Domtar Paper Company A/k/a Port Huron Paper Mill

Located in Port Huron, Michigan, the Domtar Paper Mill is a source of asbestos exposure, Mesothelioma, other asbestos related cancers, and diseases. The mill was built in 1888 and was originally called the Michigan Sulfite Fibre Works. Around 1910, the Port Huron Paper Company enters into business and becomes affiliated with Michigan Sulfite Fiber. The companies enjoy a lucrative partnership for several years. Then between 1914 and 1916 the two companies merge to form the Port Huron Sulfite & Paper Company.  With this merger also came a new expansion to the materials that the mill was able to fabricate. In 1916, the paper line was expanded to include glazed tissue and drug wrapping papers. The Port Huron Sulfite & Paper Company would continue to operate and manufacture various paper goods for several decades. These goods ranged from a variety of products such as: tissues, bread wrapping papers, high glazed & machine finished paper. Between 1959 and 1969 change came to the mill in the form of three additional paper machines. This allowed the mill to begin to specialize in lightweight carbon paper and machine glazed wrapping paper. In 1964, the mill changes the name to the Port Huron Paper Company.

It continued to operate as the Port Huron Paper Company until it is purchased by the Pentair Company in 1983. PNTA Michigan, Inc. (a/k/a Pentair) merges with the Port Huron Paper Company to form the Detroit River Paper Company. However, they continued to do business as the Port Huron Paper Company. Pentair’s main plan for the mill was to invest extensively in equipment and research. This is evident in the rebuild of the No. 6 paper machine between 1984 and 1985. However, by 1987 Pentair decides that the Port Huron mill no longer fits the long-term vision of the company. The mill is sold to the EB Eddy Forrest Products Company/EB Eddy LTD of Ottawa, Ontario.  This would be EB Eddy’s only US operation.  EB Eddy would operate the mill until it is purchased by Canadian packaging producer Domtar Inc. in 1998.

Unfortunately for the workers, Domtar would only continue to operate the mill until 2020. Due to reasons such as higher operating costs, lower market demand for specialty papers, restructuring, and more Domtar was forced to shut down the mill. At the time of its closure, 4 paper machines were in operation and 114,000 tons of specialty papers were produced annually.

Due to the papermaking process a lot of steam, electricity and heat is required. The steam is generally produced by a number of boilers and the steam is sent to turbines to generate electricity and the various production departments to cook the pulp and run machinery such as the paper machines.

The Port Huron Paper Mill Powerhouse had five steam generating boilers and three turbine generators.  The boilers had stokers and ash handling equipment for stoking the boilers with coal and removing the ash produced by burning the coal. Other powerhouse equipment included deaerators, condensers, feedwater equipment, heat exchangers, fans, pumps, valves and air compressors.  In addition to the three turbine generators there were also steam powered turbines that drove pumps, paper machines, and other equipment.

From 1965 to 1978, Detroit Edison leased and expanded the paper company’s powerhouse. As part of this agreement Edison also modernized the Powerhouse. During the time period Edison leased the Powerhouse Edison employees operated and maintained the powerhouse and its equipment.

The Port Huron Papermill was a fully integrated paper mill with both pulp and paper machines. The plant had numerous buildings and departments. They included pulp and paper departments, warehouses, maintenance and engineering, and wastewater treatment departments. There were numerous pulpers and refiners for the 4 paper machines that produced the paper. All of these departments required power and steam which required a powerhouse with boilers and turbine generators.

Domtar Paper Mill workers were exposed to a number of asbestos products such as: 

Asbestos was used in products such as paper machine dryer felts, pipe coverings, chemical pipe, building materials, insulation, gaskets, packing and brakes used in paper mill machinery in mills that were built between the 1900s and 1970s.

Insulation: Asbestos-containing block, cements and pipecovering used on boilers, blowers, condensers, digesters, evaporators, heat exchangers, piping, pumps, and turbines.

Paper and Pulp Mill Equipment: such as boilers, compressors, heat exchangers, fans, stokers, paper machines, turbines, pumps, valves and also had asbestos-containing materials including brakes, dryer felts, gaskets, packing, steam hoses and joints.

Building materials: Industrial adhesives, ceiling and floor tiles, paint, corrugated roofing and siding.

 Occupational exposures to asbestos at Domtar:

Asbestos exposure in Port Huron Paper Mills occurs through construction and equipment maintenance. Because pulping, recovery, and boiler operations involve high heat and steam asbestos was used to insulate boilers, piping systems, turbines and other vessels, which maintenance and production workers often came into contact with. Maintenance personnel were also at a high risk of exposure because asbestos gaskets, hoses, packing and other materials were present in the mill machinery that they were required to inspect and repair.  The various materials used to build paper mills such as industrial adhesives, ceiling and floor tiles, insulated piping contained asbestos, and if workers encountered deteriorating materials, they may have been exposed to and inhaled asbestos fibers.

Maintenance workers were not the only paper mill employees at risk of asbestos exposure.   Just working inside the plant posed a threat to asbestos exposure because the large amount of asbestos dust that collected in the air could be inhaled by any worker in the plant.

Production workers also were exposed during the making of the paper on the machines which included a drying process where asbestos containing dryer felts or fabrics are used to enhance the production of high-speed paper machines. After the pulp passes through the initial chemical and mechanical processing stages, the paper product is run through the paper machine and the dryer sections remove the leftover moisture. During daily routine operations and maintenance, asbestos dust was released from dryer felts in dryer machines. When the dryer felts had to be replaced, workers were exposed to asbestos particles when they hand cut and fitted the new felt into the machines. The paper machine sections are often run by steam turbines which drive line shafts. Each line shaft has a brake and clutch system.

