers bonded with lubricants, graphite, or other reinforcing materials to improve sealing performance and reduce shaft wear.

Litigation records document that Crane Co. pumps were supplied with asbestos-containing packing either as original equipment or as specified replacement components. Internal and third-party packing products compatible with Crane Co. pump designs were widely available and routinely used during pump maintenance and repair operations throughout the industrial sector.

The compressed and braided nature of asbestos packing meant that the fibers were mechanically embedded within the material under normal operating conditions. However, cutting, trimming, removing, and replacing this packing — activities inherent to routine pump maintenance — released asbestos fibers into the surrounding work environment.

How Workers Were Exposed

Industrial workers across a wide variety of trades and facilities encountered asbestos stuffing box packing during the installation, operation, maintenance, and repair of Crane Co. pumps. Litigation records document that exposure occurred most intensively during routine maintenance tasks, where workers were required to extract worn packing from the stuffing box and install new material.

The removal of spent asbestos packing involved scraping, picking, and pulling compressed asbestos rope from the stuffing box gland — a process that physically disrupted the asbestos matrix and released fibers into the breathing zone of the worker performing the task, as well as nearby personnel. Cutting new packing material to the appropriate length and fitting it into the stuffing box created additional fiber release. These tasks were performed repeatedly over the course of a maintenance worker’s career, often in enclosed mechanical rooms, bilges, or poorly ventilated equipment spaces where fiber concentrations could accumulate.

Plaintiffs alleged that workers were not adequately warned about the hazards associated with asbestos packing despite the manufacturer’s ability to foresee these exposures. Pump operators, millwrights, pipefitters, machinists, maintenance mechanics, and general industrial laborers all potentially encountered these materials during the normal scope of their duties. Workers in power plants, oil refineries, chemical facilities, and shipyards have been prominently represented in litigation arising from asbestos packing exposure.

Beyond the individual performing maintenance, bystander exposure was also documented. Workers in adjacent areas — performing unrelated tasks within the same facility space — could inhale asbestos fibers released during packing removal and installation activities performed by others. In industrial settings where multiple pumps required periodic repacking on a rotating maintenance schedule, background asbestos fiber levels in the environment could remain persistently elevated.

OSHA established permissible exposure limits for asbestos beginning in 1972, with subsequent reductions reflecting growing evidence of harm from lower levels of exposure. However, many industrial workers using asbestos packing materials had accumulated significant exposure histories long before regulatory protections were in place.

Diseases associated with occupational asbestos exposure include mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, and other asbestos-related conditions. Mesothelioma — a malignancy of the pleural and peritoneal linings — is considered a signature disease of asbestos exposure and has been a central diagnosis in litigation involving Crane Co. pump packing.

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.