Garlock Sealing Technologies, headquartered in Palmyra, New York, was one of the dominant manufacturers of industrial gasket and packing products in the United States, supplying the US Navy with a broad range of asbestos-containing sealing products for shipboard steam plant and machinery applications throughout World War II and the Cold War. Garlock manufactured compressed asbestos sheet gasket material, spiral wound gaskets, braided asbestos packing, and asbestos rope packing sold under the Garlock brand name — products that were installed throughout the engineering plants and machinery spaces of virtually every class of Navy vessel using steam propulsion.

Garlock Asbestos Sealing Products in the Navy

Garlock’s asbestos product line supplied to the Navy covered the full range of sealing applications in shipboard steam and machinery systems:

  • Compressed asbestos sheet gasket material — Garlock’s compressed asbestos sheet in standard grades was the primary gasket material cut to flange dimensions by shipyard insulators and engineering personnel for use throughout steam, feedwater, and auxiliary system flanged connections
  • Spiral wound gaskets — Garlock spiral wound gaskets with asbestos filler provided higher-performance sealing at steam plant flange connections operating at elevated temperatures and pressures
  • Braided asbestos packing — Garlock braided asbestos packing in standard braid sizes provided shaft and stem packing for pumps, valves, and rotating equipment throughout the engineering plant — the most common category of asbestos-involving maintenance task in Navy engineering spaces
  • Asbestos rope packing — used at expansion joints, irregular seal points, and high-temperature equipment connections throughout the steam plant

Fleet-Wide Distribution

Garlock sealing products were distributed through naval supply channels — storeroom inventory maintained aboard ship and at naval supply depots — making Garlock products the material available to engineering personnel performing routine maintenance throughout the fleet. When a valve stem leaked and required packing replacement, the packing material removed from the storeroom was frequently Garlock braided asbestos packing. Sheet gasket material cut for flange gaskets throughout the ship was often Garlock compressed asbestos sheet.

Garlock in the Asbestos Litigation Record

Garlock Sealing Technologies is one of the most extensively named defendants in asbestos litigation, appearing in thousands of cases filed by Navy veterans documenting gasket and packing maintenance as their primary asbestos exposure. The company’s own internal records, produced in litigation, document the asbestos content of their product lines and the Navy as a major customer for asbestos sealing products. Garlock filed for bankruptcy in 2010 due to asbestos liability.

VA Claims

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure from gasket and packing maintenance in Navy engineering plants. Engineering ratings who performed flange gasket replacement, valve packing replacement, and pump packing maintenance using Garlock and other asbestos-containing sealing products and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.