Babcock & Wilcox — Nuclear Operations / Mount Athos in Lynchburg VA

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that they were allegedly exposed to asbestos while working at the Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Operations / Mount Athos complex in Lynchburg VA. For the full corporate summary, see the Babcock & Wilcox manufacturer page.

Plant Description and Operating Era

The Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Operations complex in and around Lynchburg — including the Mount Athos site along the James River — has been one of the primary U.S. manufacturers of naval nuclear reactor components and nuclear fuel since the late 1950s. The Lynchburg / Mount Athos operations fabricated pressurized-water reactor components, once-through steam generators (OTSG) for commercial nuclear plants, and highly-enriched-uranium fuel elements for U.S. Navy submarine and aircraft-carrier reactor cores. The site has operated continuously through the B&W bankruptcy era and remains active today as BWX Technologies (BWXT) Nuclear Operations Group.

Premises ACM Narrative

At the Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Operations / Mount Athos complex during the U.S. asbestos era (approximately 1920s-1980), plaintiffs allegedly encountered:

  • Asbestos-refractory brick, castable, and monolithic gunning cement in boiler firebox and reheat furnace linings
  • Asbestos-fabric expansion joints on steam drums, superheater headers, and process piping
  • Asbestos-block hot-side lagging on manufacturing furnaces and heat-treat ovens
  • Asbestos pipe covering on steam mains and process piping throughout the manufacturing bays
  • Asbestos sheet gaskets at pressure vessel, reactor closure head, and steam header flanges
  • Asbestos-fabric electrical arc chute plates in plant switchgear
  • Asbestos sprayed fireproofing on structural steel (pre-1973 EPA ban)
  • Asbestos-fabric welder-shop torch pads and burn-hood curtains during naval reactor and OTSG welding
  • Asbestos-fabric radiography shielding cloth for reactor and steam-generator NDT

Workers Exposed

  • HFIAW Insulators — pipe covering and block insulation
  • UA Pipefitters — flange bolt-up
  • IBB Boilermakers — pressure vessel and reactor component welding, refractory installation, ASME hot-work
  • BAC Bricklayers — refractory relining
  • IBEW Electricians — switchgear and motor control work
  • Ironworkers — structural fabrication
  • Millwrights — heavy machinery installation

If You Worked at Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Operations / Mount Athos

If you or a family member worked at the Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Operations / Mount Athos complex in Lynchburg VA — or any other Babcock & Wilcox site — before 1980 and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease, you may have a legal claim.

Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 936-2956