Product Description

Vapor Corporation and its predecessor and successor Vapor Rail operations were long-standing American specialty manufacturers of steam-heating and steam-control equipment for railroad passenger cars, U.S. Navy vessels, and commercial marine service. The Vapor catalog covered steam control valves, thermostatic and pressure-regulating valves, steam separators, steam traps, and passenger-car and shipboard heating specialties. Vapor equipment was standard on American passenger railcars during the steam-heat era and was supplied to shipbuilders for auxiliary steam-heating service on Navy and commercial vessels.

Vapor Corporation equipment reached rail and marine worksites during the decades when asbestos was the routine sealing and insulating material for steam service. Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that Vapor steam-heating systems, control valves, and separators were supplied with asbestos-bearing gaskets, packing, and thermal insulation in place, and that Vapor service literature directed maintenance crews to reinstall asbestos-bearing components during ordinary maintenance and overhaul work.

Product / Premises Description

  • Passenger railcar steam heating — Vapor control valves, pressure regulators, and steam-heating specialties on named passenger railcar equipment operated by American railroads.
  • Navy and commercial marine steam heating — Vapor control valves and specialties in auxiliary steam-heating service aboard Navy vessels and commercial ships.
  • Industrial steam-service specialties — Vapor thermostatic and pressure-regulating valves in industrial and institutional steam-heating installations.

Asbestos Content

Plaintiffs alleged that Vapor equipment contained asbestos in one or more of the following roles:

  • Compressed-asbestos-sheet gaskets — flanged connections on Vapor steam-heating systems and control valves.
  • Braided asbestos rope and packing — control-valve stems, separator seals, and steam-trap internals.
  • External thermal insulation — asbestos block, blanket, and cement applied to Vapor steam-heating piping and control assemblies aboard railcars and vessels.
  • Bonnet gasketing — Vapor pressure-regulating and thermostatic valves.

Workers Exposed

  • Railcar maintenance mechanics — passenger-car steam-heating overhauls in railroad shops.
  • Pipefitters and steamfitters — installation and maintenance of Vapor steam-heating piping.
  • Navy machinist’s mates and shipboard engine-room ratings — routine maintenance of shipboard steam-heating service.
  • Shipyard workers — installation and overhaul of Vapor equipment in Navy and commercial hulls.
  • Insulators — applying and removing asbestos insulation on Vapor steam piping and control assemblies.

Take-home exposure was alleged where workers carried asbestos fibers home on contaminated work clothing.

If You Worked With Vapor Steam-Heating Equipment

If you worked with Vapor Corporation or Vapor Rail steam-heating systems, control valves, or separators — on passenger railcars, Navy vessels, commercial ships, or in industrial steam-heating installations — and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease, your work history may support an asbestos claim.

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