St Regis Paper 
Asbestos Exposure

Paper mill workers were often exposed to asbestos and other toxic materials in paper mills, perhaps including St Regis Paper facilities. The Regis processing plants, along with Champion Paper, who eventually bought them out, were among the biggest paper product manufacturers in the 1960s and 1970s. The equipment and building materials they used to construct the paper mills were known to contain harmful chemicals and toxins that would endanger the health of many workers.

Paper mill equipment and the corresponding facilities the house it are no longer made with asbestos materials, but paper mills built before the 1980s may still contain asbestos in a variety of work areas. Many of those former workers in the paper industry have fallen ill with lung diseases and cancers like mesothelioma, esophageal cancer and colorectal cancer.

The process of pulping and paper production operations involve very high heat, which is why asbestos was used to insulate pipes and machinery. Asbestos was thought to be the best insulator because of its durable nature and resistance to heat and fire. Of course this later caused cancer in thousands of cases, primarily with those staff who directly handled asbestos products or repaired and cleaned around the materials.

St Regis Paper workers were potentially exposed during the drying process where asbestos dryer felts and fabrics were used to enhance production of high-speed paper equipment. There was also an inherent fire risk with the paper products piled up, and the buildings themselves were built with asbestos roofing, flooring and paneling.

Paper mill equipment that most likely contained asbestos included gaskets, dryer felts, adhesives, talc and sandpaper backing. Routine maintenance of these machines would release asbestos dust and workers would often inhale these toxins and it would lodge in their lung tissue.

Where Did St Regis Asbestos Products Originate?

Some of the larger asbestos manufacturers that supplied paper mills with these toxic products include:

• AstenJohnson: a provider asbestos dryer felts
• Johns Manville: produced asbestos building materials
• Kaiser Aluminum: produced asbestos building materials and refractory cement used
• Kimberly-Clark: produced asbestos sandpaper backing
• Scapa Dryer Fabrics: manufactured asbestos dryer felts
• Keasbey & Mattison: produced asbestos paper. Asbestos paper products could contain as high as 70 to 90 percent asbestos content. They were mixed with other materials for pipe coverings, gaskets, and insulation.

Who Used Asbestos Materials?

It wasn’t only paper mills using asbestos products, but almost every manufacturing and heavy industry in the country. Once the EPA and CDC discovered how hazardous the material was to worker health, the public was warned. But it was too late for thousands of victims. Asbestos trust funds have been established to compensate former St Regis Paper workers who have been diagnosed with a number of asbestos-related illnesses and cancers.

Was I Exposed to Asbestos?

Thousands of paper industry workers could have been at risk for asbestos exposure, including St Regis Paper employees. Even a small amount of exposure to asbestos, long or short-term, can cause severe illness according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Joe Lyon is an experienced Asbestos Cancer Lawyer representing paper mill staff in asbestos exposure settlements.