Union locals: Teamsters, IAM, IUOE and the former Brewery Workers — brewhouse, cellar, bottling and powerhouse classifications
How Brewery & Beverage Plant Workers Were Exposed to Asbestos
A brewery is a steam plant with a brewhouse attached. The kettles boil, the pasteurisers run hot, the cellars run cold, and every line between them was lagged. Brewery workers are seldom counted as an asbestos occupation, but the brewhouse and the powerhouse that fed it were full of the same materials as any industrial plant.
Documented exposure pathways drawn from public litigation records and industrial hygiene literature include:
- Working around brew kettles, mash tuns and cookers lagged with asbestos block and insulating cement
- Tending pasteurisers and bottle washers with insulated steam lines and heated tunnels
- Maintaining ammonia refrigeration lines and cold-room insulation in the cellars
- Firing and maintaining the plant’s own boiler house, steam headers and returns
- Replacing gaskets on kettle manways, pumps, valves and pipe flanges throughout the brewhouse
- Bystander exposure during outage and repair work by insulators and pipefitters
Why This Matters for Colorado Workers
If you worked as a brewery or beverage plant worker in Colorado during the asbestos era and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or pleural disease, you may have a legal claim — even if your employer is no longer in business. Many asbestos product manufacturers have established bankruptcy trust funds that continue to pay qualified claimants based on documented exposure history.
Kansas Filing Deadlines — Two Separate Clocks
Colorado keeps the personal-injury clock (C.R.S. § 13-80-102(1)(a) — 2 years from diagnosis) and the wrongful-death clock (C.R.S. § 13-80-102(1)(a) — 2 years from date of death) on separate, independent tracks. Preserving one does not extend the other. An experienced Colorado asbestos attorney can keep both options open as your situation evolves.
Talk to an Experienced Kansas Asbestos Attorney
A free, confidential consultation with O’Brien Law Firm can evaluate your specific exposure history and filing-deadline situation. No fee unless they pursue a legal claim.
☎ (314) 237-3332