Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) — Plants in Texas

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that they were exposed to asbestos while working at Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) plants in Texas. This page documents the Texas portion of Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa)’s multi-state operations. For the full corporate summary and plants in other states, see the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) manufacturer page.

Premises Description

Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa — founded 1888 as Pittsburgh Reduction Company; today Alcoa Corporation) was through the 20th century the dominant U.S. and global aluminum producer. Alcoa operated through the asbestos era a comprehensive vertically-integrated U.S. aluminum production network including bauxite mining, alumina refining (the Bayer process), aluminum smelting (the Hall-Héroult process — invented at Alcoa), rolling mills, and downstream fabrication. Major Alcoa asbestos-era U.S. sites included:

  • Alcoa TN — the company’s namesake smelter and rolling mill complex (Blount County)
  • Massena NY — historic St. Lawrence Seaway hydroelectric-powered smelter
  • Rockdale TX — lignite-powered Texas smelter
  • Wenatchee WA and Vancouver WA — Pacific Northwest hydroelectric smelters
  • Badin NC — Yadkin River hydroelectric smelter
  • Davenport IA — sheet and plate rolling mill
  • Lafayette IN and Logan County WV — additional operations
  • Point Comfort TX, Mobile AL, St. Croix VI, Bauxite AR — alumina refining

Aluminum smelting is one of the most asbestos-intensive industrial processes documented in U.S. occupational asbestos litigation. The Hall-Héroult electrolytic reduction cells (potlines) operate continuously at temperatures around 950°C with high-current electrical service — every reduction cell was specified with extensive asbestos refractory, asbestos electrical insulation, and asbestos thermal protection through the documented era.

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that Alcoa — as premises owner of its U.S. smelter, mill, and refining operations — exposed its aluminum-worker workforce (United Steelworkers Local representation) and contractor pipefitters, insulators, boilermakers, and trade workers to extensive asbestos through:

  • Asbestos refractory and block insulation on Hall-Héroult reduction cells, anode-baking furnaces, holding furnaces, and reheat furnaces
  • Asbestos electrical insulation on potline bus bars, anode-bus connections, and rectifier-yard electrical systems
  • Asbestos pipe covering on plant steam, alumina, and process piping
  • Spray-applied asbestos fireproofing on smelter structural steel and crane runways
  • Asbestos gaskets and packing at process flanges, pumps, and valves

Aluminum Company of America has been named as a Premises Defendant in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation.

Workers Exposed

  • United Steelworkers Local members at Alcoa TN, Massena NY, Rockdale TX, Wenatchee WA, Badin NC, and Alcoa refineries
  • Refinery and mill pipefitters and millwrights working Alcoa capital projects
  • Insulators (HFIAW Local members) on Alcoa construction and turnaround crews
  • Boilermakers (IBB Local members) building Alcoa smelter and refinery pressure vessels
  • Electricians (IBEW Local members) working Alcoa potline and rectifier electrical systems
  • Construction-trade workforces on Alcoa EPC projects

If You Worked at an Alcoa Smelter, Refinery, or Mill

If you worked at an Alcoa aluminum smelter, alumina refinery, rolling mill, or fabrication plant during the asbestos era — as an Alcoa employee or as a dispatched contractor trade worker — and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or another asbestos-related illness, you may have legal rights.

Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 237-3332

Named Plants and Operating Era

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that specific named Alcoa plants in Texas allegedly involved asbestos-containing materials during their principal operating eras. Documented plant footprint in Texas:

  • Rockdale Works (Sandow Smelter) — in Rockdale TX (Milam County), primary aluminum reduction Hall-Héroult potline complex allegedly operating from 1952 through 2008 (potlines curtailed 2008, formally closed). Powered by the co-located Sandow Steam Station (Alcoa-owned lignite-fired generating station burning captive lignite from adjacent Alcoa Sandow surface mine).
  • Sandow Power Station (captive utility) — in Rockdale TX (Milam County), lignite-fired steam-electric station allegedly operating in support of the smelter from 1952 (multiple units through Sandow 4/5) into the 2010s. Boiler and turbine ACM exposures.
  • Point Comfort Refinery (Alumina) — in Point Comfort TX (Calhoun County), Alcoa-affiliated alumina refining complex allegedly operating from 1948 through the modern era (idled 2016). Bayer-process refinery with steam / caustic / red-mud process systems.

Plant-Era ACM Narrative

At Alcoa’s Texas operations, plaintiffs alleged the following plant-era asbestos exposure pathways during the principal U.S. asbestos era (approximately 1930s-1980):

  • Asbestos-fabric potline hood cladding and asbestos-block busbar insulation across the Rockdale Hall-Héroult reduction cells
  • Asbestos-refractory cathode collector bar insulation during pot rebuilds and reline campaigns in the Rockdale potrooms
  • Asbestos-block hot-side lagging on Point Comfort Bayer-process digesters, evaporators, calciners, and caustic-liquor piping
  • Asbestos boiler lagging, asbestos block and pipe covering on the Sandow lignite-fired boilers, superheater headers, and steam mains supplying the smelter DC rectifier load
  • Asbestos-cement bulkhead panels, asbestos wire insulation, and asbestos millboard in the Rockdale rectifier buildings and Point Comfort electrical rooms

Trades and Local Union Coverage

Plaintiffs alleged that Texas Alcoa plant work was performed by tradesmen from the following unions and Locals during the asbestos era:

  • HFIAW Insulators Local 22 — Houston TX jurisdiction extending to Central and Gulf Coast Texas — asbestos pipe covering and block insulation at Rockdale, Sandow, and Point Comfort
  • UA Pipefitters Local 286 — Austin TX jurisdiction covering Milam County / Rockdale area — flange bolt-up, gasket work, and process piping at Sandow / Rockdale
  • UA Pipefitters Local 211 — Houston / Gulf Coast jurisdiction — flange bolt-up and process piping on the Point Comfort refinery
  • IBEW Electricians Local 520 (Austin) and Local 716 (Houston) — potline rectifier, switchgear, and motor-control center work at Rockdale / Point Comfort
  • BAC Bricklayers — the Austin / Houston-area Local — refractory relining of Sandow boilers, Point Comfort calciners, and Rockdale anode bake furnaces
  • United Steelworkers — Rockdale and Point Comfort production and maintenance workforce during the asbestos era

Documented ACM Product Vectors Named in Litigation

Products from AP defendant manufacturers that plaintiffs alleged were supplied to or specified at Texas Alcoa plants during the asbestos era:

Mesothelioma Resources for Texas Workers

Occupational and premises asbestos exposure like this is a leading cause of mesothelioma, often diagnosed decades later. If you or a family member worked here: