Product Description

Patterson-Kelley twin-shell V-blenders were staples of dry-solids blending in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, pigments, and specialty chemicals from the 1950s through the 1980s. According to publicly filed asbestos litigation records, the trunnion shaft seals allegedly used braided asbestos packing rings, and the hinged charge-port and discharge-port cover flanges allegedly seated against compressed asbestos sheet gaskets.

Batch changeovers required repeated cover-gasket replacement and periodic seal repacking. Scraping, cutting, and rethreading these materials allegedly generated airborne asbestos fibers over the blender platform.

Workers Exposed

  • Pharmaceutical plant blenders performing sanitary changeovers
  • Chemical process operators charging pigments and specialty solids
  • Plant mechanics and millwrights repacking trunnion seals
  • Plant maintenance mechanics replacing cover gaskets