Once these fibers are inhaled, they can become lodged in organ tissues and remain there throughout a workers life. The accumulation of these fibers can cause fibrosis and scarring that lead to the development of Mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses 10 – 40 years later.  Even if you smoked you may be entitled to compensation if you are suffering from an asbestos related disease.

There are numerous departments and occupations exposed to asbestos including:

Maintenance: Construction and Maintenance Mechanics, Electricians, Insulators, Machinists, Oilers, Painters, Pipefitters, Welders and other trades. They construct, maintain, and repair the equipment throughout the plant.

Powerhouse: Boiler and Turbine Operators, and Maintenance Men, they operate and monitor the boilers, turbines, condensers, and compressors.

Material Handling: Hi-Lo Operators, Crane Operators, Equipment Operators, Laborers, Sludge Operators and Tractor Operators. They handle and move the logs, chips, and sludge for the mill.

Wood Processing: Chipman, Chip Plant Operator, Liquors Mixer, Operators, and Utility Workers. They operate and monitor the chipper and send processed wood to pulp mill.

Pulp Mill: Effluent Treater, Pulp Operator and Secondary Treatment. They cook the wood chips into pulp and treat it with chemicals.

Paper Mill Machine: Back Tender, Beater Room Operator and Helper, Brakeman, Paper Machine Tender. They take the pulp and turn it into paper through the various sections on the paper machine.

Shipping: Car loader, Power Trucker, Trackmobile Operator and Weigher. Prepare the paper for shipping to customers.

Maintenance Foreman and Supervisors:  They schedule and supervise the maintenance and repair of the papermill buildings and equipment.

Truck and Tractor Operators: They operate truck and or tractors to move raw materials (forest logs), chips and equipment in the mill.

First Line Supervisors/Managers Production and Operating Workers: They directly supervise and coordinate production and operations employees (Precision Workers, Inspectors, Machine Setters and Operators, Assemblers, Fabricators, and Plant and System Operators.

Industrial Production Managers: They plan coordinate or direct the manufacturing process.

Engineers – They coordinate, plan and schedule construction and maintenance projects.

If you or a loved one have questions regarding asbestos exposure at Domtar/Port Huron Paper or anywhere in Port Huron, we have Michigan based and licensed lawyers with over 50 combined years of experience that would be able to assist you. John Kelsey and John Pomerville are Asbestos & Mesothelioma Attorneys in Goldberg Persky & White’s Michigan offices and have been representing Michigan asbestos victims in the lower and upper peninsulas for over 25 years. They are very knowledgeable in regard to asbestos exposure at Domtar/Port Huron Paper, Mesothelioma and the other asbestos diseases caused by asbestos exposure. If you have any questions concerning your exposure to asbestos and mesothelioma at Domtar/Port Huron Paper in Port Huron, call our Michigan-based mesothelioma lawyers, they may be able to give guidance if you were exposed to asbestos in Port Huron.

If you have been diagnosed with Mesothelioma you should immediately speak with an experienced Michigan based Lawyer to preserve your legal rights as this is a time sensitive matter and knowing the facts will help you make the best medical and legal decisions possible and help you recover financial compensation for medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering.

We have represented people injured by exposure to asbestos whose work histories include Domtar/Port Huron Paper in Port Huron, Michigan. Our extensive database of jobsites and asbestos product identification built over 30 years of specializing in asbestos lawsuits allows us to represent effectively and efficiently those injured by asbestos in the workplace.

Why does it matter that Domtar/Port Huron Paper is in our jobsites database?

In order to successfully pursue an asbestos claim, your lawyer needs to be familiar with the jobsites you worked at, including

• the companies that employed you,
• the products they purchased and used, and
• the companies who produced those products;
• depositions, testimony of other Port Huron Asbestos disease victims
• documentation from the Plant and Defendants

After more than 30 years pioneering asbestos litigation, we have a vast knowledgebase covering things such as company diagrams, invoices from asbestos product manufacturers, revealing company memos demonstrating their knowledge of the risks, asbestos product packaging through the years, depositions from leading experts, and medical and scientific literature dating from the late 1800s to the current day.

Domtar/Port Huron Paper is one of tens of thousands of jobsites in our database.

Being familiar with many different industries, manufacturers, and products means we can efficiently and effectively identify all the asbestos containing products that contributed to your injury. It’s a breadth of knowledge gained from years of experience representing people injured by asbestos and their families.

Asbestos Exposure Injuries

Asbestos exposure can cause a variety of non-cancerous and cancerous injuries such as:

• mesothelioma
• lung cancer
• colon and colo-rectal cancers
• throat cancer
• laryngeal cancer
• esophageal cancer
• asbestosis/ pulmonary fibrosis

We have successfully represented hundreds of Michigan Asbestos Victims including Domtar/Port Huron Paper Employees and Michigan Labor Union members in lawsuits against the responsible asbestos product manufactures. Millions of dollars in compensation has been recovered for our asbestos disease clients. We have the resources and experience to take on the Asbestos Industry and demand fair compensation for you.

Did you work at Domtar/Port Huron Paper in Port Huron, Michigan? Have you been injured by asbestos? Contact us today for a FREE, no obligation consultation: 1-800-799-2234.

Other jobsites in and around Port Huron with significant asbestos exposure includes Dunn Paper, Revere Copper & Brass Foundry, Morton Salt, Diamond Crystal Salt, Maritime/Merchant Marine work, and many more.