The asbestos bankruptcy trust funds currently hold more than $30 billion in funds set aside specifically to compensate workers and their families for asbestos-related disease. For boilermakers, the trusts reachable trace to the boiler and pressure-vessel manufacturers, the refractory makers, and the insulation makers whose asbestos block lagging and pipe covering wrapped the vessels the trade fabricated, erected, and repaired.
Trust funds relevant to boilermaker exposure
| Trust Fund | How boilermakers were exposed |
|---|---|
| Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust | Johns-Manville block lagging and pipe covering on the boilers boilermakers erected and repaired |
| Owens-Corning / Fibreboard Asbestos PI Trust | Kaylo pipe covering, calcium silicate block insulation |
| Pittsburgh Corning Asbestos PI Trust | Unibestos amosite pipe covering |
| Eagle-Picher Industries PI Settlement Trust | Block insulation, pipe covering |
| Armstrong World Industries Asbestos PI Trust | Calcium silicate insulation |
| Babcock & Wilcox Asbestos PI Trust | Industrial boiler manufacturer — boilermakers fabricated, erected, and repaired B&W boilers and their asbestos-lagged components |
| Combustion Engineering 524(g) Asbestos PI Trust | Industrial boiler manufacturer — boilermakers built and serviced CE boilers |
| Celotex Asbestos Settlement Trust | Celotex pipe insulation |
| Keene Creditors Trust | Keene insulation products |
| W.R. Grace Asbestos PI Settlement Trust | Spray fireproofing (Monokote variants) |
| A.P. Green Industries Asbestos PI Trust | Refractory brick and castable inside the boilers and furnaces boilermakers built and relined |
| Dresser/Harbison-Walker Asbestos Trust | Refractory brick and castable in boiler and furnace linings |
How trust-fund claims work
Asbestos bankruptcy trust claims and civil lawsuits run on separate tracks — both can be pursued in parallel. Each trust has its own filing requirements, exposure-documentation criteria, occupation/jobsite verification process, and payout schedule. A career boilermaker may have legitimate claims against multiple separate trusts.
The trust claim process is significantly faster than civil litigation in most cases. Trust payouts are based on a published value matrix that takes into account the disease, the exposure documentation, and the claim type. An experienced asbestos attorney can analyze which trusts apply, file simultaneously, and aggregate the recoveries on the client’s behalf.
Where to start
Identify the products you handled, the jobsites you worked, the dates of your apprenticeship and journeyman years, and your Local number. From there, the O’Brien Law Firm intake team can analyze which trusts and civil actions apply.
Free case review — (314) 237-3332
Trust fund administration and payout schedules are determined by each trust’s 524(g) plan. Information here is summary only; specific trust eligibility requires individual analysis under each trust’s published claim criteria.