Legally Reviewed by Michael Throneberry, Attorney. President, National Trial Lawyers Asbestos & Mesothelioma Bar (2025 and 2026).
For most of the last century, the Metro East was one of the busiest industrial corridors in the Midwest. Steel mills in Granite City, glass and paper plants in Alton, refineries in Wood River, Roxana, and Hartford, and chemical and power plants along the river in Sauget and Venice kept tens of thousands of people working. Many of those jobs put workers around asbestos insulation, gaskets, and fireproofing every day. Mesothelioma can take decades to appear, so a person who worked a mill floor or a refinery unit in the 1960s or 1970s may only now be hearing the diagnosis. If asbestos caused the illness, Illinois law may allow the patient and the family to recover money for medical care, lost income, and the harm the disease has done.
That is the work we do. At Throneberry Law Group, we have spent more than two decades standing up for people with mesothelioma and their families, and our Edwardsville office puts us in the middle of the Metro East. Attorney Michael Throneberry earned his law degree at Washington University in St. Louis, just across the river, and he lost his own father-in-law to mesothelioma, so this work is personal to him. Clients work directly with Michael, not a rotating call center, and we can help Spanish-speaking families. You can read about our statewide work on our Illinois mesothelioma lawyers page.
The Metro East Built America’s Steel, Glass, and Fuel
Few places in Illinois packed so much heavy industry into so few miles. The river gave factories cheap shipping, and the rail lines out of East St. Louis and Brooklyn tied them to the rest of the country. Asbestos was part of almost every one of those operations, because it held up to heat and was cheap to buy.
The human toll shows up in the numbers. According to the Asbestos Nation database from the EWG Action Fund, Illinois recorded an estimated 12,067 asbestos-related deaths from 1999 through 2017, including 2,333 from mesothelioma. The same data counts 435 asbestos-related deaths in Madison County and 281 in St. Clair County over that period.
How We Know Which Local Sites Matter
When an asbestos company went bankrupt, a court set up a trust to pay the people its products harmed. Many of those trusts keep lists of worksites where they accept that workers were exposed. We searched those approved-site lists for every town in Madison and St. Clair counties. The sites below appear on the approved-site lists of asbestos bankruptcy trusts. That does not mean every worker there has a claim, but it can make proving exposure far easier. Our page on asbestos trust funds explains how these trusts pay claims.
Granite City Steel and the Steel Mills
Granite City grew up around steel. According to the City of Granite City’s history, the Granite City Steel plant opened in 1895, was bought by National Steel in 1971, and became part of U.S. Steel in 2003. Granite City Steel appears on the approved-site lists of more than a dozen asbestos trusts, more than any other site in the Metro East.
Other Granite City and Madison Plants
Granite City Steel was far from the only mill. American Steel Foundries, General Steel, Commonwealth Steel, and the National Enameling and Stamping Company (NESCO) also appear on trust lists, along with the Union Starch and Refining plant and the Nestle plant. Just south in Madison, trust lists include Consolidated Aluminum, Dow Chemical, and American Car and Foundry. Steelworkers faced asbestos in furnace linings, heat-resistant gloves and clothing, crane brakes, gaskets, and pipe insulation. Our page on steel mill asbestos exposure sites lists more of the mills we look at.
Alton Glass, Paper, and Steel
Alton’s riverfront was lined with plants that ran hot around the clock. The Owens-Illinois glass works traces back to the Illinois Glass Company, founded in 1873. According to the SIUE Madison Historical encyclopedia, the Alton plant employed 2,400 workers at its 1973 peak and closed on October 19, 1983. Glass furnaces and forming machines ran at extreme heat, and asbestos was used to protect workers and equipment from it.
Alton Box Board and Laclede Steel
Two other Alton employers show up often in the trust records. Alton Box Board appears on eight trusts’ approved-site lists, and Laclede Steel appears on seven. Owens-Illinois in Alton and its machine plant in nearby Godfrey appear on trust lists as well. Workers from these plants often spent whole careers there, which means long years of possible exposure.
Wood River, Roxana, Hartford, and East Alton Refineries
Refining came to the area early. Phillips 66 says its Wood River refinery was built in 1917. The Shell works at Roxana appears on 11 trusts’ approved-site lists, and Shell at Wood River on nine. The American Oil (Amoco) refinery in Wood River, the Clark Oil refinery in Hartford, and the Olin plant in East Alton each appear on the lists of eight trusts.
Refinery workers, pipefitters, and outside contractors handled asbestos in pipe insulation, valve packing, pumps, heaters, and the gaskets on nearly every flange. Maintenance shutdowns, when crews tore out and replaced old insulation, were some of the dustiest jobs of all. Our page on refinery asbestos exposure sites covers this work in more detail.
Sauget, Venice, and East St. Louis
The river towns south of Granite City hosted chemical plants, power stations, and meatpacking. In Sauget, which was named Monsanto until 1968 according to Washington University’s Center for the Humanities, the Monsanto chemical plant appears on eight trusts’ approved-site lists. The Union Electric Cahokia power plant and Cerro Copper also appear there. The EPA’s cleanup record for the Sauget plant centers on chemicals such as PCBs rather than asbestos, so we rely on the trust listings, not the EPA file, when we talk about asbestos at these sites. Our chemical plant exposure sites page explains how chemical workers were exposed.
Power Plants, Packing Houses, and Rail Yards
The Union Electric Venice power plant appears on five trusts’ lists, and power plant crews faced asbestos in boilers, turbines, and steam lines, as our power plant exposure sites page describes. In East St. Louis, trust lists include Pfizer, Obear-Nester Glass, Alcoa, Allied Chemical, American Zinc, and the Swift and Armour packing houses near the National Stockyards. The Terminal Railroad Association in Brooklyn and the Missouri Pacific in Dupo appear too. Railroad cases often follow federal law, and our page on railroad worker asbestos exposure explains how that works.
Edwardsville, Belleville, and the Rest of the Metro East
Asbestos was not limited to the big plants. In Edwardsville, trust lists include the Wagner Electric plant and Hamlin Casting, along with public buildings such as the Madison County Courthouse. In Belleville, which the Labor and Industry Museum notes was called the Stove Capital of the World, the lists include St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Memorial Hospital, and the St. Clair County Courthouse. Collinsville, Highland, O’Fallon, Cahokia, and Washington Park all have trust-listed sites as well.
Veterans and Scott Air Force Base
Scott Air Force Base near Belleville also appears in the trust records. Service members and civilian workers who repaired aircraft or worked in older base buildings may have been exposed. Veterans can often pursue a civil claim and veterans’ benefits at the same time, and our page on veterans’ asbestos claims explains both paths.
Jobs That Put Metro East Workers at Risk
In the Metro East, exposure usually comes down to the trade. Some jobs put people right next to asbestos, day after day, for years. These are among the trades we see most often in Metro East cases:
- Steelworkers: Mill crews at Granite City Steel, American Steel Foundries, and Laclede worked near furnace linings, heat gear, and brake parts that held asbestos.
- Refinery workers and contractors: Operators and maintenance crews at Wood River, Roxana, and Hartford handled pipe insulation, gaskets, and valve packing.
- Glass and paper workers: Owens-Illinois and Alton Box Board employees worked around high-heat machinery protected with asbestos.
- Pipefitters, boilermakers, and insulators: These trades cut, wrapped, and tore out asbestos insulation at nearly every plant in the region.
- Power plant workers: Crews at the Venice, Cahokia, and Wood River stations worked on boilers and turbines lined with asbestos.
- Railroad workers: Shop and yard crews in Brooklyn, Dupo, and East St. Louis handled asbestos brake shoes, gaskets, and insulation.
- Construction and building trades: Electricians, carpenters, and laborers disturbed asbestos in schools, hospitals, and public buildings across both counties.
That list is only a starting point. If a job put someone near old insulation, gaskets, pipe wrap, or brakes, it is worth a phone call to find out.
Families Were Exposed at Home Too
Not every person with mesothelioma worked in a plant. Many were exposed at home when a husband, father, or roommate came off shift with asbestos dust on his clothes, hair, and boots. A spouse who shook out and washed those work clothes for years could breathe in enough fibers to become sick decades later. This is called take-home or secondhand exposure.
These cases take careful work, because the exposure is one step removed from the job site. We trace the family member’s work history, find the plants and products involved, and show how the dust came home. Many families do not know they have a claim until they ask.
How Asbestos Causes Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a cancer of the thin lining around the lungs, the belly, and other organs, and asbestos is its main cause. When a person breathes in asbestos fibers, the body cannot break them down. The fibers lodge in tissue and cause damage that can turn into cancer over many years. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, signs of mesothelioma may not appear until 30 to 40 years after exposure.
That long delay is why so many Metro East cases involve plants that closed long ago. A closed plant or a bankrupt company does not end a claim. Trust funds and companies that are still in business may still be responsible.
Illinois Filing Deadlines for Mesothelioma Claims
Illinois gives people a short window to file. A personal injury claim must generally be filed within two years, under 735 ILCS 5/13-202. In asbestos cases, that clock generally starts when a person knew, or reasonably should have known, about the illness and its likely cause, which is often the date of diagnosis.
Deadlines for Wrongful Death Claims
When a person has passed away, the family may bring a wrongful death claim instead. Under the Illinois Wrongful Death Act, that claim must generally be filed within two years after the death. Our mesothelioma statute of limitations page explains how these deadlines work.
