Westinghouse Savannah River Company (WSRC) tritium facility asbestos-fabric process piping lagging, heavy-water reactor building asbestos-block insulation, and asbestos gasket sets at the DOE Savannah River Site (Aiken SC)

Product Description

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that Westinghouse Electric Corporation — through Westinghouse Savannah River Company (WSRC), the DOE prime operating contractor at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken SC from 1989 onward — allegedly specified, maintained, and upgraded asbestos-woven fabric lagging and asbestos-block thermal insulation on tritium extraction and purification process piping in the SRS tritium facilities, on heavy-water production-reactor piping runs, and on associated steam-plant and hot-cell systems. Asbestos gasket sets were allegedly used at flanged joints across tritium process and reactor coolant systems.

Plaintiffs alleged that Westinghouse SRS legacy asbestos-containing lagging — much of which had been installed during earlier DuPont-era operations from 1953 forward — remained in service through the WSRC era of tritium facility upgrades, reactor shutdowns, and D&D campaigns through the 1990s, requiring repeated tear-out and re-lagging.

Workers Exposed

Plaintiffs allegedly exposed to Westinghouse Savannah River Site tritium and reactor asbestos-containing components include:

• WSRC tritium facility technicians in tritium extraction and loading operations
• DOE contractor operators on heavy-water production reactors (K, L, P, C, R Reactors)
• DOE facility pipefitters on tritium process piping and reactor coolant systems
• DOE facility insulators re-lagging tritium hot-cells and reactor tank piping
• DOE facility maintenance mechanics on tritium and reactor system rebuilds
• Radiation control technicians and health physics staff across the tritium and reactor areas
• DOE facility instrumentation techs on tritium process controls
• SRS D&D crews during reactor shutdown campaigns