Mesothelioma Lawyer Michigan: Asbestos Exposure at University of Michigan – Ann Arbor

URGENT FILING DEADLINE WARNING

If you’ve been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease, you need to understand one thing immediately: Michigan’s statute of limitations for asbestos disease claims is 3 years from the date of diagnosis under MCL § 600.5805(2). That deadline does not pause while you weigh your options. Pending legislation—specifically

If You Worked at the University of Michigan, Read This First

The University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus covers over 31 million square feet across hundreds of buildings—research laboratories, hospital complexes, steam tunnels, dormitories, athletic facilities. For the better part of a century, from the 1920s through the 1980s, workers in maintenance, trades, construction, and hospital operations may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials (ACM) from manufacturers including Johns-Manville, Owens Corning/Owens-Illinois, Eagle-Picher, Garlock Sealing Technologies, Armstrong World Industries, W.R. Grace, Georgia-Pacific, Celotex, Crane Co., and Combustion Engineering. These materials were allegedly embedded in steam pipes, boilers, fireproofing systems, floor and ceiling tiles, and structural components throughout the campus.

Specific pipe insulation products—including Kaylo (Johns-Manville), Thermobestos (Owens-Illinois), and Aircell (Eagle-Picher)—were reportedly in widespread use across the campus infrastructure.

If you worked at U of M and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or pleural disease, you may have substantial legal rights to compensation. This page explains the scope of alleged asbestos use at this facility and your options for pursuing an asbestos lawsuit in Michigan. Workers and families in Michigan and Illinois should know that plaintiff-friendly venues—including Wayne County Circuit Court, Madison County IL, and St. Clair County IL—may offer significant strategic advantages for your case.

What Makes the University of Michigan an Asbestos Concern?

Facility Overview

Founded in 1817 and relocated to Ann Arbor in 1837, the University of Michigan is one of the oldest and largest public research universities in the country. The campus encompasses:

  • Over 31 million square feet of building space across hundreds of structures
  • Teaching facilities, research laboratories, hospital complexes, dormitories, athletic facilities, and utility systems spanning more than 150 years of construction
  • An extensive underground network of steam tunnels, utility corridors, and mechanical infrastructure
  • The University Hospital complex (now Michigan Medicine), one of the nation’s largest academic medical centers

That institutional scale made the university a major purchaser of industrial building materials throughout the 20th century—including, allegedly, asbestos-containing materials from the manufacturers listed above. The campus is a documented NESHAP asbestos facility subject to ongoing federal air quality oversight.

Who May Have Been Exposed?

Job Categories at Elevated Risk

Anyone in the following roles who worked at U of M during the relevant era should evaluate their potential exposure history:

  • Facilities maintenance and custodial workers performing routine repairs and upkeep
  • Union tradespeople—including members of Heat and Frost Insulators Local 1 (St. Louis area), Heat and Frost Insulators Local 27 (Kansas City area), Plumbers and Pipefitters UA Local 562 (St. Louis area), and Plumbers and Pipefitters UA Local 268 (Kansas City area)—working as insulators, pipefitters, boilermakers, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, and laborers on steam systems and building infrastructure
  • Construction and demolition contractors on renovation or new-construction projects
  • Facilities engineers and mechanical specialists
  • University of Michigan Health System employees (now Michigan Medicine): hospital maintenance staff and contractors
  • Students and faculty with sustained occupancy in older buildings or research laboratories
  • Family members of tradespeople who may have carried asbestos fibers home on clothing, hair, skin, and tools—so-called “take-home” or secondary exposure

Secondary exposure is fully compensable under Michigan law. If your spouse or parent worked at U of M, your diagnosis may be directly traceable to their workplace.

How and Where Exposure May Have Occurred

The Steam Distribution System

The University of Michigan built a centralized steam heating and power generation system that threaded through virtually its entire physical footprint. Key components included the Central Power Plant on Fuller Street, the North Campus Power Plant, and miles of underground steam distribution pipes operating at high temperature and pressure.

That infrastructure required extensive thermal insulation. The pipe covering products allegedly used throughout this system—Kaylo (Johns-Manville), Thermobestos (Owens-Illinois), and Aircell (Eagle-Picher)—were preformed asbestos-containing sections wrapped around pipes and secured with asbestos-containing cements and mastics from Johns-Manville, W.R. Grace, and other suppliers. Over decades, these materials deteriorated, releasing respirable fibers during any maintenance, repair, or removal work.

Workers who may have faced significant exposure through this system include:

  • Pipefitters and insulators, including members of Heat and Frost Insulators local unions
  • Boilermakers servicing boiler and turbine equipment
  • Maintenance personnel entering the underground tunnel system regularly
  • Construction workers upgrading or replacing pipe insulation

Fireproofing and Structural Protection

Large institutional buildings constructed between the 1930s and early 1970s reportedly used sprayed-on asbestos-containing fireproofing products—including Monokote (W.R. Grace), Unibestos (Owens-Illinois), and Cranite (Crane Co.)—to protect structural steel. This friable material could release fibers when disturbed by construction, HVAC work, structural renovation, or routine repairs above ceilings.

Research and Laboratory Facilities

U of M’s research infrastructure presented additional alleged exposure pathways:

  • High-temperature laboratory equipment—ovens, autoclaves, kilns—with asbestos-containing gaskets and insulation from Johns-Manville, Garlock Sealing Technologies, and Combustion Engineering
  • Fume hoods in chemistry, physics, and engineering labs with asbestos-containing board linings, including Superex board (Armstrong World Industries)
  • Electrical switchgear and panels using asbestos-containing insulation from Crane Co. and Johns-Manville
  • Specialized research equipment with heat-resistant asbestos-containing components

University Hospital and Michigan Medicine

The hospital complex represented one of the most intensive mechanical environments on campus. Alleged ACM use included:

  • Boiler rooms and steam systems serving sterilization and heating equipment, reportedly insulated with Johns-Manville and Owens-Illinois products
  • Extensive pipe insulation throughout mechanical systems using Kaylo, Thermobestos, and Aircell
  • Structural fireproofing on multi-story hospital buildings using Monokote (W.R. Grace) and Cranite (Crane Co.)
  • Ceiling and floor tiles containing asbestos-based products including Gold Bond tiles (National Gypsum) and Pabco products (Georgia-Pacific)
  • Mechanical spaces requiring continuous maintenance by hospital facilities staff

Hospital maintenance workers, facilities engineers, and contractors working in mechanical spaces may have faced some of the highest cumulative exposures on the entire campus.

Buildings and Campus Systems Reportedly Containing ACM

Central Campus Historic District

The Central Campus historic buildings—constructed during the peak ACM era, roughly 1920 through 1970—may have contained asbestos-containing materials including:

  • Thermal insulation on heating systems from Johns-Manville, Owens-Illinois, and Eagle-Picher
  • Floor and ceiling tiles from Armstrong World Industries, Celotex, and Georgia-Pacific
  • Structural fireproofing from W.R. Grace and Crane Co.
  • Pipe insulation and ductwork from Johns-Manville and Owens-Illinois

Major Named Buildings with Potential ACM Presence

Based on construction dates and building type, the following structures may have contained asbestos-containing materials from the manufacturers identified above:

  • Hill Auditorium (1913)
  • Angell Hall (1924)
  • Law School Quadrangle buildings
  • School of Public Health buildings
  • University Hospital (original structure and all expanded sections from the 1920s onward)
  • Numerous academic and professional school buildings constructed through the early 1970s

Underground Steam Tunnel System

The university’s underground utility tunnel network—portions of it in continuous service since the early 20th century—may represent the most concentrated alleged asbestos exposure environment on the entire campus. These tunnels housed:

  • Steam distribution pipes historically insulated with asbestos-containing pipe covering from Johns-Manville (Kaylo), Owens-Illinois (Thermobestos), and Eagle-Picher (Aircell)
  • Deteriorating insulation that allegedly released respirable fibers during routine maintenance, repairs, or accidental disturbance

Workers who regularly entered these spaces—pipefitters, insulators, facilities mechanics, maintenance personnel—may have experienced repeated, sustained exposure to airborne asbestos fibers over the course of years or decades.

North Campus

The North Campus engineering, music, research, and art and architecture facilities, built primarily from the 1950s through the 1970s, reportedly incorporated asbestos-containing materials including:

  • College of Engineering complex mechanical systems using Johns-Manville and Owens-Illinois insulation products
  • Research building infrastructure with asbestos-containing pipe covering and fireproofing
  • Laboratory spaces with asbestos-containing equipment components from Armstrong World Industries, Crane Co., and Combustion Engineering

Residence Halls

Dormitory facilities constructed during the post-war building boom may have contained asbestos-containing:

  • Floor and ceiling tiles from Armstrong World Industries, Celotex, and Georgia-Pacific (including Gold Bond and Pabco branded products)
  • Pipe insulation and heating systems from Johns-Manville, Owens-Illinois, and Eagle-Picher
  • Fireproofing materials from W.R. Grace and Crane Co.

Residence halls potentially affected include West Quad, East Quad, Bursley Hall, Couzens Hall, Baits Housing, and other major dormitory complexes. Maintenance workers performing repairs and renovations in these buildings may have faced repeated exposure.

Athletic Facilities

Older athletic facilities on campus may have incorporated asbestos-containing insulation, fireproofing, and building materials from Johns-Manville, Owens-Illinois, W.R. Grace, Armstrong World Industries, and Crane Co., consistent with standard construction practices of their respective eras.

Historical Timeline: Alleged ACM Use at U of M

Early Campus Era (1837–1900)

Widespread commercial asbestos use had not yet begun. Late 19th-century boiler and pipe installations may have incorporated early asbestos-containing materials, though documented use during this period is limited.

University Expansion (1900–1945)

Asbestos-containing materials became the industry standard:

  • Johns-Manville, Owens-Illinois, Eagle-Picher, and other manufacturers aggressively marketed ACM as the preferred solution for fireproofing, thermal insulation, and acoustic treatment
  • Virtually every mechanical system installed during this period—steam pipes, boilers, turbines, pumps, valves, electrical components—allegedly incorporated asbestos-containing materials from these suppliers
  • Major hospital, academic, and dormitory construction reportedly used ACM throughout

Post-War Building Boom (

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