Plibrico 524(g) Asbestos Trust

About the Plibrico 524(g) Trust

Plibrico Company was a Chicago-based manufacturer of refractory materials that supplied the American steel, glass, cement, and manufacturing industries for much of the twentieth century. The company's flagship products were castable refractories and gunite — pourable or spray-applied cement-like materials used to line the interior of blast furnaces, soaking pits, coke ovens, open hearth furnaces, kilns, and a wide range of other industrial high-temperature equipment. For decades, many of Plibrico's castable refractory formulations incorporated asbestos fibers, which were valued for their heat resistance and structural stability. Workers who mixed, applied, installed, or repaired Plibrico refractories did so in conditions that generated significant quantities of airborne asbestos dust, often without adequate respiratory protection.

The asbestos content in Plibrico products was not unique in the refractory industry, but the widespread use of Plibrico materials across American heavy industry meant that exposure was far-reaching. Steel mill workers, ironworkers, furnace maintenance crews, bricklayers, and boilermakers at hundreds of industrial facilities across the country encountered Plibrico castables over their careers. As mesothelioma and asbestos-related disease diagnoses mounted among former industrial workers in the 1980s and 1990s, Plibrico faced a growing tide of asbestos personal injury claims that ultimately proved unmanageable under normal business operations.

Plibrico Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2004, seeking an orderly resolution of its asbestos liabilities. After extensive proceedings, the Plibrico 524(g) Asbestos Trust was created in 2007 pursuant to Section 524(g) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The trust was funded with assets derived from the bankruptcy estate and is charged with evaluating and compensating eligible claimants according to its Trust Distribution Procedures. The current payment percentage of 0.94% reflects the proportion of trust assets available relative to the projected total value of all present and future claims — one of the lowest payment percentages in the asbestos trust landscape.

Trust Fund Details

Note: The 0.94% payment percentage is among the lowest across all asbestos trusts. Despite the low percentage, filing is still recommended because trust filings are handled concurrently and at no additional cost. Percentages may be adjusted over time.

Who Is Eligible to File a Plibrico Trust Claim?

Eligibility for the Plibrico 524(g) Trust requires both a qualifying diagnosis and documented exposure to Plibrico refractory products. The trust's TDP specifies the medical criteria, exposure timeframes, and evidentiary standards that must be met. Workers in the following occupations and industries commonly have qualifying Plibrico exposures:

• Steelworkers: Workers at blast furnaces, basic oxygen furnaces, electric arc furnaces, soaking pits, and rolling mills where Plibrico castable refractories were used to line and reline furnace interiors.
• Ironworkers and Refractory Workers: Specialists who mixed, poured, and applied Plibrico castables and gunite to furnace linings, often generating heavy concentrations of asbestos dust during mixing and application.
• Coke Oven Workers: Employees at coking operations who worked in proximity to Plibrico-lined coke oven batteries and underwent regular exposure during relining operations.
• Furnace Maintenance Crews: Industrial workers who repaired, relined, or demolished Plibrico-lined furnaces and kilns during scheduled maintenance shutdowns.
• Cement and Glass Plant Workers: Employees at cement kilns and glass-melting furnaces where Plibrico refractory linings were a standard component of high-temperature production equipment.
• Boilermakers: Tradespeople who installed and repaired industrial boilers lined or repaired with Plibrico castable refractory materials.
• Bricklayers and Masonry Workers: Skilled tradespeople who worked alongside Plibrico products during refractory installation at industrial and commercial facilities.
• Chemical Plant and Refinery Workers: Workers at petrochemical processing facilities where Plibrico materials were used in high-temperature reactors, heaters, and process equipment.
• Family Members (Secondary Exposure): Household members of workers who regularly brought asbestos-laden work clothing home, resulting in secondary fiber exposure.

The qualifying exposure period for most Plibrico Trust disease categories is any period before the bankruptcy filing in 2004. Your attorney can advise you on the specific medical and exposure documentation requirements.

How to File a Plibrico Trust Claim

The Plibrico Trust claim process follows the standard framework used by most Section 524(g) asbestos trusts. An experienced asbestos attorney will guide you through each step and handle all submissions on your behalf:

1. Retain an Experienced Mesothelioma Attorney

   An attorney specializing in asbestos litigation will assess your work history and diagnose which trusts — including Plibrico — apply to your exposure. This evaluation is at no cost to you and creates no obligation.

2. Obtain and Organize Medical Records

   Your attorney will request pathology reports, CT scans, biopsy results, pulmonology or oncology records, and any other medical documentation confirming your diagnosis. For deceased claimants, autopsy reports and death certificates are required.

3. Reconstruct Your Occupational History

   You and your attorney will prepare a detailed work history identifying every facility, employer, job title, and time period where you may have encountered Plibrico products. Union membership records, Social Security records, co-worker statements, and facility employment files all contribute to this reconstruction.

4. Prepare Exposure Evidence Specific to Plibrico

   Your attorney must specifically link your exposure to Plibrico products — not just asbestos generally. Product identification evidence such as invoices, purchasing records, facility maintenance logs, or product identification testimony from former co-workers strengthens the claim.

5. Complete Trust Claim Forms and Assemble the Filing Package

   Using the Plibrico Trust's standardized claim forms, your attorney will compile all medical records, exposure evidence, and supporting documentation into a compliant submission package per the trust's TDP requirements.

6. Submit the Claim and Monitor for Deficiency Notices

   After submission, the trust reviews the filing for completeness and criteria compliance. If additional information is required, your attorney will respond to deficiency notices promptly to avoid processing delays.

7. Review the Payment Offer

   Upon approval, the trust will issue a payment offer. Given the 0.94% payment percentage, mesothelioma claimants should expect approximately $2,350. Your attorney can advise whether Individual Review or arbitration is appropriate if the Expedited Review offer does not reflect your claim's full value.

Can You File Claims With Other Trusts Too?

Yes — and given the Plibrico Trust's very low 0.94% payment percentage, filing with every other applicable trust is especially important. Industrial workers who were exposed to Plibrico refractories typically worked at facilities where many other asbestos-containing products were also present: Owens Corning Fiberglas insulation, Babcock & Wilcox boiler components, Combustion Engineering products, Armstrong World Industries materials, and dozens more, each with its own dedicated bankruptcy trust.

A skilled mesothelioma attorney will survey your complete work history and identify every trust for which you qualify — not just Plibrico. Filing simultaneously with 10, 15, or even 20 trusts is common in cases involving long careers at steel mills, chemical plants, or heavy industrial facilities. Each trust contributes incrementally to total compensation, and with Plibrico's low payment percentage, maximizing the breadth of trust filings is the primary lever for increasing your total recovery.

Trust filings also do not prevent civil lawsuits against manufacturers or contractors who have not established bankruptcy trusts. Your attorney may pursue both avenues simultaneously, with trust disclosures required during the litigation discovery process. The combined result of multiple trust settlements and litigation verdicts or settlements frequently reaches into the hundreds of thousands of dollars for mesothelioma victims.

Frequently Asked Questions