Grinnell Corporation, headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, was a diversified piping system manufacturer supplying pipe fittings, pipe hangers, automatic fire sprinkler systems, and grooved-end mechanical pipe couplings for industrial and construction markets including US naval shore facility construction. Grinnell’s automatic fire sprinkler systems — used throughout naval base buildings, warehouses, hangars, and industrial facilities — incorporated pipe fittings and connections using asbestos-containing gasket materials in the threaded and grooved pipe coupling systems. Grinnell grooved-end couplings and mechanical pipe fittings used in naval facility piping systems incorporated rubber gasket elements with asbestos-containing compounds. Navy Seabee construction ratings and shore installation maintenance personnel installing and maintaining Grinnell piping systems in naval facilities worked with asbestos-containing coupling and fitting gasket materials during installation and maintenance operations.

Fire Sprinkler System Applications and Asbestos

Grinnell fire sprinkler systems in naval facilities incorporated asbestos:

  • Naval facility fire sprinkler piping — Grinnell automatic fire sprinkler systems installed in naval base buildings, warehouses, hangar facilities, and naval industrial buildings used threaded pipe fittings with asbestos-containing joint compounds and gasket materials in the sprinkler piping connections throughout the covered naval facility spaces. Navy Seabee construction ratings installing Grinnell sprinkler systems in naval facilities and naval station maintenance personnel maintaining these systems worked with asbestos-containing gasket and joint compound materials during installation and maintenance operations
  • Grooved-end coupling gasket elements — Grinnell grooved-end mechanical pipe couplings — widely used in naval facility piping installation for their ease of assembly and modification — incorporated elastomeric gasket elements containing asbestos-compounded materials in some product configurations. Navy facility construction and maintenance personnel assembling and disassembling Grinnell grooved-end couplings during naval facility piping work encountered the gasket elements of these coupling systems

Pipe Hanger and Support Products

Grinnell pipe hanger and support products were used in naval facility construction:

  • Naval facility piping support systems — Grinnell pipe hangers, pipe clamps, and pipe support hardware installed throughout naval facility piping systems placed Grinnell products in proximity to asbestos-covered piping throughout the naval facility mechanical systems, with maintenance personnel accessing Grinnell-supported pipe runs encountering the asbestos pipe insulation on the piping during hanger inspection and replacement operations

VA Claims for Veterans Exposed to Grinnell Products

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure from Navy facility construction and maintenance activities. Seabee construction ratings and shore facility maintenance personnel who worked with Grinnell piping systems in naval facilities and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.