Bethlehem Steel and Shipyards

Ground was broken at the Bethlehem Steel Company in Bethlehem, PA in 1860 with the plant opening 3 years later in 1863.  Bethlehem Steel immediately became known for the excellent products it produced and many of the devices and methods used in the steel industry for decades after had their start at this plant.

The second-largest steel manufacturer in the U.S., Bethlehem Steel was, in the early years, the leading supplier of steel to the construction industry and their methods have been touted as integral to the skyscraper boom of the early 1900s.  As a matter of fact, the company was responsible for producing the steel that went into such buildings and landmarks as the Golden Gate Bridge, Rockefeller Center, and Madison Square Garden.

Wartime saw the production of large ammunition and armor plate.  During World War II, there were 15 shipyards at Bethlehem Steel and workers there were responsible for building more than 1,100 ships during the war years.  The company continued to prosper for the next few decades but when construction changed in the 1980s and building skyscrapers and other tall buildings was no longer a priority, the company faltered and the Bethlehem, PA plant closed in 1995 though some of the company’s satellite locations remained open and were eventually purchased by the International Steel Group.

Steel workers were exposed to asbestos-containing materials on a daily basis.  Employees at Bethlehem Steel wore asbestos clothing like gloves, aprons, coats, leggings, and masks to protect themselves against life-threatening burns from molten liquids.  Ovens, ladles, steam pipes, boilers, and other equipment made use of asbestos due to its fire and heat resistant properties. 

Among those employers that were exposed to asbestos are:

• Extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders
• Rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders
• Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders
• Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders
• Machinists
• Millwrights
• Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders,
• pourers and casters, metal
• Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders
• Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers
• Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders
• Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers

If you were an employee at any of Bethlehem Steel’s operations and have been diagnosed with Mesothelioma, you should take the time to learn more about the disease and your legal rights as a victim of asbestos-related cancer.  Send for our free Mesothelioma Information Packet, available from this website.