By Michael Throneberry, founder of Throneberry Law Group
Waukegan’s lakefront was a steel town for generations. The American Steel & Wire works, part of United States Steel, drew heat and molten metal through furnaces and machinery insulated with asbestos, and the workers who ran them were exposed every shift.
At Throneberry Law Group, we help Waukegan and Lake County families connect a mesothelioma diagnosis to a specific workplace like the steel and wire works. Michael Throneberry founded the firm after his father-in-law died of mesothelioma. We investigate each jobsite carefully and work as part of a statewide team of Illinois mesothelioma lawyers.
The Steel and Wire Works on Waukegan Harbor
American Steel & Wire, a subsidiary of U.S. Steel and a successor to the Washburn and Moen operations, ran a large wire mill on Waukegan Harbor for much of the twentieth century. Making steel and drawing wire runs on extreme heat, and a steel mill of this era used asbestos almost everywhere that heat moved.
Asbestos lined the furnaces, ladles, and annealing ovens, insulated the steam and power systems, and sealed the machinery on the mill floor. Workers disturbed it constantly during production, relining, and repairs.
Who Was Exposed at the Mill
Steel work spread asbestos across the whole operation, from the furnace floor to the maintenance shop. Those at highest risk included:
Furnace and melt-shop workers: who worked beside asbestos-lined furnaces and ladles
Millwrights and mechanics: who maintained rolling mills and wire machines sealed with asbestos gaskets and packing
Pipefitters and insulators: who wrapped and repaired asbestos on steam and power lines
Bricklayers and laborers: who relined furnaces and cleaned up asbestos debris
Family members were exposed too, from fibers carried home on work clothes that were shaken out and washed.
Asbestos Products Identified at the Mill
The bankruptcy trusts confirm the asbestos products installed at the American Steel & Wire works. A.P. Green and North American Refractories supplied the refractory brick and cement that lined the furnaces and ladles, and Babcock and Wilcox boilers and block insulation powered the mill. These are not assumptions. A trust approves a site only when the company acknowledges its asbestos product was present, an admission against its own interest that carries real weight in a claim.
Illnesses Linked to Steel-Mill Asbestos
Asbestos fiber breathed in at the mill can cause mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer decades later. Because the symptoms appear so long after exposure, many former steelworkers are diagnosed years after the mill closed. Acting soon after a diagnosis protects both health and legal options.
Why Steel Mills Were So Hazardous
A steel mill concentrated asbestos in a way few workplaces did. The furnaces, ladles, and ovens ran at temperatures that demanded heavy insulation, the rolling and wire machinery threw off heat and friction, and the whole plant was tied together by asbestos-wrapped steam and power lines. When furnaces were relined or machinery was rebuilt, the old asbestos was ripped out and new material cut to fit, filling the air with dust shift after shift.
Reconstructing a Mill Worker History
We build these cases from the ground up. Union books, mill employment records, Social Security earnings statements, and the memories of the men who worked the same lines help place a client in specific departments and near specific products. Steelworkers often held several jobs across the mill over a career, and each one can point to a different set of responsible manufacturers.
What Steelworkers and Their Families Should Do
If the American Steel & Wire works was part of your history, write down the years, the departments, and the equipment you handled. If you have a lasting cough, chest pain, or trouble breathing, see a doctor and mention the asbestos exposure. Early attention protects both your health and your options, and it costs nothing to have us look into a claim.
Take-Home Exposure From the Mill
Steel dust followed workers out the gate. Fibers embedded in coveralls, boots, and hair spread to cars, laundry rooms, and living rooms, and the family members who shook out and washed those work clothes breathed them in without ever entering the mill. Illinois recognizes these secondary exposure claims, so a spouse or child of an American Steel & Wire worker can have a valid case built on the same evidence and the same legal footing as a worker’s own claim.
Compensation for Steelworkers and Families
Compensation in a steel-mill case can cover medical costs, lost earnings, and the pain and upheaval the disease brings to a household. Bankruptcy-trust claims often move relatively quickly, while a lawsuit against companies that remain in business can reach further, and the two are commonly pursued together for the same client. When a family has lost a steelworker to mesothelioma, a wrongful death claim may be part of the case as well. We handle all of it on a contingency fee, so there is never a cost unless we recover for you.
Legal Options for Steelworkers and Families
These cases usually target the companies that made the asbestos products used in the mill, not the employer. Many of those makers set up bankruptcy trusts that still pay claims, and a lawsuit can reach companies that are still in business. We pursue every source of recovery based on a full work history.
Waukegan Asbestos Attorneys at Throneberry Law Group
The steel and wire works helped build Waukegan, but the asbestos inside left a lasting toll. We combine careful jobsite investigation with the personal commitment of an attorney who has felt this loss in his own family.
Our cases run on a contingency fee, we travel to you, and we serve Spanish-speaking families. If you or a family member worked here, start a free, no-obligation case review through our online contact form.