E.I. DuPont de Nemours — Plants in Delaware

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that they were exposed to asbestos while working at E.I. DuPont de Nemours plants in Delaware. This page documents the Delaware portion of E.I. DuPont de Nemours’s multi-state operations. For the full corporate summary and plants in other states, see the E.I. DuPont de Nemours manufacturer page.

Premises Description

E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company (founded 1802 — originally as a black-powder manufacturer near Wilmington, Delaware; today operated as multiple successor entities including DuPont de Nemours Inc., Chemours, Corteva, and others) was through the 20th century one of the largest and most diversified U.S. chemical and industrial manufacturers. DuPont operated major U.S. asbestos-era manufacturing complexes including:

  • Wilmington DE — corporate headquarters and the historic Chambers Works (Deepwater NJ)
  • Beaumont TX — Sabine River petrochemical and polymer operations
  • Belle WV — major specialty chemicals
  • Memphis TN — Memphis Plant chemicals
  • Old Hickory TN — synthetic fibers
  • Parkersburg WV — Washington Works fluoropolymers
  • Dozens of specialty plants across the Mid-Atlantic, Gulf Coast, and Midwest

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that DuPont — as premises owner of its U.S. chemical and industrial complexes — exposed contractor pipefitters, insulators, boilermakers, and trade workers, as well as DuPont’s own operating and maintenance employees, to asbestos through pipe covering, refractory insulation, gaskets and packing, spray-applied fireproofing, and ceiling and partition board across plant utility systems and process units.

E.I. DuPont de Nemours has been named as a Premises Defendant in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation.

Workers Exposed

  • Chemical-plant pipefitters and refinery pipefitters (UA Local members) at DuPont sites
  • Insulators (HFIAW Local members) on DuPont construction and turnaround crews
  • Boilermakers (IBB Local members) building DuPont process units
  • DuPont’s own operating and maintenance workforce
  • Construction-trade workforces on DuPont EPC projects

If You Worked at a DuPont Complex

If you worked at an E.I. DuPont de Nemours chemical, explosives, plastics, or synthetic-fiber complex during the asbestos era — as a DuPont employee or as a dispatched contractor pipefitter, insulator, boilermaker, or trade worker — and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or another asbestos-related illness, you may have legal rights.

Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 237-3332

Named Plants and Operating Era

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that specific named DuPont plants in Delaware allegedly involved asbestos-containing materials during their principal operating eras. Documented plant footprint in Delaware:

  • DuPont Experimental Station — in Wilmington DE (New Castle County), central research and pilot-plant complex on the Brandywine allegedly operating from 1903 through the modern era. Home to the Nylon, Teflon, Kevlar, and countless polymer discoveries; pilot reactors and utility steam plant.
  • DuPont Edge Moor Plant — in Edge Moor DE (New Castle County, on the Delaware River north of Wilmington), titanium dioxide (TiO2) chloride-process pigment plant and legacy pigments works allegedly operating from 1934/1936 through the modern era (sold to Chemours 2015).
  • DuPont Seaford Plant (Nylon Plant) — in Seaford DE (Sussex County), the world’s first commercial nylon-fiber plant allegedly operating from 1939 through the modern era (nylon fiber operations progressively divested; Invista successor). Extensive utility steam and polymer-melt-spinning ACM era.
  • DuPont Newport Plant — in Newport DE (New Castle County), historic pigments and specialty chemicals plant allegedly operating from the 1920s through the 1980s. Now a Superfund site.
  • DuPont Louviers / Barley Mill / Chestnut Run Facilities — supporting administrative, technical, and pilot facilities in the Wilmington DE area during the asbestos era.

Plant-Era ACM Narrative

At DuPont’s Delaware operations, plaintiffs alleged the following plant-era asbestos exposure pathways during the principal U.S. asbestos era (approximately 1930s-1980):

  • Asbestos block insulation and asbestos pipe covering on high-pressure steam mains and process piping throughout the Experimental Station pilot plants and the Seaford nylon-spinning halls
  • Asbestos boiler lagging on the Experimental Station, Edge Moor, and Seaford powerhouse boilers
  • Asbestos-refractory brick and asbestos block on the Edge Moor titanium tetrachloride chlorinators, oxidation reactors, and calciners
  • Asbestos compressed-sheet gaskets and asbestos braided packing across flanged process connections, pumps, and valves at all Delaware plants
  • Asbestos spray-applied fireproofing on structural steel in Seaford nylon polymer buildings and Newport pigments buildings
  • Asbestos-cement transite panels and asbestos millboard in Experimental Station electrical rooms and pilot-plant partitions

Trades and Local Union Coverage

Plaintiffs alleged that Delaware DuPont plant work was performed by tradesmen from the following unions and Locals during the asbestos era:

  • HFIAW Insulators Local 42 — Wilmington DE / Philadelphia jurisdiction — asbestos pipe covering and block insulation at Experimental Station, Edge Moor, and Newport
  • UA Pipefitters Local 74 — Wilmington DE jurisdiction — flange bolt-up, gasket work, and process piping at all Northern DE DuPont plants
  • UA Plumbers/Pipefitters — the Sussex County / Salisbury MD-area Local — process piping at Seaford Nylon Plant
  • IBEW Electricians Local 313 — Wilmington DE jurisdiction — switchgear, motor-control center, and instrumentation at DE DuPont plants
  • BAC Bricklayers Local 1 Delaware — Wilmington-area jurisdiction — refractory relining of Edge Moor chlorinators, oxidation reactors, and boilers
  • International Brotherhood of Boilermakers — the regional Local — DuPont Delaware powerhouse and pressure-vessel work
  • DuPont’s own operating and maintenance workforce — Wilmington, Newport, Edge Moor, and Seaford production crews

Documented ACM Product Vectors Named in Litigation

Products from AP defendant manufacturers that plaintiffs alleged were supplied to or specified at Delaware DuPont plants during the asbestos era:

Mesothelioma Resources for Delaware Workers

Occupational and premises asbestos exposure like this is a leading cause of mesothelioma, often diagnosed decades later. If you or a family member worked here: