Was Kunkle Valve Company — Safety and Pressure-Relief Valves asbestos documented in litigation?

Kunkle Valve Company — Safety and Pressure-Relief Valves 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 Kunkle Valve Company — Safety and Pressure-Relief Valves asbestos exposure?

Yes. Workers diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, or asbestosis after exposure to Kunkle Valve Company — Safety and Pressure-Relief Valves 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.

Gaskets-Packing

Kunkle safety valves and pressure-relief valves for steam, air, and liquid service

⚖ Litigation Record1940s-1980sAlleged asbestos pathway - compressed asbestos sheet body and cap gaskets, asbestos-bearing spiral-wound gaskets at flanged inlet/outlet connections, and asbestos-containing disc and seat sealing components installed in Kunkle safety and relief valves; plaintiffs alleged fiber release during valve overhaul, spring-cap removal, seat lapping, and gasket break-out work performed on-line and in shop repair.

Overview Product Facts Trades

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

Product Description

Kunkle Valve Company is publicly identified in U.S. asbestos litigation as a long-established American manufacturer of ASME Code safety and pressure-relief valves. Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that Kunkle safety valves and relief valves were specified onto steam boilers, air receivers, hot-water heaters, process vessels, and pressurized tanks throughout U.S. industry from the 1940s through the early 1980s — spanning fossil and industrial power stations, refineries, chemical plants, paper mills, textile mills, food-processing facilities, and shipboard auxiliary steam systems.

Court filings allege that the safety and relief function required tight metal-to-metal seat sealing supplemented by asbestos-bearing gasketing at bonnet, cap, and flange joints, and that ordinary set-pressure testing and shop overhaul disturbed those asbestos components during routine maintenance cycles.

Asbestos Content

Publicly filed complaints alleged that Kunkle safety and pressure-relief valves incorporated asbestos in the following structural roles:

Compressed asbestos sheet body-to-bonnet and cap gaskets installed between the valve body and the spring cap, allegedly scraped clean during disassembly for seat lapping and spring adjustment.
Spiral-wound gaskets with asbestos filler installed at flanged inlet and outlet connections on higher-pressure Kunkle valves.
Asbestos-containing seat and disc sealing components in certain valve configurations, allegedly disturbed during lapping and re-machining operations.
External thermal insulation applied by insulators to valve bodies and adjacent piping on hot service, allegedly stripped during overhaul.

Workers Exposed

Publicly filed complaints identified the trades most frequently alleged to have encountered asbestos through Kunkle valves:

Boilermakers installing and testing safety valves on fired and unfired pressure vessels.
Pipefitters and steamfitters tying Kunkle relief valves into steam, condensate, and process headers.
Power plant workers performing set-pressure verification and overhaul during outages.
Machinists and millwrights lapping seats and reworking spring assemblies in shop.
Industrial maintenance mechanics performing shop repair on removed valves.

If You Worked With Kunkle Safety and Relief Valves

If you worked with or around Kunkle safety or pressure-relief valves on industrial boilers, refinery process vessels, or shipboard auxiliary steam systems and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease, preserve your employment history and any product-identification records available.

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

Product Facts

Trade NameKunkle safety valves and pressure-relief valves for steam, air, and liquid service

Years Produced1940s-1980s

Asbestos ContentAlleged asbestos pathway - compressed asbestos sheet body and cap gaskets, asbestos-bearing spiral-wound gaskets at flanged inlet/outlet connections, and asbestos-containing disc and seat sealing components installed in Kunkle safety and relief valves; plaintiffs alleged fiber release during valve overhaul, spring-cap removal, seat lapping, and gasket break-out work performed on-line and in shop repair.

CategoryGaskets-Packing Boilers

Trust FundNo active trust

Exposed Trades & Occupations

BoilermakersPipefitters and steamfittersPower plant workersRefinery workersMachinists and millwrightsIndustrial maintenance mechanics

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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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