Cutler-Hammer Company, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was a major manufacturer of motor control equipment, industrial circuit breakers, and electrical switchgear supplying industrial and military customers throughout the mid-twentieth century. Cutler-Hammer supplied the US Navy with motor starters, motor control centers, contactors, and circuit breaker equipment for shipboard electrical motor control and power distribution systems. Cutler-Hammer’s motor control equipment used asbestos-containing arc chute materials in the circuit breaker and contactor arcing mechanisms — asbestos fiber in arc chute construction provided the thermal resistance for arc extinction in the compact motor control equipment design. Navy Electrician’s Mates performing motor starter maintenance, contactor replacement, and circuit breaker testing on Cutler-Hammer equipment accumulated asbestos exposure from the arc chute and insulation materials in the motor control equipment.

Asbestos in Cutler-Hammer Naval Products

Cutler-Hammer motor control and circuit protection products incorporated asbestos:

  • Motor starter arc chute materials — Cutler-Hammer motor starters and contactors used asbestos-containing arc chute assemblies in the main contact arc interruption mechanism. The asbestos fiber in these arc chutes provided the thermal resistance needed to quench the arcs produced when motor starters interrupted motor circuit currents. Electrician’s Mates replacing worn arc chutes in Cutler-Hammer motor starters during motor control maintenance encountered asbestos-containing arc chute materials during disassembly and replacement operations
  • Circuit breaker arc chutes — Cutler-Hammer circuit breakers used in shipboard branch circuit protection incorporated asbestos-containing arc chute materials, with Electrician’s Mates maintaining these breakers encountering asbestos materials during breaker removal and arc chute inspection
  • Motor control center construction — the motor control center panelboards using Cutler-Hammer equipment incorporated asbestos-containing insulation materials and arc barriers in the motor control center construction, with Electrician’s Mates working within these motor control enclosures during maintenance encountering asbestos-containing barrier and insulation materials

Cutler-Hammer equipment was used in ship’s service motor control:

  • Ship’s service and auxiliary motor controls — the motor control equipment for ship’s service pumps, blowers, and auxiliary machinery aboard Navy surface ships used motor starters and contactors from Cutler-Hammer and competitor manufacturers providing motor circuit protection and starting control

VA Claims for Veterans Exposed to Cutler-Hammer Products

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure from electrical equipment maintenance in Navy engineering spaces. Electrician’s Mates who performed motor control maintenance on Cutler-Hammer equipment with asbestos arc chute materials and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.