The Dow Chemical Company — 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 The Dow Chemical Company plants in Texas. This page documents the Texas portion of The Dow Chemical Company’s multi-state operations. For the full corporate summary and plants in other states, see the The Dow Chemical Company manufacturer page.

Premises Description

The Dow Chemical Company (founded 1897, headquartered Midland, Michigan; today operating as Dow Inc.) was through the 20th century one of the largest U.S. petrochemical and specialty chemical manufacturers. Dow operated major U.S. asbestos-era manufacturing complexes at:

  • Midland MI — the historic corporate headquarters and original specialty-chemicals complex
  • Freeport TX — Dow Texas Operations, one of the largest petrochemical complexes in the world
  • Plaquemine LA — Dow Louisiana Operations, major chlor-alkali and ethylene production
  • Pittsburg CA — West Coast specialty chemicals
  • Carrollton KY, Hahnville LA, Russellville AR, and numerous specialty sites

Each of Dow’s major complexes operated continuously through the asbestos era with extensive asbestos-containing materials specified across process units, utility systems, and plant infrastructure.

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that Dow Chemical — as premises owner of its U.S. petrochemical and specialty chemical complexes — exposed contractor pipefitters, insulators, boilermakers, and trade workers, as well as Dow’s own operating and maintenance employees, to asbestos through:

  • Asbestos pipe covering on miles of plant steam mains, hot-oil lines, and process piping
  • Asbestos refractory and block insulation on process heaters, furnaces, and reformers
  • Asbestos gaskets and packing at process flanges, manways, and pump and valve seals
  • Spray-applied asbestos fireproofing on plant structural steel
  • Asbestos ceiling and partition board in plant control rooms, office buildings, and lab facilities

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

Workers Exposed

  • Refinery and petrochemical pipefitters (UA Local members) working Dow turnarounds and capital projects
  • Insulators (HFIAW Local members) on Dow construction crews
  • Boilermakers (IBB Local members) building Dow process units
  • Dow’s own operating and maintenance workforce (USW Local representation)
  • Construction-trade workforces on Dow EPC projects (Brown & Root, Fluor, Bechtel-built Dow units)

If You Worked at a Dow Chemical Complex

If you worked at a Dow Chemical Company petrochemical or specialty chemical complex during the asbestos era — at Midland MI, Freeport TX, Plaquemine LA, Pittsburg CA, or any other Dow facility — as a Dow employee or as a dispatched contractor pipefitter, insulator, boilermaker, or 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 Dow Chemical plants in Texas allegedly involved asbestos-containing materials during their principal operating eras. Documented plant footprint in Texas:

  • Dow Texas Operations (Freeport Complex) — Freeport TX, Brazoria County Gulf Coast complex on the Brazos River — Dow’s largest global manufacturing site, producing ethylene, propylene, chlor-alkali, ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, polyethylene, epoxy resins, and dozens of downstream derivatives, principal asbestos-era operations approximately 1940-1980s, complex still operating and continually expanding
  • Dow Chemical Deer Park Plant — Deer Park TX, Harris County Houston Ship Channel specialty chemicals and derivatives operations, principal asbestos-era operations approximately 1950s-1980s, still operating
  • Dow Chemical Texas City Plant — Texas City TX (historic), Gulf Coast petrochemical operations, principal asbestos-era operations approximately 1940s-1980s
  • Union Carbide Seadrift Plant — Seadrift TX, Calhoun County ethylene / ethylene oxide / ethylene glycol complex, absorbed into Dow ownership post-2001, principal asbestos-era operations approximately 1955-1980s

Plant-Era ACM Narrative

At Dow Chemical’s Texas operations, plaintiffs allegedly encountered the following plant-era asbestos exposure pathways during the U.S. asbestos era (approximately 1930s-1980):

  • Asbestos pipe covering on process piping, steam headers, and utility lines throughout the reaction and distillation buildings
  • Asbestos sheet gaskets at reactor, distillation column, heat exchanger, and process-piping flanges
  • Asbestos-block hot-side lagging on catalytic reactors, distillation column reboilers, and process heaters
  • Asbestos-refractory converter linings on catalytic conversion units (e.g., ethylene cracker radiant sections, chlor-alkali diaphragm cells, ethylene oxide reactors)
  • Asbestos-fabric expansion joints on process piping and cracker overheads
  • Asbestos-packed control valve stems, pump shaft seals, and compressor shaft seals throughout the plant
  • Asbestos sprayed fireproofing on structural steel throughout multi-story process buildings
  • Asbestos-fabric electrical arc chute plates in plant switchgear and motor control centers

Trades and Local Union Coverage

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

HFIAW Insulators Local 22 (Houston) and the Freeport-area Local for pipe covering; UA Pipefitters Local 211 (Houston) and Local 195 (Beaumont / Port Arthur) for flange work; IBB Boilermakers Local 74 (Houston) and Local 587 (Orange / Beaumont) for process vessel and reactor work; IBEW Electricians Local 716 (Houston) and Local 479 (Beaumont) for switchgear; BAC Bricklayers Locals along the Gulf Coast for refractory relining; and USW / OCAW operating crews at Freeport, Deer Park, and Texas City.

Documented ACM Product Vectors Named in Litigation

Products from AP defendant manufacturers that plaintiffs allegedly identified as supplied to or specified at Texas Dow Chemical plants during the asbestos era:

Mesothelioma Resources for Texas Workers

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