Bethlehem Steel was an industrial powerhouse that helped build the American landscape, but also is intimately connected with asbestos mesothelioma.

Bethlehem Steel, based in Pennsylvania, traces its roots back to the Saucona Iron Company, and developed and grew throughout the Industrial Revolution. The company produced steel for construction and shipbuilding. The company was, for a time, the second leading producer of steel in the United States.

Bethlehem Steel grew within the United States, building steel mills and shipyards across the country. Steel from their mills was used to build the Golden Gate Bridge. During World War II, their shipyard produced almost 50 destroyers, and performed maintenance on many other ships. At its peak, the company employed tens of thousands of U.S. workers. But some of these workers have begun to fall ill with asbestos-related diseases, such as asbestos lung cancer.

Bethlehem Steel has faced numerous asbestos lawsuits. A shipyard worker who worked for Bethlehem in the 1950s was awarded $15.3 million in his lawsuit against Bethlehem’s descendant companies in 2008. In another asbestos lawsuit, a mesothelioma patient was awarded $1.3 million in 2010. Reportedly, Bethlehem has tried to offer next of kin settlements of $150,000 to avoid these multimillion dollar asbestos lawsuits. As of 2000, Bethlehem had faced more than 400 individual asbestos lawsuits, and expected to face more than 3,000. While Bethlehem filed for bankruptcy in 2001, its successor companies continue to face asbestos litigation.

Asbestos is a naturally-occurring mineral with some very useful properties. First, the tiny silica fibers of asbestos are remarkably fireproof. This made it ideal for industrial use, since it does not melt or burn even at the kinds of temperatures in steel mills. On top of this, asbestos also makes an almost-perfect insulator. This led to its use in heat-protective garments, as well as its use as an insulator in boats and buildings. But the material is linked to serious health problems.

As far back as the 1890s, there were suspicions that asbestos exposure could cause respiratory illness. Buy the 1930s, when Bethlehem Steel was going into the Golden Gate Bridge, evidence had begun to accumulate that asbestos could cause illnesses like lung cancer, asbestosis, and mesothelioma. By the 1950s, the link was a medical certainty. But despite this, workers in steel mills and shipyards were rarely warned about the risks of asbestos exposure. Eventually, in the 1970s and 1980s, various uses of asbestos were phased out and banned. Because of the long latency period of many asbestos cancers, asbestos litigation continues to the present day.