Eagle-Picher Industries, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a diversified industrial manufacturer producing asbestos-containing thermal insulation, battery separators, specialty rubber products, and industrial materials across multiple product lines throughout the WWII and Cold War era. Eagle-Picher’s asbestos product lines included thermal insulation materials and specialty asbestos-containing industrial products used in various Navy applications at shore facilities and aboard ships. Eagle-Picher filed for bankruptcy protection in 1991 in significant part due to asbestos litigation liability from its decades of asbestos product manufacturing, and the Eagle-Picher Industries Asbestos Settlement Trust was established to compensate veterans and workers diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases after exposure to Eagle-Picher products.

Asbestos Products in Navy Applications

Eagle-Picher’s asbestos-containing products appeared in multiple Navy contexts:

  • Thermal insulation products — Eagle-Picher manufactured asbestos-containing pipe insulation, block insulation, and specialty insulation products for industrial applications, including products used in Navy shore facility mechanical systems and in shipboard thermal insulation applications. Personnel installing, maintaining, or removing Eagle-Picher thermal insulation products accumulated asbestos exposure from the insulation materials
  • Battery separator materials — Eagle-Picher was a major manufacturer of lead-acid battery components including battery separator materials that historically incorporated asbestos fiber as a separator medium in industrial battery production. Navy applications using Eagle-Picher battery components in submarine battery systems and shore facility backup power systems may have involved asbestos-containing battery separator materials
  • Specialty asbestos-containing products — Eagle-Picher’s broad industrial product portfolio included various specialty asbestos-containing materials for sealing, gasketing, and thermal applications that appeared in Navy maintenance parts inventories

Eagle-Picher Asbestos Trust

Eagle-Picher Industries’ asbestos litigation history:

  • Eagle-Picher filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 1991 due to accumulated asbestos litigation liability from its multiple lines of asbestos-containing products manufactured over decades
  • The Eagle-Picher Industries Asbestos Settlement Trust was established through the bankruptcy reorganization to provide a legal remedy for diagnosed asbestos-related disease claimants, including veterans who could be exposed to Eagle-Picher products during Navy service

VA Claims for Veterans Exposed to Eagle-Picher Products

VA evaluates asbestos-related disability claims on a case-by-case basis. Veterans generally need evidence of in-service asbestos exposure, a current asbestos-related diagnosis, and a medical link between them. Veterans who could be exposed to Eagle-Picher asbestos-containing products during Navy service and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits and may also have claims against the Eagle-Picher asbestos settlement trust.