Plibrico Company was a Chicago-based manufacturer of plastic and castable refractory cements — high-temperature materials used to line boiler fireboxes, furnace walls, incinerators, and heat-resistant structures throughout naval vessels and shore installations. Plibrico’s products included Plisulate — an asbestos-containing plastic refractory used for insulation and patching in boiler and high-temperature applications. Throughout the mid-twentieth century, Plibrico refractory products were installed and maintained in the boiler rooms and engineering spaces of United States Navy ships, exposing Boiler Technicians, Machinist’s Mates, and boilermakers who applied, removed, and worked around these asbestos-containing materials. Publicly filed asbestos litigation records document Plibrico Company and its Plisulate product on specific Navy vessels, at Navy shipyards, and in direct personal testimony from Navy veterans who worked with Plibrico products.

Documented Asbestos — Plibrico in Naval Service

USS Yosemite AD-19 — Plibrico and Plisulate

US Navy Shipyard San Diego — Plibrico Documentation

Personal Testimony — Working with Plibrico Aboard Navy Vessels

James — Named Navy Veteran with Plibrico Exposure

Plibrico in the Asbestos Litigation Record

Plibrico appears in the corpus alongside other recognized asbestos product manufacturers and defendants in the naval asbestos litigation framework. The asbestos personal injury trust system — which includes multiple Plibrico-related trust claims — reflects the scope of documented asbestos exposure claims arising from Plibrico product use in naval and industrial contexts.

Plibrico Products and Navy Applications

Plastic and castable refractories: Plibrico’s plastic refractory materials were used to patch, repair, and line boiler fireboxes and furnace walls. Application required ramming or troweling the asbestos-containing material against hot refractory surfaces — a task that released asbestos fiber during mixing and application.

Plisulate insulating refractory: Plisulate was Plibrico’s asbestos-containing plastic insulating refractory used for high-temperature insulation applications in boiler and steam systems. Plisulate was applied in confined spaces where ventilation was limited, concentrating asbestos fiber in the breathing zone of workers applying the material.

Boiler refractory maintenance: Navy boiler rooms required periodic replacement of firebox refractory linings — a labor-intensive process that involved chipping out old refractory (releasing fiber from the existing material) and installing new Plibrico refractory (releasing fiber from the fresh material).

Shore installation boilers: Shore installations at Navy bases — heating plants, steam plants, and mechanical facilities — also used Plibrico refractory materials in their boiler plants, extending the exposure pathway to shore-duty personnel who maintained base heating systems.

VA Claims and Legal Options — Plibrico Company

Navy veterans who served as Boiler Technicians, Machinist’s Mates, or in other engineering roles aboard ships equipped with Plibrico refractory-lined boilers, or who performed boiler repair work at Navy shipyards where Plibrico materials were used, and who subsequently developed mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease, may qualify for:

  • VA service connection under VA asbestos-claim guidance for veterans with documented duty in boiler rooms or engineering spaces where Plibrico refractory products were installed or maintained
  • Civil claims against Plibrico Company based on documented sale of asbestos-containing refractory products to the Navy and failure to warn of asbestos hazards

Key documents:

  • DD-214 or service records — documenting service aboard ships with steam boiler plants (destroyers, cruisers, aircraft carriers, tenders) or duty at Navy shipyards performing boiler overhaul
  • Rating records — Boiler Technician, Machinist’s Mate, or boilermaker trade documentation
  • Diagnosis — mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease

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Exposure documentation derived from publicly filed asbestos litigation records including Plibrico and Plisulate product identification aboard USS Yosemite AD-19, Plibrico documentation at US Navy Shipyard San Diego, direct personal testimony from Navy veterans who worked with and around Plibrico asbestos-containing products, and Plibrico’s presence in the national asbestos litigation and trust funds record. This does not constitute legal or medical advice.