Product Description
Lapp Insulator of LeRoy, New York, allegedly supplied station-post and suspension-string porcelain insulators to U.S. utilities for substation bus support, disconnect-switch mounting, and transmission-line service, according to publicly filed asbestos litigation records. The porcelain columns were allegedly bonded to their cast-iron or aluminum base flanges — and, in suspension bells, to their cap-and-pin fittings — with a Portland mounting cement that allegedly contained asbestos fiber. The alleged fiber reinforcement was intended to prevent hairline cracking during thermal cycling and to hold mechanical load on live 69-345 kV bus structures. Substation electricians replacing broken station posts, disconnect linkages, or storm-damaged suspension bells allegedly cut, chipped, and drilled the aged cement to salvage or re-seat the porcelain, generating airborne dust on the switchyard floor.
Workers Exposed
Substation electricians, IBEW utility linemen, disconnect-switch mechanics, transformer-yard crews, and bus-work fabricators allegedly encountered airborne fibers when handling, breaking, or drilling Lapp mounting cement during installation, replacement, or salvage of porcelain posts and suspension strings. Warehouse and stockpile workers handling replacement Lapp units allegedly faced secondary exposure from cement dust.