Premises Description

Reynolds Metals Company (founded 1928, headquartered Richmond Virginia; acquired by Alcoa in 2000) was through the 20th century the second-largest U.S. aluminum producer behind Alcoa and the inventor of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil. Reynolds operated through the asbestos era a comprehensive vertically-integrated U.S. aluminum network including bauxite mining, alumina refining, primary aluminum smelting, rolling mills, and downstream fabrication. Major Reynolds asbestos-era U.S. sites included:

  • Listerhill AL (Sheffield) — flagship Tennessee Valley smelter
  • Longview WA — Pacific Northwest hydroelectric-powered smelter
  • Troutdale OR — Pacific Northwest smelter
  • Massena NY — St. Lawrence Seaway smelter (adjacent to Alcoa Massena)
  • McCook IL — Chicago-area rolling mill
  • Richmond VA — corporate headquarters and specialty operations
  • Bauxite AR and Hurricane Creek AR — alumina refining
  • Corpus Christi TX — alumina refining and smelting

Aluminum smelting via the Hall-Héroult process was specified across the industry with extensive asbestos refractory and electrical insulation through the documented era (see also: Alcoa premises page). Reynolds reduction cells, anode-baking furnaces, and downstream rolling-mill furnaces all carried this asbestos profile.

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that Reynolds Metals — as premises owner — exposed its aluminum-worker workforce (USW Local representation) and contractor pipefitters, insulators, boilermakers, electricians, and trade workers to extensive asbestos.

Reynolds Metals Company has been named as a Premises Defendant in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation.

Workers Exposed

  • United Steelworkers Local members at Listerhill, Longview, Troutdale, Massena, McCook, Bauxite, Hurricane Creek, Corpus Christi
  • Refinery and mill pipefitters and millwrights
  • Insulators (HFIAW Local members) on Reynolds construction and turnaround crews
  • Boilermakers (IBB Local members) building Reynolds smelter and refinery equipment
  • Electricians (IBEW Local members) working Reynolds potline electrical systems
  • Construction-trade workforces on Reynolds EPC projects

If You Worked at a Reynolds Metals Smelter, Refinery, or Mill

If you worked at a Reynolds Metals Company aluminum smelter, alumina refinery, rolling mill, or foil plant during the asbestos era — as a Reynolds 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