Product Description
Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that Hooker Chemical Corporation and its successor Occidental Chemical Corporation (OxyChem) operated chlor-alkali plants that produced chlorine and caustic soda using asbestos-diaphragm cells and mercury cells fitted with asbestos-containing internals. According to those publicly filed asbestos litigation records, the diaphragm-cell process allegedly used a vacuum-deposited chrysotile-asbestos diaphragm on a foraminous steel cathode to separate anolyte from catholyte, and mercury-cell installations allegedly used asbestos-fabric cell covers and asbestos-packed cell-head flange gaskets on the graphite anode assemblies.
Plaintiffs alleged that Hooker / OxyChem diaphragm cells required periodic diaphragm renewal on a rolling schedule and that spent asbestos diaphragms were allegedly torn out, dried, and re-deposited, releasing airborne fiber inside the cell rooms.
Workers Exposed
Plaintiffs allegedly exposed to Hooker Chemical / OxyChem chlor-alkali cell asbestos diaphragms and related asbestos-containing cell components include:
- Chlor-alkali plant operators and cell-room operators walking the diaphragm-cell aisles
- Diaphragm-cell renewers and cell-service crews vacuum-depositing and tearing out asbestos diaphragms
- Chemical plant pipefitters cutting into cell-head brine and catholyte piping
- Chemical plant boilermakers rebuilding cell tops, anode assemblies, and cell frames
- Chemical plant turnaround crews on scheduled cell-room shutdowns
- Chemical plant electricians on rectifier and cell bus-bar work
- Chemical plant maintenance mechanics on cell-head gaskets and packing