Mesothelioma Lawyer Wisconsin: Legal Guide for Sheet Metal Workers Local 18

A Resource for Members, Retirees, and Families

Filing Deadline Warning: Wisconsin Statute of Limitations

If you were diagnosed with mesothelioma in Wisconsin, you have three years to file suit. Under Wis. Stat. § 893.54, the clock starts running from the date of diagnosis. Miss that deadline and you lose the right to sue — permanently. No exceptions for how sick you are, no exceptions for how clear-cut the exposure was.

Call an asbestos attorney today. Not next month. Today.

Why This Matters Now: Sheet Metal Workers and Asbestos Exposure in Wisconsin

Sheet Metal Workers Local 18 built Milwaukee. For generations, members fabricated and installed the ductwork, ventilation systems, HVAC equipment, roofing assemblies, and industrial fabrications that powered the city’s factories, hospitals, commercial towers, and institutions. What they didn’t know — what manufacturers including Johns-Manville, Owens-Corning, Armstrong World Industries, and Garlock Sealing Technologies allegedly concealed — was that many of those materials contained asbestos.

Today, retirees and former members of Local 18 are developing mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer at rates consistent with documented occupational asbestos exposure. If you or a family member worked in the sheet metal trade in Milwaukee, document your work history and contact a toxic tort attorney who handles asbestos cases. This article provides the facts you need to act.

What Sheet Metal Workers Do and Why the Work Created Asbestos Exposure

The Work

Sheet metal workers cut, form, fabricate, and install sheet metal products and systems. In the Milwaukee area, Local 18 members have historically performed work in several categories:

Industrial and Commercial HVAC

Fabricating and installing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems
Installing ductwork, plenums, diffusers, and dampers in industrial plants, office buildings, hospitals, schools, and government facilities

Industrial Fabrication and Maintenance

Fabricating enclosures, hoods, chutes, conveyors, and custom metal assemblies at manufacturing facilities
Cutting into existing structures during maintenance work — one of the highest-risk activities for disturbing previously installed asbestos materials

Roofing and Flashing

Installing and repairing standing-seam metal roofing, copings, gutters, and flashing systems on commercial and industrial buildings

Balancing and Testing

Performing air balancing and testing of completed HVAC systems while working in close contact with ductwork insulation and related materials

Specialty Industrial Work

Installing and maintaining high-temperature systems at power plants, refineries, and heavy manufacturing facilities
Working with boiler casings, furnace housings, expansion joints, and exhaust systems where asbestos insulation was pervasive

Occupational Asbestos Exposure Pathways

Sheet metal workers encountered asbestos through two distinct pathways documented in occupational health literature:

Direct handling of asbestos-containing products as part of their regular work
Bystander exposure when working near pipefitters, insulators, or construction workers who were cutting, disturbing, or removing asbestos materials

Both pathways created chronic, occupational-level exposure across decades of work. Bystander exposure is not a lesser category — industrial hygiene studies have documented that workers in adjacent trades sustained fiber counts comparable to those doing the direct cutting and removal.

Milwaukee County Asbestos Lawsuit: Local 18 Members and Worksites

Facilities Where Local 18 Members Reportedly Worked

Local 18 members reportedly worked throughout Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin at facilities where asbestos-containing materials were allegedly used extensively. Exposure may have occurred at the following locations:

Power Generation Facilities

Wisconsin Electric Power Company (We Energies) — Oak Creek Power Plant

Large coal-fired generating station on Lake Michigan
Local 18 members reportedly performed ductwork, casing, and ventilation work at this facility
Power plants of this era relied heavily on asbestos insulation for boiler casings, turbine housings, and high-temperature ductwork supplied by Combustion Engineering and other manufacturers
Sheet metal workers installing or cutting into casings may have been exposed to asbestos-containing insulation, gaskets, and packing materials
(per EIA Form 860 plant data and historical We Energies facility records)

