Refinery Fired Heaters — Asbestos Exposure Crosswalk
What This Equipment Is
A fired heater (also called a process heater) is a direct-fired furnace that heats refinery feedstock or process fluid as it flows through tubes inside the furnace. Unlike a boiler, the heated fluid is not water — it is crude oil, heated naphtha, vacuum residue, reformer feed, or other hydrocarbon stream. Fired heaters are the highest-temperature equipment in most refineries.
A typical refinery has many fired heaters serving different units:
- Crude distillation column charge heaters — heating crude before atmospheric distillation
- Vacuum unit charge heaters — heating residuum for vacuum distillation
- Reformer charge heaters — heating naphtha for catalytic reforming (multiple in series)
- Coker charge heaters — heating residuum for delayed coking
- Cracker charge heaters — heating feed for fluid catalytic cracking (FCC)
- Hydroprocessing charge heaters — heating feed for hydrotreating / hydrocracking
Every fired heater has a radiant section (where tubes face the burners) and a convection section (where tubes recover heat from departing flue gas). Both sections are heavily refractory-lined, externally insulated, and serviced by extensive piping and gasketed components.
Asbestos Products Historically Used Around Fired Heaters
| Product Category | Where on the Heater | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Refractory brick / castable | Radiant section walls, floor, breeching | See Refractory Brick, Refractory Mortar |
| Casing insulation | Heater exterior | Block insulation, removable jackets |
| Burner-tile refractory | Burner-front area | High-temperature refractory |
| Pipe covering | Process inlet/outlet, fuel-gas, fuel-oil, steam piping | Magnesia, calcium silicate |
| Tube hangers and roof seals | Tube supports and roof penetrations | Asbestos millboard and rope |
| Gaskets | Header-box covers, peep doors, instrumentation flanges | Asbestos sheet and millboard |
| Insulating cement | Joints and irregular surfaces | Mixed dry, hand-applied |
Why Fired-Heater Work Was a High-Exposure Activity
Refineries operate fired heaters continuously between turnarounds. Each turnaround (every 3–5 years for most units) tears the heater open, replaces fouled tubes, patches refractory, replaces burner tiles, and refurbishes the casing insulation. The work concentrates contract crews — boilermakers, refractory masons, pipefitters, insulators — in compressed schedules of intense rip-out and rebuild activity.
Routine maintenance during runs also disturbs material — burner replacement, peep-door gasket renewal, tube-hanger repair, soot-blower work.
Manufacturers Named in Litigation Involving Fired-Heater Components
- Foster Wheeler — fired-heater OEM named in installation/maintenance claims
- Combustion Engineering — fired-heater OEM
- Babcock & Wilcox — fired-heater OEM
- Born Heaters — fired-heater OEM
- A.P. Green Refractories — refractory products
- Harbison-Walker Refractories — refractory products
- North American Refractories (NARCO) — refractory products
- Johns-Manville — insulation, millboard
- Owens-Corning / Fibreboard — insulation
- Garlock Sealing Technologies — gaskets
Documented Product References
Images sourced from publicly available product-identification reference materials. Inclusion does not constitute a finding of liability against any company.
Trust Funds That May Apply
- Combustion Engineering 524(g) Asbestos PI Trust
- Babcock & Wilcox Company Asbestos PI Trust
- A.P. Green Industries Asbestos PI Settlement Trust
- Harbison-Walker Refractories / RHI Asbestos PI Trust
- North American Refractories Company (NARCO) Asbestos PI Settlement Trust
- Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust
- Owens-Corning / Fibreboard Asbestos PI Trust
Trades Most Exposed at Fired-Heater Work
Refractory masons, boilermakers, pipefitters, insulators (Heat & Frost), iron workers, refinery turnaround contractors, plant operators.
Jobsites in the Network
- Every Missouri refinery in the network
- See companion pages: Refractory Brick, Industrial Furnaces, Boilers
Compiled from publicly filed asbestos litigation, EPA / state-DNR records, and industry-publication histories. Product and company references reflect what has been alleged or documented in publicly filed litigation. This page does not constitute a finding of liability against any company. Not legal advice; consult a licensed attorney about your specific situation.