USS-POSCO - Specific Job Sites & Asbestos Exposure

The USS-POSCO steel finishing plant is a joint operation of the U.S. Steel Corporation and the Pohang Iron and Steel Company of the Republic of (South) Korea.

U.S. Steel itself dates back to 1910, when Columbia Steel – a one building operation with a single furnace and sixty employees – opened in Pittsburg, California. Eventually, the plant became the first nail mill west of the Mississippi. During the 1930s and 1940s, the foundry turned out most of the steel components used for the construction of the Oakland Bay Bridge as well as the war effort.

In the two decades following World War II, U.S. Steel’s Pittsburg plant diversified its product line greatly, adding a cold rolled steel mill and a pipe mill. However, advances in technology, the growing use of plastics and aluminum and the advent of “free trade agreements” made the company less competitive. U.S. Steel dropped all but two of its product lines, then in 1986, entered into a strategic partnership with Pohang Iron and Steel Company. This insured a steady supply of high-quality ore for production.

The third phase consisted of a $450 million modernization program that was completed in 1989. Despite a 2001 fire that destroyed its Tandem Cold Mill, USS-POSCO was able to rebuild in less than a year.

Today, USS-POSCO Industries, or UPI manufactures cold rolled, galvanized and tin mill products from hot rolled steel. The plant provides jobs for 1,000 workers and maintains relationships with 150 customers across the Pacific and Mountain states (1).  U.S. Steel operates a similar joint venture with Kobe Steel of Japan, located in Lorain, Ohio.

Employees Were Exposed to Asbestos

As of 31 March 2004, the part of the company making up U.S. Steel was a named defendant in 3,700 asbestos-related lawsuits involving well over 14,000 plaintiffs. Nearly all of these cases involve multiple defendants; in addition, most of these actions are consolidated cases with 50-100 plaintiffs.

The claims against the company fall into three main categories:

  1. Claims made under Federal and General Maritime Law by employees of the Great Lakes Fleet or the Intercoastal Fleet
  2. Premises claims by persons alleging asbestos exposure at a U.S. Steel facility
  3. Industrial claims by workers exposed to asbestos contained in products of U.S. Steel. (2)

Out of the total number of plaintiffs, 200 allege a diagnosis of mesothelioma. Because asbestos is the only known proven cause of this particular form of cancer, chances of a judgment in favor of these plaintiffs is substantially higher (3) (4).

The problem faced by many of these plaintiffs is that they are frequently unable to establish a causal relationship between their illness and products or facilities of U.S. Steel. This is why documentation is important. Courts generally require that plaintiffs establish four elements in mesothelioma cases:

  1. That they indeed suffer from an illness or injury
  2. That this illness or injury was the direct result of expose to a specific product
  3. That the product was made by, used, or otherwise under the control of the defendant
  4. That the defendant knowingly neglected to exercise reasonable care to protect the plaintiff from injury

In addition, it will be necessary to establish the location and duration of the alleged exposure.

U.S. Steel aggressively seeks to have most of these cases dismissed, but has litigated cases to verdict where deemed appropriate. Historically, the company’s out-of-court settlements have been nominal; in 2001, over 11,000 cases were settled for a total of $190,000. The following year, the number of cases settled had fallen by 90%, but were settled for a total of approximately $700,000 (5). 

'USS-POSCO - Specific Job Sites & Asbestos Exposure' Resources:

Notes

  1. USS-POSCO Industries. “Company History” (2007).
  2. Bowker, Michael. Fatal Deception, pp. 114-115
  3. U.S. Steel Corporation. “X Quarterly Report (10-Q) Item 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS” (2004).
  4. Carrol, Stephen J. et. al. “Asbestos Litigation Costs and Compensation,” pp. 58 -59
  5. U.S. Steel, op. cit.

Sources

  1. Bowker, Michael. Fatal Deception. (New York: Touchstone, 2003)
  2. Carrol, Stephen J., et. al. “Asbestos Litigation Costs and Compensation: An Interim Report.” (Santa Monica: RAND Institute for Civil Justice, 2002)
  3. USS-POSCO Industries. “Company History” (Official Company Website).
    Accessed: 8 August 2007.
  4. U.S. Steel Corporation. “X Quarterly Report (10-Q) Item 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS” Filed 4 May 2004. Edgar Online
    Accessed: 8 August 2007.