Wisconsin Electric — Valley Power Plant, Milwaukee

Located in the Menomonee River valley
Reportedly employed sheet metal contractors throughout its operational history
The close-quarters work environment meant that one trade disturbing asbestos exposed every trade working nearby
Boiler components and high-temperature ductwork allegedly contained asbestos pipe covering and Kaylo-brand insulation reportedly manufactured by Johns-Manville

WEPCO Lakeside Power Plant — Port Washington

Another We Energies facility where sheet metal contractors were reportedly dispatched
Asbestos lagging on steam lines, boiler components, and electrical insulation was reportedly pervasive throughout the plant
High-temperature applications allegedly relied on Thermobestos and other Johns-Manville products

Heavy Manufacturing

Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing — West Allis

One of Milwaukee’s largest industrial employers for much of the twentieth century
Manufactured and assembled turbines, motors, and heavy industrial equipment
Local 18 members reportedly performed extensive ductwork and ventilation installation and maintenance at this facility
Asbestos-containing gaskets, packing, insulation, and fireproofing materials were allegedly present throughout
Expansion joints and high-temperature housings allegedly contained products including Monokote fireproofing and asbestos rope packing
(referenced in historical occupational health studies of Milwaukee manufacturing workers)

A.O. Smith Corporation — Milwaukee

Large-scale metal fabrication and automotive frame manufacturing
Sheet metal workers reportedly worked alongside members of Heat and Frost Insulators Local 1 and other heating trades
Asbestos pipe covering manufactured by Johns-Manville, Owens-Corning, and W.R. Grace, along with boiler insulation and gasket materials from Garlock Sealing Technologies, were allegedly in use at this facility

Harnischfeger Industries (P&H Mining Equipment) — Milwaukee

Manufactured heavy mining and construction equipment
Sheet metal workers performing fabrication and ventilation work may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials in foundry and manufacturing areas
Furnace linings and refractory materials from Eagle-Picher were allegedly used at this facility

Bucyrus-Erie — South Milwaukee

Heavy equipment manufacturer
Reportedly employed sheet metal contractors for ongoing maintenance and construction work
Manufacturing and foundry operations allegedly used Unibestos-brand asbestos-containing products extensively

Briggs & Stratton — Milwaukee and Wauwatosa

Sheet metal workers reportedly performed HVAC and ventilation installation at multiple plant locations
Asbestos-containing materials including Monokote and Aircell insulation in older plant sections may have been disturbed during renovation and retrofit projects

Master Lock Company — Milwaukee

Local 18 members reportedly worked on construction and maintenance projects at this facility
Ventilation systems in manufacturing areas allegedly contained asbestos-containing duct insulation and wrap materials

Steel and Foundry Operations

Ladish Company — Cudahy

Major manufacturer of forged metal components
High-temperature processes required extensive asbestos insulation supplied by Johns-Manville and Eagle-Picher
Sheet metal workers at foundry and forge operations may have been exposed to asbestos from Kaylo and Thermobestos furnace linings, high-temperature gaskets from Garlock, and refractory materials throughout the facility
Expansion joints and flex connections allegedly used asbestos rope and cloth products

Chain Belt Company (Rex Chainbelt) — Milwaukee

Sheet metal workers reportedly performed ventilation and fabrication work at this facility
The environment allegedly contained asbestos dust from pipe insulation including Johns-Manville and Owens-Corning products
Spray-applied Monokote fireproofing on structural steel was reportedly present in manufacturing areas

Hospitals and Medical Institutions

Milwaukee County Medical Complex / Froedtert Hospital

Major hospital construction projects incorporated asbestos-containing materials throughout multiple building systems
Materials allegedly included floor tile (Georgia-Pacific and Celotex brands), ceiling tile (Armstrong World Industries), pipe insulation, HVAC duct insulation, and spray-applied fireproofing
Sheet metal workers installing ductwork worked in direct proximity to those materials during both initial construction and subsequent renovation
Boiler rooms allegedly contained Johns-Manville insulation products and Garlock gaskets