Why the River Matters
Many Metro East workers also spent years at plants in St. Louis. Missouri has different deadlines and different rules, so a career on both sides of the river can open more than one option. We look at where you lived, where you worked, and which companies were involved, then advise on the state and court that fit your case.
What Compensation May Be Available
Mesothelioma treatment is costly, and so is the lost income and the strain on a family caring for someone who is very sick. A claim may help cover medical bills, lost wages, and the pain the illness causes. No honest lawyer can promise a number, because every case depends on its own facts.
Money can come from more than one source. The main ones are lawsuits against companies whose products or worksites caused the exposure, claims against asbestos bankruptcy trusts, and VA benefits for qualifying veterans. We pursue every source that fits your case. Our mesothelioma compensation page covers the types of damages in more detail.
Why Metro East Families Choose Throneberry Law Group
Many national asbestos firms run on volume. They sign up large numbers of clients and pass each file from one staff member to the next. We work the other way. Michael Throneberry built this firm so that every client has a lawyer who knows their name and their story, and he takes that personally after watching mesothelioma take his father-in-law.
Our Edwardsville Office
Our Edwardsville office sits in Madison County, a short drive from Granite City, Alton, Wood River, and Belleville. We also have an office in Chicago, and our Chicago mesothelioma attorney page covers Cook County and northern Illinois. If travel is hard for someone in treatment, we come to you. Our Illinois contact page lists both office addresses, and you can read more about Michael on his attorney profile.
How We Work With You
Every case starts with a free, no-obligation review. We listen, ask about the jobs and plants in your history, and tell you plainly whether you may have a claim. We work on a contingency fee, so you pay no attorney fees unless we recover money for you. If we take your case, we gather the records, trace the exposure, find the responsible companies and trusts, and handle the filings, so your family can focus on care and on each other.
Common Questions About Metro East Mesothelioma Claims
These are the questions Metro East families ask us most often.
How Long Do I Have to File a Mesothelioma Claim in Illinois?
In Illinois, a person with mesothelioma generally has two years to file a personal injury claim, under 735 ILCS 5/13-202. In asbestos cases that clock usually starts when the person knew, or should have known, about the illness and its likely cause. If the person has passed away, the family generally has two years after the death to file a wrongful death claim under the Illinois Wrongful Death Act. Trust claims and VA benefits have their own timelines. If you also worked in Missouri, a different deadline may apply. Because these deadlines can pass while a family is focused on treatment, it is best to talk with a lawyer soon after a diagnosis. We offer a free, no-obligation case review to find out which deadline applies to you.
I Worked at Granite City Steel. Do I Have a Case?
You may. Granite City Steel appears on the approved-site lists of more than a dozen asbestos bankruptcy trusts, which can make it easier to show where exposure happened. Whether you have a case depends on your diagnosis, the years you worked there, the jobs you did, and the products you worked around. Many Granite City steelworkers also worked at other plants in the area, and each one can add to a claim. We look at your full work history, including jobs in Madison, Alton, or St. Louis, and trace the companies and trusts tied to each one. A free, no-obligation case review is the fastest way to find out where you stand.
What if the Plant Where I Worked Is Closed?
A closed plant does not end your claim. Owens-Illinois in Alton closed in 1983 and Laclede Steel closed years later, but the companies that made the asbestos products used there may still be in business or may have set up bankruptcy trusts to pay claims. Those trusts still pay valid claims today. Your exposure may also trace to several different products and employers over a career. Finding every source is a core part of how we build a case, and old records, coworker memories, and trust lists all help. We can review your work history at no cost and tell you which claims may be available.
What Does It Cost to Hire a Mesothelioma Lawyer in Edwardsville?
Nothing up front. We handle mesothelioma cases on a contingency fee, which means you pay no attorney fees unless we recover money for you. The first case review is free and comes with no obligation. That lets families get real answers and protect their filing deadlines without taking on a new bill while treatment costs are already high. If we take your case, we pay the costs of building it as the case moves forward, and our fee comes only from a recovery. The cost of a lawyer should never be the reason a family waits. Reach out any time for a free, no-obligation case review.
Speak With the Nationwide Mesothelioma Lawyers at Throneberry Law Group
The plants that built the Metro East are mostly quiet now, but the illnesses they left behind are still showing up. A mesothelioma diagnosis starts a legal clock that does not stop for treatment, and families who act early keep more of their options. Our Edwardsville office, our trust-site research for every Metro East town, and Michael Throneberry’s personal stake in this fight mean your family gets a lawyer who knows these plants and knows your case.
If mesothelioma has touched your family in Granite City, Alton, Wood River, Belleville, or anywhere in Madison or St. Clair County, we are ready to listen, and you can start with a free and private case review through our contact form.