Leslie Super G Series Regulator
Product Description
The Leslie Super G Series Regulator was a pressure-regulating valve manufactured by Keene Corporation. These regulators were designed for industrial steam and fluid control applications, functioning as self-contained pressure-reducing devices used to maintain consistent downstream pressure in high-demand industrial systems. The Super G Series was built for heavy-duty service environments, including power generation facilities, chemical processing plants, refineries, and large-scale manufacturing operations where precise pressure control was essential to safe and efficient operation.
Keene Corporation, over the course of its industrial history, was involved in the manufacture and distribution of a broad range of industrial products, including valves, steam traps, and related mechanical components. The Leslie Controls brand, associated with Keene, was a recognized name in the industrial valve and regulator market, supplying equipment to a wide variety of commercial and industrial end users throughout much of the twentieth century.
The Super G Series Regulators were installed across numerous industries and infrastructure systems, including shipyards, paper mills, textile plants, hospitals, and municipal utilities. Their widespread distribution placed them in direct contact with the industrial workforce across multiple trades and job classifications for decades.
Asbestos Content
Litigation records document that the Leslie Super G Series Regulator, as associated with Keene Corporation’s product lines, is alleged to have incorporated asbestos-containing components in its construction and assembly. Plaintiffs alleged that asbestos materials were present in internal packing materials, gaskets, and insulating components used in conjunction with these regulators during their operational service life.
Steam and pressure-regulating valves of this class and era routinely incorporated asbestos-based sealing and insulating materials. Industry practice during the primary production and installation period for these regulators relied heavily on asbestos packing to withstand the thermal and mechanical demands of high-pressure steam service. Asbestos rope packing, sheet gaskets, and valve stem packing composed in whole or in part of chrysotile or other asbestos fiber types were standard components in products of this category during the mid-to-late twentieth century.
Plaintiffs in litigation further alleged that Keene Corporation was aware, or should have been aware, of the hazards posed by asbestos-containing components in its products, and that adequate warnings were not provided to workers who installed, operated, or maintained these regulators in industrial settings.
Because the Leslie Super G Series Regulator falls under Tier 2 — Litigated status, no asbestos trust fund has been established specifically to receive claims related to this product. Liability assertions have been pursued through civil litigation rather than through a structured bankruptcy trust process.
How Workers Were Exposed
Workers who installed, maintained, repaired, or operated equipment in proximity to the Leslie Super G Series Regulator may have experienced occupational asbestos exposure through several documented pathways.
Installation and Initial Commissioning: Pipefitters, steamfitters, and industrial mechanics who installed these regulators into steam distribution and process piping systems were required to handle associated gaskets and packing materials. Cutting, trimming, and fitting asbestos-containing packing and gasket stock to valve components generated respirable asbestos dust. Plaintiffs alleged that this installation work was a primary source of fiber release.
Routine Maintenance and Repacking: Pressure regulators in continuous industrial service require periodic maintenance, including repacking of valve stems and replacement of internal seating components. Workers performing repacking operations — removing old, degraded asbestos packing and installing new packing material — were potentially exposed to asbestos fibers released from both the deteriorated existing packing and the new packing material being applied.
Thermal Insulation of Adjacent Piping: Because regulators like the Super G Series were installed within steam piping networks, they were frequently surrounded by pipe insulation systems that themselves may have contained asbestos. Insulators, pipefitters, and maintenance workers operating in confined mechanical spaces around these valves were subject to what is commonly referred to as bystander or para-occupational exposure, inhaling fibers released by disturbed adjacent insulation systems.
Industrial Trades Exposed: Litigation records document that the following worker categories have been identified as potentially exposed in connection with Leslie Super G Series Regulators and similar valve products:
- Industrial workers generally, including those employed in power plants, chemical facilities, refineries, shipyards, and manufacturing plants where steam distribution systems incorporating these regulators were in service
- Pipefitters and steamfitters performing installation and maintenance
- Boilermakers working in proximity to steam distribution infrastructure
- Plant maintenance mechanics responsible for valve servicing
- Insulators working on associated piping systems
Asbestos-related diseases that have been alleged in connection with occupational exposure in these trades include mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, and pleural disease. These diseases carry long latency periods — typically ranging from ten to fifty years between initial exposure and clinical diagnosis — meaning that workers exposed to asbestos-containing valve components during the mid-twentieth century may only now be receiving diagnoses.