Con Edison Asbestos Exposure & Compensation

Consolidated Edison, commonly known as Con Edison or Con Ed, is a major utility company based in Manhattan supplying gas, electricity, and steam to New York City and Westchester County. Machinery and equipment used in power and steam generation and transmission once used significant amounts of asbestos. Workers who built and maintained power plants, substations, piping, and transmission cables were frequently exposed to asbestos.

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Asbestos exposure is a known cause of mesothelioma and some lung cancers. Con Edison employees and contractors who built or worked at various powerhouses or on Con Edison transmission equipment, and were exposed to asbestos and later diagnosed with mesothelioma, should consult with an asbestos law firm about potential compensation.

The New York mesothelioma lawyers at Early, Lucarelli, Sweeney & Meisenkothen (ELSM) have extensive experience representing clients who worked at Con Edison facilities.

Consolidated Edison at a Glance

• Con Edison has a long corporate history, having gone through many mergers and acquisitions over the years. Con Edison operated numerous power and steam-generating facilities in New York during the 20th century, some of which have since been sold or decommissioned.
• Asbestos was widely used in Con Edison’s power plants and steam and electrical equipment for insulation and fireproofing, leading to occupational exposure risks.
• 13 asbestos trusts list at least one of Con Edison’s power plants as an approved jobsite match for claim submission.
• ELSM, a trusted mesothelioma law firm, can trace your diagnosis to asbestos products, handle the claims on your behalf, and help your family navigate each step.

Asbestos Exposure at Con Edison

Con Edison, or any one of its several corporate predecessors, has owned and operated electricity, gas, and steam generation facilities and transmission stations and equipment throughout New York City and Westchester County for over 200 years. In 1901, the Consolidated Gas Company bought Edison Illuminating Company. In 1936, with electricity becoming its greatest revenue source, the Consolidated Gas Company changed its name to Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.

Between the 1930s and 1980s, electrical wire, of which there are 130,000 miles in Con Edison’s service territory, was commonly insulated with asbestos. Con Edison workers and contractors who built, installed and repaired this machinery and equipment throughout New York City and Westchester County were frequently exposed to asbestos.

Pipes and valves had protective wrapping around them which contained asbestos. You had to pull off the wrapping to get to the pipe or valve which created dust in the air. Boiler tender
Con Edison, 1958

Electricity and steam generation are both extremely heat-intensive processes. Given asbestos’s tolerance for high temperatures, it was commonly used in power plants, including:

• Turbines: insulated and fireproofed with asbestos to withstand high heat
• Boilers: built with asbestos components, such as asbestos refractory cement and block
• Pipes, pumps, and valves: packed or covered with asbestos and fitted with asbestos gaskets

In July 2007, a Con Edison steam pipe exploded beneath 41st Street and Lexington Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, sending a massive cloud of steam and debris into the air. While air tests showed no airborne asbestos, samples of muddy debris contained asbestos, raising concerns about contamination and the risks posed by New York City’s aging utility infrastructure.

Jobsite Locations Associated With Con Edison Asbestos Exposure

Throughout the 1900s, Con Edison owned many power plants and steam and electrical equipment around New York. Some have been sold or decommissioned over time. The following list includes the major electrical and steam generating plants and stations owned by Con Edison where workers were often exposed to asbestos.

• Arthur Kill Generating Station: Staten Island’s Arthur Kill Unit 1 went into operation in 1948. Units 2 and 3 went into operation in 1959 and 1969, respectively. The Arthur Kill Generating station was sold to NRG Energy Inc. in 1999.
• Astoria Generating Station: The Astoria Generating Station was constructed in Queens in the 1950s and some of the units are still in operation today. The Astoria bundle was sold to Orion Power Holdings in 1999.
• Ravenswood Generating Station: Ravenswood Generating Station was built by Con Edison in 1963, with different units generating power or steam. Ownership of the Queens plant was transferred to KeySpan Energy in 1999.
• Waterside Generating Station: Manhattan’s Waterside Generating Station, also known as the 39th Street Powerhouse, opened in 1901. Con Edison or its corporate predecessor owned and operated the power and steam station until it was decommissioned in 2005.
• East River Station: The East River Station, also known as the 14th Street Powerhouse, is a cogeneration station that opened in 1924. Con Edison has supplied electricity and steam to Manhattan from the East River Station since its opening.
• 74th Street Generation Station: The Upper East Side’s 74th Street Generation Station was built by the Manhattan Railway Company in 1901 and purchased by Con Edison in 1959. It still produces electricity and steam for Manhattan today.
• Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant: The now decommissioned Indian Nuclear Power Plant had three nuclear reactors. The first reactor was commissioned in 1962 on land purchased by Con Edison in Buchanan, NY in 1954. Unit 1 was shut down in 1974, Unit 2 was shut down in 2020, and Unit 3 was down in 2021.
• 59th Street Powerhouse: The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) originally built the 59th Street Powerhouse in 1905 to power the New York City subway system. Con Edison purchased the plant in 1958 and turned it into a major steam production plant for the city.

