Legally Reviewed by Michael Throneberry, Attorney. President, National Trial Lawyers Asbestos & Mesothelioma Bar (2025 and 2026). Last reviewed November 1, 2026.
If you worked at Granite City Steel, or lived with someone who did, and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you may have legal options. The mill appears on the approved-site lists of more than a dozen asbestos bankruptcy trusts, which makes it one of the most-listed workplaces in the Metro East. That listing can help show where the exposure happened.
Throneberry Law Group helps steelworkers and their families from our Edwardsville office, a short drive from the mill. We trace your work history, compare it with trust site lists and product records, and explain which claims the evidence supports. You don’t need to know every product you worked around before you call. If travel is hard, we will come to you.
Request a free, no-obligation case review
How Did Asbestos Exposure Happen at Granite City Steel?
Granite City Steel workers were exposed mainly through insulation, refractory, and gaskets used on boilers, furnaces, and steam lines. Steel mills ran on heat. Blast furnaces, coke ovens, and boiler houses needed materials that could stand high temperatures, and for much of the twentieth century those materials often contained asbestos. The CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry lists steel manufacturers among the businesses where workers had past asbestos exposure.
The Illinois EPA describes the plant as an integrated steel mill with coke ovens, blast furnaces, basic oxygen furnaces, and boilers. The mill’s boiler houses held heavy equipment: Heine boilers built in 1920 at the Number 1 blast furnace boiler house, Babcock & Wilcox boilers built in 1928, and Combustion Engineering boilers built from 1930 through 1960. Plants of that era commonly used asbestos insulation, refractory, and gaskets on boilers and the pipes around them. The heaviest exposure usually came during repairs and rebuilds, when old insulation and refractory were torn out and replaced and the dust spread through the work area.
Which Jobs Were Most at Risk?
Anyone who worked near heat equipment, or repaired it, could breathe asbestos fibers. Jobs that often involved this kind of work include:
- Boilermakers and pipefitters, who opened and rebuilt boilers and steam lines.
- Bricklayers and furnace repair crews, who tore out and replaced refractory in blast furnaces and ladles.
- Insulators, who cut and installed pipe covering and block insulation.
- Millwrights, electricians, and maintenance crews, who worked inside boiler houses and around furnaces during repairs.
- Outside contractors, who came in for shutdowns and rebuilds. Contractors may have different legal options than mill employees.
Workers who never handled asbestos themselves could still be exposed when nearby work released fibers into the air.
When Does Mesothelioma Appear After Exposure?
Mesothelioma takes a long time to develop. The CDC reports that it usually appears 20 to 40 years after asbestos exposure, and sometimes much later. That is why a diagnosis today can trace back to work at the mill decades ago.
What Are Your Legal Options?
A Granite City Steel case often draws on more than one source of compensation. Which ones apply depends on your diagnosis, when you worked at the mill, whether you were an employee or a contractor, and the products you worked around.
| Option | Who it may apply to | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
| Asbestos trust claims | Workers and family members with qualifying exposure | Trusts set up by bankrupt companies that made asbestos products |
| Personal injury lawsuit | A living person diagnosed with mesothelioma | Manufacturers and suppliers that are still in business |
| Wrongful death and survival claims | The estate, for the benefit of the surviving spouse and next of kin | The same companies, in a case filed by the estate’s personal representative |
| Possible claim against the employer | Some former employees whose occupational disease benefits are barred by time limits | Depends on when you worked there; see below |
| Contractor claims | Outside contractors and their families | Possibly the property owner or operator, along with manufacturers |
| Benefits | Veterans, workers who can no longer work, and others | VA, Social Security Disability, and occupational disease benefits |
Can I Sue My Employer in Illinois?
It depends. For many years, Illinois law generally kept workers from suing their own employer over an occupational disease. In Folta v. Ferro Engineering (2015), the Illinois Supreme Court held that this rule applied even when the time limit in the Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act had already run before the disease appeared. In 2019, the legislature changed that. Under 820 ILCS 310/1.1, a worker or the worker’s family may bring a civil action against an employer when the Act’s time limit bars benefits.
The mill has had several owners over the years, so who may be responsible can depend on the years you worked there. We review this question in every Granite City Steel case.
How We Investigate a Granite City Steel Claim
We review where and when you worked, the jobs you did, and the equipment and materials you remember. We compare that history with trust site lists and product records, then explain which claims the evidence may support. Pay stubs, union cards, or a Social Security earnings statement help, but you don’t need them before you call.
Talk with a lawyer about your options
Can Family Members Get Sick Too?