Columbia Hospital / Columbia-St. Mary’s — Milwaukee

Sheet metal workers reportedly performed new construction and renovation work at this facility
Asbestos-containing building materials including Georgia-Pacific ceiling and floor tiles, Pabco insulation products, and Johns-Manville pipe covering were standard specification items for hospital construction of that era

St. Luke’s Hospital — Milwaukee

Hospital renovation and maintenance work ranks among the highest-risk categories for asbestos exposure because older facilities contain multiple layers of construction materials, many of which allegedly contain asbestos
Ductwork installed by Local 18 members was placed in buildings allegedly containing Monokote spray fireproofing, Aircell insulation, and Armstrong World Industries ceiling materials

Educational and Government Facilities

Milwaukee Public Schools Facilities

Local 18 members reportedly performed installation and renovation work at MPS buildings citywide
Many MPS buildings constructed between the 1930s and 1970s reportedly contained asbestos-containing materials including:
- Floor and ceiling tiles (Georgia-Pacific, Armstrong World Industries, Celotex brand products)
- Pipe insulation (Johns-Manville Kaylo, Owens-Corning products)
- Boiler room materials (Johns-Manville, Eagle-Picher)
- HVAC duct insulation and wrap (Monokote, Aircell, Thermobestos brands)
Sheet metal workers cutting into walls and ceiling plenums during renovation projects may have been exposed to friable asbestos
(consistent with records produced in MPS asbestos abatement proceedings)

Milwaukee County Buildings

County courthouses, administrative buildings, and correctional facilities
Sheet metal contractors reportedly worked on HVAC installation and renovation projects throughout the county’s building inventory
Older county buildings allegedly contained Johns-Manville and Owens-Corning insulation products

University of Wisconsin — Milwaukee

Campus construction and renovation projects reportedly engaged Local 18 contractors over multiple decades
Older UWM buildings allegedly contained asbestos-containing materials that were disturbed during renovation work
Boiler plant and heating system modifications may have exposed workers to Johns-Manville pipe covering and Eagle-Picher products

Commercial and Industrial Buildings

Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance — Milwaukee

Major commercial building projects in downtown Milwaukee
High-rise construction from the 1950s through the 1970s routinely incorporated spray-applied asbestos fireproofing (Monokote brand) and Johns-Manville duct insulation as standard building components

Milwaukee Grain Exchange and Downtown Commercial Buildings

Sheet metal workers performing renovation work in older Milwaukee buildings were repeatedly exposed to asbestos-containing materials across multiple project sites
Floor and ceiling tiles from Georgia-Pacific and Celotex, duct insulation from Johns-Manville, and joint compound containing asbestos fibers were allegedly present throughout these structures

Food Processing and Other Industrial Sites

Patrick Cudahy — Cudahy

Meatpacking and food processing facility with extensive steam systems
Steam lines allegedly were insulated with asbestos pipe covering manufactured by Johns-Manville and Owens-Corning
Sheet metal workers reportedly performed ventilation and fabrication work at this facility
Boiler insulation and high-temperature ductwork allegedly contained Kaylo and Thermobestos products

Asbestos-Containing Products in Sheet Metal Work

Products Sheet Metal Workers Directly Handled

Occupational health literature and asbestos litigation records document that sheet metal workers routinely encountered and directly handled the following asbestos-containing materials:

Asbestos-Containing Duct Insulation

Sheet metal ductwork was regularly wrapped or lined with asbestos insulation manufactured by Johns-Manville (Kaylo, Thermobestos brands), Owens-Corning, and Eagle-Picher (Aircell)
Used on systems carrying high-temperature air or where fire resistance was specified
Workers cutting, trimming, and fitting insulated ductwork directly disturbed asbestos fibers,