Product Description
Denver Equipment Company sub-A flotation cells were the workhorse of North American hard-rock mineral concentrators from the 1930s through the 1980s. According to publicly filed asbestos litigation records, the impeller drive assemblies on many Denver flotation banks allegedly transmitted power through woven asbestos-fabric friction belts. Mill workers who changed, tensioned, or dressed these allegedly asbestos-containing belts inside enclosed concentrator buildings are reported to have been exposed to airborne fibers from belt wear and cutting.
Workers Exposed
Copper, lead-zinc, and taconite concentrator workers allegedly encountered Denver flotation-cell belts during routine maintenance. Mill operators tending flotation banks, mineral concentrator operators, mill electricians rewiring drive motors, and hard-rock millwrights replacing drive components are reported in publicly filed litigation records to have been exposed to alleged asbestos fiber release from belt dressing, cutting, and disposal.