Yes. The CDC notes that in the past, asbestos workers went home covered in dust, and their families breathed it. A spouse who washed a steelworker’s work clothes can develop mesothelioma decades later. Family members with their own diagnosis may have their own claims.
How Long Do You Have to File in Illinois?
In Illinois, a person with mesothelioma generally has two years to file a personal injury lawsuit, under 735 ILCS 5/13-202. The clock usually starts when the person knew, or reasonably should have known, about the illness and its likely cause, which is often the date of diagnosis. A wrongful death lawsuit generally must be filed within two years after the death, and it is brought by the personal representative of the person’s estate, under 740 ILCS 180/2.
Trust claims and benefit programs have their own rules and deadlines. Our page on the mesothelioma statute of limitations explains more, and families who have lost someone can read about wrongful death claims.
Deadlines are short once they start. Request a free case review
What Compensation May Be Available?
A claim can cover medical costs, lost income, and the toll the illness takes on a family. Because many manufacturers supplied products to the mill over the decades, a Granite City Steel case often involves several asbestos trust fund claims, sometimes alongside a lawsuit against companies that can still be sued. Every case is different, and we explain your options in plain words.
Granite City Steel, National Steel, and U.S. Steel: A Short History
Granite City was built as a steel town by the Niedringhaus family. According to the City of Granite City, the Granite City Steel plant opened in 1895 to supply rolled steel to the family’s stamping plant. The steelmaking business split off from the National Enameling and Stamping Company in 1927 and 1928 and became Granite City Steel, as SIUE’s Madison Historical explains.
| Name | Years | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Granite City Steel Company | 1927 to 1971 | Formed from the steel side of the Niedringhaus companies; the plant itself opened in 1895 |
| National Steel Corporation, Granite City | 1971 to 2003 | National Steel bought Granite City Steel in 1971 and declared bankruptcy in 2002 |
| U.S. Steel Granite City Works | 2003 to today | U.S. Steel bought National Steel on May 20, 2003 |
Source for the dates: City of Granite City.
Other Steel Mills and Metro East Sites
Granite City Steel is one of many Metro East workplaces tied to asbestos exposure. Our steel mill exposure sites page lists others, and our Edwardsville mesothelioma lawyer page covers Granite City, Alton, Wood River, and the rest of the Metro East. Our page on the Wood River, Roxana, and Hartford refineries covers the refineries along the river. Some factory jobs also involved asbestos exposure, as our page on factory workers explains.
Questions About Granite City Steel Claims
I Worked at Granite City Steel Decades Ago. Is It Too Late to File?
Working at the mill decades ago does not, by itself, make you too late to file. The CDC reports that mesothelioma usually appears 20 to 40 years after asbestos exposure, and sometimes much later. In Illinois, filing deadlines are generally tied to when a person learned of the illness and its likely cause, which is often the date of diagnosis, not the years you worked at the mill. Once that clock starts, the deadlines are short, so it is best to talk with a lawyer soon after a diagnosis. We can review your work history and explain which deadlines apply in a free, no-obligation case review.
The Mill Changed Names. Does That Matter?
A name change does not by itself prevent a claim, but identifying the right company and the right years does matter. Asbestos trusts list the site under more than one name, including Granite City Steel and National Steel. We match your work history to every name used for the mill. We also look at other places you may have worked, such as refineries, power plants, or other mills, because that work may also be relevant. Pay stubs, union cards, or a Social Security earnings statement can help, but you do not need them before you call.
I Was a Contractor at the Mill. Do I Have a Claim?
You may. Outside contractors who came into the mill for shutdowns and rebuilds often worked alongside mill employees and around the same equipment. Because contractors were not employees of the mill, their legal options can be different from an employee’s, and in some cases may include claims that an employee would not have. We review who employed you, who owned and ran the site at the time, and the products used where you worked. Every contractor case turns on its own facts, so a review of your work history is the place to start.
Can I File if My Husband Worked There and Has Passed Away?
There may be claims available after your husband’s death. In Illinois, a wrongful death lawsuit is brought by the personal representative of his estate for the benefit of the surviving spouse and next of kin, and it generally must be filed within two years after the death. Asbestos trust claims follow their own rules and timelines. You do not need to have every record before you call. We gather the work history, medical records, and death certificate, and we handle the paperwork with the trusts and the courts so your family does not have to.
Talk to a Metro East Mesothelioma Lawyer
If you or a family member worked at Granite City Steel and has mesothelioma, contact Throneberry Law Group for a free, no-obligation case review. Request a case review online. If travel is hard, we will come to you.