Sharon Steel Corporation — Corporate Overview

Sharon Steel Corporation (1900-1993) was a mid-sized integrated steel producer headquartered at Sharon PA in the Shenango Valley of western Pennsylvania, along the Ohio border. Founded 1900 as the Sharon Steel Hoop Company, the firm grew into a full integrated flat-rolled producer through the 20th century, operating blast furnaces, open-hearth and later basic-oxygen steelmaking, hot-strip and cold-reduction mills, and tin plate finishing lines across the Farrell PA / Sharon PA / Lowellville OH mill corridor.

Principal Sharon Steel operations included the Farrell Works (Farrell PA) — the company’s main integrated iron-and-steel complex with blast furnaces, steelmaking, hot-strip mill, and cold-reduction mill — and the Lowellville Works (Lowellville OH) across the Ohio state line. During the 1969-1979 period the company was controlled by financier Victor Posner through the NVF Company. Sharon Steel filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 1992 amid the broader integrated-steel collapse, ceased operations in 1993, and the Farrell Works was sold to Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation and subsequently operated by successors including Caparo Steel before final closure.

Documented ACM Footprint

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that Sharon Steel Corporation exposed the mill workforce to asbestos through the following documented pathways:

  • Integrated mill asbestos-refractory brick and monolithic castable allegedly used in blast furnace hearths, open-hearth and BOF steelmaking vessels, and reheat furnace linings at Farrell and Lowellville
  • Asbestos-fabric ladle covers allegedly used above hot-metal transfer ladles and teeming ladles across steelmaking operations
  • Asbestos-block lagging allegedly applied to reheat furnace walls and soaking pit covers on the Farrell hot-strip and cold-reduction mill trains
  • Asbestos pipe covering allegedly installed on steam mains, hot-water and process piping across mill areas and on powerhouse steam and turbine piping at the Farrell Works
  • Asbestos-gasket materials allegedly used at flanges throughout blast-furnace stove piping and mill process lines
  • Asbestos-cement roofing and siding allegedly used on mill outbuildings during mid-20th-century construction

Workers Allegedly Exposed

  • Bricklayers (BAC) installing and tearing out allegedly asbestos-containing refractory brick in blast furnace hearths, open-hearth and BOF vessels, and reheat furnaces at Farrell PA and Lowellville OH
  • Insulators (HFIAW) applying and stripping asbestos pipe covering and block on mill steam distribution and powerhouse piping
  • Pipefitters (UA) and boilermakers breaking asbestos-gasketed flanges on mill piping and rebuilding powerhouse boilers
  • Millwrights and mechanical maintenance rebuilding rolling-mill drives, reheat furnace pushers, and tin plate finishing equipment
  • Electricians (IBEW) working on plant switchgear, motor-control centers, and mill drive controls
  • Sharon Steel operators, general laborers, and USW maintenance personnel across the Farrell and Lowellville operations

If You Worked at Sharon Steel

If you or a family member worked at a Sharon Steel Corporation mill — the Farrell PA Works, the Lowellville OH Works, or any other Sharon Steel facility — before 1980 and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease, you may have a legal claim.

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

Plants by State

Sharon Steel Corporation operated integrated mills across multiple U.S. states. Detailed premises information is available on the following state jobsite pages: