Legally Reviewed by Michael Throneberry, Attorney. President, National Trial Lawyers Asbestos & Mesothelioma Bar (2025 and 2026). Last reviewed November 1, 2026.
For more than a century, the river towns of Wood River, Roxana, South Roxana, and Hartford have refined oil for much of the Midwest. If you worked at one of those refineries, or lived with someone who did, and now have mesothelioma, you may have a claim. The Shell refinery alone appears on the approved-site lists of more than a dozen asbestos bankruptcy trusts.
Throneberry Law Group helps refinery workers and their families from our Edwardsville office, a short drive from the refineries. We trace which refinery, which company, and which years, then match that history to the trust lists. A case review is free.
You do not need every record before you call. We fill in the gaps.
Request a free, no-obligation case review
Which Refineries Operated Near Wood River?
Three refineries grew up side by side here, and each changed names many times. That matters, because trusts list a site under the name it had decades ago.
| Refinery | Location | Names over time | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Oil refinery | Wood River | Standard Oil, American Oil, Amoco; the site later passed to BP | Closed in the mid-1990s |
| Shell refinery (today’s Phillips 66 Wood River Refinery) | Roxana and South Roxana | Roxana Petroleum, Shell, Equilon, Tosco, Phillips, ConocoPhillips, WRB Refining, Phillips 66 | Operating |
| Hartford refinery | Hartford | Wood River Oil & Refining, Sinclair, Clark, Apex, Premcor | Closed |
The Standard Oil Refinery in Wood River
Standard Oil broke ground in Wood River in April 1907, and the refinery was running by early 1908, according to Madison Historical at SIUE. The company later became Amoco. By the 1990s the plant made only chemical additives, and it closed in the mid-1990s. After Amoco merged with BP in 1998, BP began a long cleanup of the site.
The Shell Refinery in Roxana, Today’s Phillips 66 Wood River Refinery
In 1917, the Roxana Petroleum Company, later Shell Oil, built the Wood River Refinery south of the village of Wood River, SIUE reports. The town that grew around it became Roxana in 1921. The refinery’s equipment sits in both Roxana and South Roxana.
Shell ran the plant for more than 80 years. In 1998 it passed to Equilon, a Shell and Texaco venture. Tosco bought it in 2000, and Phillips bought Tosco in 2001, according to the Madison County Historical Society and the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The refinery later belonged to ConocoPhillips, and the Illinois EPA lists WRB Refining as its owner. Phillips 66 runs it today from 900 South Central Avenue in Roxana, as an Illinois EPA permit and a 2018 federal consent decree show.
The Hartford Refinery: Wood River Oil, Sinclair, and Clark
The Hartford refinery was built in 1940 by Wood River Oil & Refining and opened in 1941. It was sold to Sinclair in 1950 and to Clark Oil and Refining in 1967. In 1981, Clark merged into Apex Acquisition, and in 1988 the refinery was sold to the company later known as Premcor, according to a federal court decision. The Illinois EPA notes that Premcor was formerly Clark. The refinery is now closed. In 2018, the Illinois Attorney General announced a settlement requiring Premcor to pay for cleanup of the soil and groundwater.
Why Do Asbestos Trusts List These Refineries?
Refineries run on heat and pressure. Boilers, furnaces, heaters, and miles of hot pipe needed insulation, and for most of the twentieth century that often meant asbestos. The CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry lists oil refineries among the businesses, and refinery workers among the jobs, with past asbestos exposure.
The Roxana refinery’s boiler houses held Foster Wheeler and Riley boilers built in the early 1940s, with Babcock & Wilcox, Riley Stoker, and Combustion Engineering units added through the 1960s and 1970s, including units on the catalytic crackers. The Hartford refinery’s boilers date back to 1940. Plants of that era commonly used asbestos insulation, refractory, and gaskets on boilers and the pipes around them.
More than a dozen asbestos trusts list the Shell refinery, under its Roxana and Wood River addresses. They also list the Standard Oil, American Oil, and Amoco refinery in Wood River, the Clark refinery in Hartford, and the Sinclair refinery. A trust listing is not a finding that asbestos was present in a certain unit. It means the trusts accept work at the site as part of a claim.
Who Was at Risk at the Refineries?
Jobs that often involved this kind of work include:
- Boilermakers and pipefitters, who rebuilt boilers, heaters, and steam lines.
- Insulators, who cut and installed pipe covering and block.
- Operators, who worked in the units every day.
- Turnaround crews and contractors, who came in for shutdowns.
- Machinists, millwrights, and electricians, who repaired pumps, valves, and motors.
Our page on oil refinery workers explains these jobs in more detail.
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 refinery work decades ago.
What Are Your Legal Options?
A refinery case often draws on more than one source of compensation. Which ones apply depends on your diagnosis, which refinery you worked at and when, 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 and where you worked; 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 refineries have had many owners over the years, so who may be responsible can depend on which plant you worked at and when. Contractors were not employees of the refinery, so their options can be different. We review this question in every refinery case.
How We Investigate a Refinery Claim
We start with which refinery, which company ran it, and which years you worked there. Then we look at the units and equipment you worked on, your union local, and the shutdowns you remember. We compare that history with trust site lists and product records, then explain which claims the evidence may support.
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. Many families in Roxana, South Roxana, and Hartford lived close to the refinery gates. A spouse who washed work clothes may have a claim. Family members with their own diagnosis may have their own claims, and families can also bring claims after a worker has died.
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
Other Refineries and Metro East Sites
Our refinery exposure sites page lists refineries in other states, and our Edwardsville mesothelioma lawyer page covers Granite City, Alton, Sauget, and the rest of the Metro East. Our page on asbestos exposure at Granite City Steel covers the steel mill in Granite City. Workers may also qualify for claims against asbestos trust funds.
Questions About Wood River Refinery Claims
My Dad Worked at Shell, but the Plant Is Phillips 66 Now. Which Name Do We Use?
Both. Asbestos trusts generally list a site under the name it had when the work happened. For the refinery in Roxana, that was Shell for most of the twentieth century, until 1998. The plant later passed to Equilon, Tosco, Phillips, and ConocoPhillips, and today it is run by Phillips 66. We match the work history to every name the trusts use. We also check the Standard Oil and Amoco refinery in Wood River and the Clark refinery in Hartford, since many workers spent time at more than one plant along the river.
I Worked for a Contractor, Not the Refinery. Do I Still Have a Case?
You may. Contractors did much of the heavy repair work at refineries, especially during shutdowns, when units were opened and rebuilt. Trust claims generally depend on where you worked and what you were around, not on who signed your paycheck, and contractors may have other legal options as well. We build a work history that shows which refinery, which years, and what kind of work you did. Union records, pay stubs, and Social Security earnings statements can help, but you do not need every record before you call. We fill in the gaps.
Is the Hartford Refinery the Same as the Wood River Refinery?
No. They were separate refineries owned by different companies. The Hartford refinery was built in 1940 and was later owned by Sinclair and then Clark. The Wood River refinery in Roxana was built by Roxana Petroleum, later Shell, and the Standard Oil refinery in Wood River was a third plant. Some workers worked at more than one of them, and work at each one may be part of a claim. Trust site lists often use the older company names, so we check every name that fits your work history.
Can I File a Lawsuit, or Only a Trust Claim?
It depends on your case. Many refinery cases include both. Trust claims are filed against bankruptcy trusts set up by companies that made asbestos products. A lawsuit may be possible against manufacturers and suppliers that are still in business, and contractors may also have claims tied to the refinery owner. We review every option that fits your work history and diagnosis.
My Father Has Passed Away. Who Files the Claim?
In Illinois, a wrongful-death lawsuit is brought by the personal representative of the person’s estate for the benefit of the surviving spouse and next of kin, and it generally must be filed within two years after the death. Trust claims follow their own rules. We help gather the work history, medical records, and death certificate.
Talk to a Metro East Mesothelioma Lawyer
If you or a family member worked at a Wood River, Roxana, South Roxana, or Hartford refinery and has mesothelioma, contact Throneberry Law Group for a free, no-obligation case review. Request a case review online.