High-Risk Occupations at Con Edison

The following occupations, among others, faced a heightened risk of asbestos exposure during the construction, maintenance, or repair of Con Edison facilities and equipment.

Secondary Asbestos Exposure

Utility workers and other tradesmen who worked at Con Edison properties, on electric transmission equipment, or on distribution and service piping, often carried asbestos fibers home on their clothes, shoes, and hair. Family members may have inhaled the asbestos fibers. This is known as secondary exposure. Mesothelioma victims who were exposed to secondhand asbestos from Con Edison workers may qualify for the same compensation as workers who were directly exposed.

Asbestos Products Used at Consolidated Edison

Many asbestos-containing products were used in Con Edison’s heat-intensive electricity and steam production and transmission. These materials were built into machinery to insulate, seal, and fireproof high-temperature equipment, exposing workers whenever they installed, maintained, or repaired it.

Common asbestos-containing products that Con Edison workers and contractors worked on or around include:

Compensation for Con Edison Employees and Contractors With Mesothelioma

If you or a loved one has been recently diagnosed with mesothelioma from past Con Edison asbestos exposure, you may be eligible for compensation. ELSM’s New York attorneys have represented 25 clients in their Con Edison mesothelioma lawsuits or for other asbestos-related diseases due, at least in part, to exposure to asbestos at a current or former Con Edison facility.

Mesothelioma compensation may be sought from the many companies whose products were used in Con Edison power plants, steam pipes, and electrical wires. If those companies are still solvent, a lawsuit will be filed against each company whose products the injured party can prove they were exposed to.

There are also asbestos trusts set up for many companies that are now bankrupt that had products at various Con Edison facilities. Claims can be filed with each company’s trust fund for products that caused the worker’s exposure.

Asbestos Trust Fund Claims

Several bankrupt companies supplied asbestos products to Con Edison for use in their plants. These companies established asbestos trust funds to compensate individuals harmed by asbestos exposure. The trusts listed below identify at least one Con Edison power plant where their products were used.

Bankrupt Asbestos Company	Asbestos Exposure Start Date	Asbestos Exposure End Date
ABB Lummus Global Inc.
Armstrong World Industries	1/1/1972	12/31/1982
Babcock & Wilcox		12/31/1982
Burns & Roe	1/1/1936	12/31/1947
Combustion Engineering	1/1/1957	12/31/1982
Eagle-Picher
Fibreboard	1/1/1968	12/31/1982
GAF Corporation	6/24/1965	12/31/1982
Halliburton	1/1/1936	12/31/1982
Keene Corporation	1/1/1960	12/31/1982
Owens Corning	4/23/1956	12/31/1982
Pittsburgh Corning	1/1/1963	1/1/1979
United States Mineral	8/12/1960	12/31/1982

Asbestos Lawsuits

The mesothelioma attorneys at ELSM make it their goal to require as little of their clients’ time as possible when a lawsuit is filed so that the client and their family can focus on treatment and quality of life. In most lawsuits, only a deposition detailing work at Con Edison and any other sites where asbestos exposure occurred will be necessary.

It is likely that an ELSM client with asbestos exposure at Con Edison will be represented by ELSM’s New York City office and have their mesothelioma lawsuit filed in the New York City Asbestos Litigation (NYCAL) court. NYCAL was established to handle only lawsuits involving asbestos-related disease and is designed to provide compensation to living mesothelioma victims as quickly as possible.