Yarway Corporation, headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, was a specialized manufacturer of steam traps, level control equipment, and steam system specialty products serving industrial and naval applications throughout World War II and the Cold War. Yarway steam traps — including thermostatic, bucket, and disc-type steam traps — were installed throughout Navy shipboard auxiliary steam systems where steam condensate discharge was required to maintain system efficiency and prevent water hammer.

Asbestos in Yarway Steam Trap Components

Yarway steam traps operating in Navy shipboard steam service used asbestos-containing sealing materials at all high-temperature connection points:

  • Steam trap body gaskets at cover flanges — asbestos sheet or spiral wound gaskets sealing the Yarway trap body cover to the trap body, disturbed whenever the trap cover was removed for internal inspection, bucket replacement, or cleaning
  • Trap body-to-line gaskets at steam trap inlet and outlet connections — asbestos gaskets at the flanged connections to the steam distribution piping
  • Internal packing on control types — some Yarway trap designs with needle valves or manual bypass valves used asbestos packing on internal valve stems

Yarway Level Controls

Yarway also supplied level control equipment — float-operated level controllers and level gauge cocks — for use on Navy shipboard steam drums, deaerating feedwater heaters, and condenser hotwell level control:

  • Level control gauge cock gaskets — asbestos sheet gaskets at gauge cock connections to steam drum and pressure vessel fittings
  • Float chamber gaskets on Yarway float-operated level controllers — asbestos gaskets at the float chamber cover and connection flanges

Yarway steam traps were distributed throughout Navy auxiliary steam systems — in laundry steam service, space heating steam systems, steam tracing on fuel systems, and general steam service auxiliary systems on destroyers, cruisers, carriers, and auxiliaries. Boiler Tenders and Machinist’s Mates performing steam trap maintenance rounds encountered Yarway traps throughout the auxiliary steam plant maintenance program.

VA Claims

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure from steam system maintenance in Navy engineering plants. Engineering ratings who performed steam trap maintenance involving Yarway and other steam trap brands with asbestos-containing gaskets and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.