Was The Doe Run Company — asbestos documented in litigation?

The Doe Run Company — is documented in public asbestos litigation records as a manufacturer whose products contained asbestos during the mid-twentieth century. Workers in industrial facilities, power plants, refineries, shipyards, and commercial construction who handled or worked near these products may have experienced occupational exposure.

Which trades had the most exposure?

Pipe coverers and insulators, pipefitters, boilermakers, millwrights, and maintenance workers are among the trades most frequently documented in asbestos exposure claims. Workers who cut, fitted, or removed asbestos-containing products — and those working in close proximity during that work — typically had the highest fiber concentrations.

How long do workers have to file an asbestos claim?

Statutes of limitations for asbestos personal injury claims vary by state, typically ranging from one to five years from the date of an asbestos-related diagnosis. The clock generally starts at diagnosis, not exposure — mesothelioma can have a latency period of 20 to 50 years. An asbestos attorney can identify the deadlines that apply to your specific situation.

Can workers file claims related to The Doe Run Company — asbestos exposure?

Yes. Workers diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, or asbestosis after exposure to The Doe Run Company — products may pursue claims through civil litigation. An experienced asbestos attorney can assess available defendants, applicable trust funds from co-defendants, and the states where claims can be filed most effectively.

Can family members file secondary exposure claims?

Spouses, children, and household members who developed asbestos-related disease through contact with contaminated work clothing brought home by an exposed worker may be eligible for secondary (household) exposure claims. Wrongful-death claims can also be filed by surviving family members of workers who died from asbestos-related disease.

Industrial-Furnaces

Doe Run Lead Smelter and Missouri Lead Belt Mining and Milling Operations

⚖ Litigation RecordAsbestos era through 1980s (predecessor St. Joe Lead Co. operations from 1864)Asbestos refractory and block insulation, asbestos pipe covering, asbestos electrical insulation

Overview Product Facts Trades

Litigation Record: Information below reflects allegations in publicly filed asbestos litigation — plaintiff allegations, not findings of fact.

Premises Description

The Doe Run Company (today headquartered St. Louis MO; successor to St. Joseph Lead Company / St. Joe Minerals Corporation, founded 1864) operated through most of the 20th century the historic Herculaneum MO lead smelter (closed 2013) and a complex of underground lead mines, ore mills, and processing facilities across the Missouri Lead Belt in southeast Missouri — historically the principal U.S. lead mining and smelting district. Major Doe Run / St. Joe asbestos-era operations included:

Herculaneum Smelter (Herculaneum MO, Jefferson County — about 30 miles south of St. Louis) — primary lead smelter
Buick Mine and Mill, Reynolds County MO — underground lead mining
Fletcher Mine, Reynolds County MO — underground lead mining
Sweetwater Mine and Mill, Reynolds County MO — underground lead mining
West Fork Mine, Iron County MO — underground lead mining
Boss Mine, Iron County MO — underground lead mining
Brushy Creek Mine, Reynolds County MO — underground lead mining
Glover Smelter (Iron County MO — Doe Run-affiliated, closed 2003)

Lead smelting operates reverberatory furnaces, blast furnaces, and sintering plants continuously at high temperatures and was specified through the asbestos era with extensive asbestos refractory, asbestos pipe covering, asbestos electrical insulation, and asbestos plant fireproofing. The Herculaneum Smelter was a continuously-operating major Mid-Missouri industrial facility throughout the asbestos era and is a significant premises-liability site for St. Louis-area FELA-equivalent and state-court asbestos litigation.

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that Doe Run / St. Joe Lead — as premises owner — exposed smelter and mine workforce and contractor pipefitters, insulators, boilermakers, and trade workers to extensive asbestos.

The Doe Run Company / St. Joseph Lead has been named as a Premises Defendant in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation.

Workers Exposed

United Steelworkers / United Mine Workers Local members at Herculaneum and Missouri Lead Belt mines
Underground miners at Buick, Fletcher, Sweetwater, West Fork, Boss, and Brushy Creek
Insulators (HFIAW Local 1 St. Louis members) dispatched to Herculaneum and Lead Belt projects
Boilermakers and refinery pipefitters at Doe Run smelter and mill operations
Construction-trade workforces on Doe Run capital projects

If You Worked at a Doe Run / St. Joe Lead Operation

If you worked at the Doe Run / St. Joseph Lead Herculaneum Smelter, a Missouri Lead Belt mine or mill, or any other Doe Run operation during the asbestos era — as an employee or as a dispatched contractor trade worker — and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or another asbestos-related illness, you may have legal rights.

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

Product Facts

Trade NameDoe Run Lead Smelter and Missouri Lead Belt Mining and Milling Operations

Years ProducedAsbestos era through 1980s (predecessor St. Joe Lead Co. operations from 1864)

Asbestos ContentAsbestos refractory and block insulation, asbestos pipe covering, asbestos electrical insulation

CategoryIndustrial-Furnaces Mining-Equipment Gaskets

Trust FundNo active trust

Exposed Trades & Occupations

Smelter workersInsulatorsMinersRefinery pipefitters

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Were You Exposed to an Asbestos-Containing Product?

If you have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease and were exposed to asbestos-containing products, you and your family may be entitled to significant compensation through asbestos trust funds and civil litigation. An attorney experienced in product liability and asbestos claims can evaluate your case — at no cost to you.

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Asbestos Product Liability & Mesothelioma Claims

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