Westinghouse Electric — Buffalo Elevator Division in Buffalo NY
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 Westinghouse Buffalo Elevator Division plant in Buffalo New York. This page documents the Buffalo portion of Westinghouse’s multi-state industrial footprint. For the full corporate summary, see the Westinghouse manufacturer page.
Plant Description and Operating Era
The Westinghouse Elevator Division — a longstanding competitor to Otis, Dover, and Montgomery in the U.S. commercial elevator market — manufactured passenger and freight elevator hoist machines, controllers, and cab hardware at Buffalo through much of the twentieth century. Westinghouse sold the elevator business in 1988 (Schindler acquired the North American operations), and the Buffalo elevator manufacturing footprint contracted in the years that followed.
Premises ACM Narrative
At the Westinghouse Buffalo Elevator plant during the U.S. asbestos era (approximately 1920s-1980), plaintiffs allegedly encountered:
Asbestos pipe covering on steam mains, hydraulic-elevator test-loop piping, and utility lines
Asbestos-block hot-side lagging on heat-treat furnaces, brake-shoe curing ovens, and paint-cure ovens
Asbestos-molded De-Ion arc chute plates in Westinghouse elevator controllers, group-supervisory panels, and switchgear during production, test, and rework
Asbestos-fabric electrical winding insulation on Westinghouse hoist motors, brake solenoids, and elevator-machine field coils
Asbestos sheet gaskets at process piping, hydraulic manifolds, and boiler flanges
Asbestos-cement bulkhead panels in electrical rooms and elevator test towers
Asbestos sprayed fireproofing on structural steel in the multi-story machine-shop and test-tower buildings (pre-1973 EPA ban)
Elevator-specific pathway — asbestos brake linings on freight and passenger elevator hoist machines, asbestos-fabric friction sheaves, and asbestos-millboard traction machine insulation assembled and tested at Buffalo
Workers Exposed
HFIAW Insulators — asbestos pipe covering and block insulation
UA Pipefitters — flange bolt-up on hydraulic, steam, and process lines
IBB Boilermakers — powerhouse boiler work
IBEW Electricians — controller, switchgear, and elevator-test-tower work
BAC Bricklayers — refractory work on furnaces
IUE / United Electrical Workers (UE) — coil winders, hoist-machine assemblers, and controller technicians
Millwrights — hoist machine and test-tower installation
If You Worked at Westinghouse Buffalo
If you or a family member worked at the Westinghouse Buffalo Elevator plant — or any other Westinghouse manufacturing site — before 1980 and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease, you may have a legal claim.
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:
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Firsthand Accounts from the Trades
Did you work at Westinghouse Electric? Add your account.
Records show what a plant was. They don't show what the work was like. If you
were sent there — insulation, pipe, boilers, sheet metal, electrical, laborer — tell us what you
remember: which units or buildings, what you handled, what came down during an outage. Every account
helps another worker or a family understand where exposure happened, and where to look next.
About these accounts: they are personal recollections shared by
workers and their families — individual memory, not records, and not independently verified.
The site history and documented exposure record on this page come from public and regulatory sources.
These accounts sit alongside that record — they add to it, they don't change it.
What asbestos exposure pathways are associated with Westinghouse Electric?
Pathways in this report refer to commonly used asbestos-containing material systems at industrial facilities that may contribute to exposure practices, fiber transfer, and deposition. Activities include maintenance, repair, overhaul, and demolition across these systems.
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Facility History
Operations established during the high-use era of asbestos specification
O'Brien Law Firm · Attorneys with experience working in New York
General Equipment Walkthrough
Equipment systems documented or commonly present at Westinghouse Electric. Each link opens a research crosswalk on AsbestosIndex with manufacturer, trust-fund, and product history.
Equipment list drawn from public litigation records, EPA / state DNR filings, and facility-type defaults. Specific product identification depends on facility records and witness testimony.
Plaintiffs allegedly identified asbestos exposure at National Gypsum (Gold Bond) Buffalo Works joint …
Westinghouse Electric — Buffalo Elevator Division NY Plant Asbestos Exposure — Frequently Asked Questions
Is Westinghouse Electric — Buffalo Elevator Division NY Plant Asbestos Exposure documented in asbestos litigation records?
Yes. Westinghouse Electric — Buffalo Elevator Division NY Plant Asbestos Exposure is documented in public asbestos litigation records, EPA NESHAP filings, OSHA inspection logs, and/or state regulatory databases. Workers at industrial facilities of this era routinely encountered asbestos-containing materials in pipe insulation, gaskets, packing, boiler block, refractory products, floor and ceiling tiles, and electrical components.
Which workers had the highest asbestos exposure at Westinghouse Electric — Buffalo Elevator Division NY Plant Asbestos Exposure?
Trades with documented asbestos exposure at industrial facilities include pipefitters, insulators (laggers), boilermakers, millwrights, electricians, welders, sheet-metal workers, plumbers, carpenters, machinists, painters, and general laborers. Maintenance crews, refractory bricklayers, and shutdown contractors often had the most concentrated exposure during overhaul and tear-out work.
What asbestos products did workers handle at Westinghouse Electric — Buffalo Elevator Division NY Plant Asbestos Exposure?
Asbestos-containing products commonly documented at industrial facilities of this era include thermal pipe lagging and block insulation (steam lines, valves, boilers), asbestos cement, refractory brick and burner-front gun-block, gaskets and braided packing (valves, pumps, flanges), boiler-tube insulation and lagging, vinyl asbestos floor tile, acoustic ceiling tile, and asbestos-containing transite board. Specific product manufacturers are catalogued at AsbestosIndex.
Is there a deadline to file an asbestos claim in New York?
New York law gives 5 years from the date of medical diagnosis to file a personal-injury asbestos lawsuit. Wrongful-death claims must be filed within 3 years from the date of death. The two deadlines run on separate tracks. The personal-injury clock starts at diagnosis, not at exposure — mesothelioma latency is typically 20 to 50 years.
Who else besides Westinghouse Electric — Buffalo Elevator Division NY Plant Asbestos Exposure workers may have been exposed?
Yes. Spouses who laundered work clothing carrying asbestos fibers and children of workers who returned home covered in dust are recognized in New York asbestos litigation as eligible for secondary (household) exposure claims when they have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease. Wrongful-death claims may be filed by surviving family members.
Can workers file both a civil suit and trust-fund claims?
Yes — more than 60 asbestos bankruptcy trusts hold combined funds set aside specifically for victims of asbestos-related disease. Trust-fund claims and civil lawsuits run on separate tracks; both can be pursued in parallel. Each trust has its own filing requirements, exposure criteria, and processing timeline.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by reading this site. References to companies, products, and facilities are drawn from public asbestos litigation records, court filings, and regulatory databases. Consult a licensed physician for medical guidance and a qualified attorney for legal advice regarding your specific situation.
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