Plant Background

The Westinghouse East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania transformer works was allegedly Westinghouse Electric Corporation’s principal U.S. large-power-transformer manufacturing facility for much of the asbestos era. Westinghouse East Pittsburgh is identified in publicly filed Bakelite (Union Carbide) sales records and U.S. asbestos litigation allegations as a major Westinghouse transformer production location operating from the early 20th century through the 1989 sale of Westinghouse’s Transmission & Distribution (T&D) business to ABB (Asea Brown Boveri). Per publicly filed allegations in U.S. asbestos litigation, Westinghouse East Pittsburgh transformers manufactured during the 1950s-1980s asbestos era allegedly incorporated asbestos-bearing phenolic spacers, Westinghouse Micarta laminate, Bakelite-type laminate, asbestos transformer paper, asbestos cloth, asbestos gaskets, and phenolic-asbestos bushings as standard internal construction components.

Documented Asbestos-Bearing Products Manufactured

  • Westinghouse large power transformers (utility-scale, 1900s-1989; ABB era 1989+)
  • Westinghouse distribution transformers, pad-mount transformers, and substation transformers
  • Westinghouse Micarta phenolic-asbestos laminate components (assembled at East Pittsburgh into transformer internals)
  • Asbestos-filled phenolic spacers (tube, coil, winding, oil duct spacers, spacer sticks)
  • Asbestos paper, craft paper, glass cloth, and paper tubing transformer insulation
  • Asbestos gaskets at transformer flanges, bushings, and tap-changer interfaces
  • Phenolic-asbestos transformer bushings
  • Westinghouse switchgear products incorporating arc-chute components with internal asbestos cement board and asbestos rope

How Workers Were Exposed at the East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Plant

Per publicly filed allegations in U.S. asbestos litigation, workers at the Westinghouse Electric East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania transformer plant were allegedly exposed during:

  • Raw material handling and storage — moving phenolic spacer stock, asbestos paper rolls, asbestos cloth, and asbestos gaskets into the production area
  • Coil winding operations — fitting asbestos transformer paper and phenolic spacers between winding layers
  • Coil-to-core insertion — handling assembled winding bundles wrapped in asbestos paper and Micarta
  • Mechanical assembly — installing Bakelite-type laminate barriers, phenolic bushings, and structural insulators
  • Drying-oven and vacuum-fill operations — heat-baking and oil-filling assembled transformer cores saturated with asbestos paper
  • Machining and trimming — sawing, drilling, and finishing cured phenolic and Micarta-style laminate components
  • Quality control and final test — high-voltage testing, oil sampling, and inspection of assembled units
  • Gasket cutting and fitting — preparing asbestos sheet gaskets at flange, bushing, and tap-changer interfaces
  • Maintenance, housekeeping, and material handling — accumulated asbestos dust on equipment, floors, and ductwork

Component Supplier Crosswalk

Workforce Trade Hub

Workers at the Westinghouse Electric East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania plant — and at other Westinghouse / ABB transformer plants in the U.S. — may have legal rights if they have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or another asbestos-related disease.

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

All consultations are free. No fee unless a financial recovery is made on your behalf.

This information reflects exposure pathways and product documentation drawn from publicly filed asbestos litigation, federal regulatory records, and industry archives. It does not constitute a finding of fact or liability with respect to any specific manufacturer, supplier, or facility operator.