The Dark Story of America’s Asbestos Empire: Inside Johns-Manville’s Lost Factories

1858: H.W. Johns Manufacturing Company founded (asbestos fire-resistant roofing). 1930: largest asbestos company US, 10,000 employees, 1,000+ products, 12 factories, 2 mines (Asbestos Quebec, Chrysotile Arizona). 1929: first lawsuit—11 employees negligence claim, settled $30K. 1943: suppressed report confirming asbestos-cancer link. 1956: $40M expansion (Transite asbestos-cement pipe)—7 plants (Marrero LA, Waukegan IL, Manville NJ, Watson CA, Stockton CA, Denison TX, Toronto). 1960s-1980s: thousands of lawsuits (asbestosis, lung cancer, mesothelioma). 1973: Borel v. Fibreboard—first successful mesothelioma lawsuit (11 companies named including Johns-Manville). 1982: Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed (16,000+ lawsuits pending, largest US company bankruptcy then). 1988: Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust established ($2.5B initial funding, first asbestos trust US). Today: resolved 1M+ claims, paid $5B+. Current trust assets: ~$630M (payment percentage 5.1%). Factories: Waukegan IL (EPA Superfund site), Denison TX (shuttered 30 years before 2022 remediation), Manville NJ (asbestos "snow" fell from factory). 2001: Berkshire Hathaway purchased company. Today: Johns Manville subsidiary (asbestos-free products—insulation, roofing, 43 facilities). Secondary exposure: families contaminated via workers' clothing/dust. SOURCES: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johns_M... https://www.asbestos.com/companies/jo... https://mesothelioma.net/johns-manville/ https://www.sokolovelaw.com/mesotheli... #JohnsManville #Asbestos #Mesothelioma #BankruptcyTrust #Superfund Johns-Manville asbestos bankruptcy 1982, Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust, mesothelioma lawsuits compensation, asbestos Superfund sites cleanup, Waukegan Illinois contamination, Berkshire Hathaway acquisition 2001, Transite asbestos-cement pipe, secondary asbestos exposure families, asbestos cancer suppressed report 1943, largest asbestos company America