Was Owens-Illinois (O-I Glass) — asbestos documented in litigation?

Owens-Illinois (O-I Glass) — 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 Owens-Illinois (O-I Glass) — asbestos exposure?

Yes. Workers diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, or asbestosis after exposure to Owens-Illinois (O-I Glass) — 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

Owens-Illinois Glass-Container Plants, Furnaces, Forming Operations

⚖ Litigation Record1903-present (O-I as glass-container manufacturer; asbestos era through 1980s)Asbestos refractory and block insulation on glass furnaces, asbestos pipe covering, asbestos electrical insulation, asbestos gaskets, asbestos handling cloth at forming machines

Overview Product Facts Trades

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

Premises Description

Owens-Illinois Inc. (today O-I Glass, Inc. — founded 1903 as Owens Bottle Company, merged with Illinois Glass 1929; headquartered Perrysburg OH) is through the 20th century and today the largest U.S. and global manufacturer of glass containers (bottles and jars). O-I operated through the asbestos era a major network of U.S. glass-container plants and is separately a defendant for its Kaylo asbestos insulation product line (pre-1958) — see Owens-Corning Kaylo page.

This premises page addresses Owens-Illinois’s role as premises owner of U.S. glass-container plants, distinct from its Kaylo manufacturer liability.

Major O-I asbestos-era glass-container plant sites included:

Toledo OH — corporate headquarters and historic glass operations
Streator IL — major Midwest glass plant
Crockery IL and Alton IL — additional Illinois operations
Charlotte NC and Winston-Salem NC — Carolinas glass plants
Brockport NY — Northeast glass plant
Vernon CA and Oakland CA — West Coast glass plants
Volney NY — fiber-glass plant (joint venture with Owens-Corning)
Atlanta GA and Tracy CA — additional glass plants
Houston TX and Waco TX — Texas glass operations

Glass-container manufacturing is one of the most asbestos-intensive heavy industries documented in U.S. asbestos litigation. Glass-melting furnaces operate continuously at temperatures around 1500°C and were specified through the asbestos era with extensive asbestos refractory, asbestos furnace lining, asbestos kiln-shell insulation, asbestos electrical insulation, and asbestos cloth used by hand-handlers (gob catchers, machine attendants) at forming machines.

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that Owens-Illinois — as premises owner of its U.S. glass-container plants — exposed its glass-plant workforce and contractor pipefitters, insulators, boilermakers, and trade workers to extensive asbestos.

Owens-Illinois Inc. has been named as a Premises Defendant in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation.

Workers Exposed

United Glass and Ceramic Workers / United Steelworkers Local members at O-I plants
Glass-furnace operators and machine attendants
Refinery pipefitters and millwrights working O-I capital projects
Insulators (HFIAW Local members) on O-I construction and turnaround crews
Boilermakers (IBB Local members) building O-I furnaces
Construction-trade workforces on O-I EPC projects

If You Worked at an Owens-Illinois Glass Plant

If you worked at an Owens-Illinois glass-container plant during the asbestos era — including at Toledo, Streator, Crockery, Charlotte, Brockport, Vernon, Oakland, Houston, or any other O-I site — as an O-I 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 NameOwens-Illinois Glass-Container Plants, Furnaces, Forming Operations

Years Produced1903-present (O-I as glass-container manufacturer; asbestos era through 1980s)

Asbestos ContentAsbestos refractory and block insulation on glass furnaces, asbestos pipe covering, asbestos electrical insulation, asbestos gaskets, asbestos handling cloth at forming machines

CategoryIndustrial-Furnaces Gaskets

Trust FundNo active trust

Exposed Trades & Occupations

Glass plant workersRefinery pipefittersInsulatorsBoilermakers

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Were You Exposed to an Asbestos-Containing Product?

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