Product Description
John Crane, headquartered historically in Morton Grove, Illinois and later part of Smiths Group, is one of the most widely recognized names in industrial sealing worldwide. For decades John Crane supplied braided and twisted compression packing to power plants, refineries, chemical plants, pulp and paper mills, marine engine rooms, and general heavy industry. Compression packing sits in the stuffing box of a valve, sealing around the reciprocating or rotating valve stem to prevent leakage of steam, condensate, hydrocarbons, and process fluids.
According to publicly filed asbestos litigation records, John Crane allegedly incorporated asbestos fibers into its valve-packing product lines for many decades. Rings were cut from bulk spool stock, coiled, staggered in the stuffing box, and compressed by a gland follower. This construction placed the packing directly in the maintenance path of the pipefitter or valve mechanic every time a valve was repacked.
Workers Exposed
Pipefitters and steamfitters (UA Local trades) allegedly encountered John Crane packing during routine valve repacks on high-pressure steam, feedwater, and process piping. Removing hardened, heat-cycled old packing with picks and hooks would allegedly liberate friable chrysotile dust into the breathing zone, and cutting fresh packing to length from the spool would allegedly release additional fiber.
Power plant operators, boiler-room maintenance mechanics, refinery pipefitters, and chemical-plant valve technicians allegedly performed these repacks continuously across their careers. Instrumentation and control-valve technicians allegedly worked adjacent to packing operations on nearby control loops. Litigation records allege John Crane knew or should have known about the hazard and failed to warn workers who would foreseeably repack its valve packing.