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Dunn Sulphite Paper Company f/k/a Curtis Specialty Papers, Inc. Port Huron, St. Clair County, Michigan

Located in Port Huron, Michigan

Dunn Sulphite Paper Company

Located in St. Clair County Port Huron, Michigan on the outskirts of the city alongside the St. Clair River, the Dunn Sulphite Paper Company is a source of asbestos exposure, Mesothelioma and other asbestos related cancers. The mill in Port Huron, MI had been around since September 15, 1924, when Theodore W. Dunn opened the Dunn Sulphite Paper Co. The Dunns were a well-known papermaking family in Port Huron, which is just across the St. Clair River from Canada. Dunn built his mill on the point where Lake Huron spills into the St. Clair River, one of the continent’s truly dramatic views. The Dunns sold their plant in 1965 to Dennison Manufacturing, which renovated and expanded the mill. In 1987, ownership also changed when James River’s packaging division purchased the mill. This lasted until 1995 when it spun it off with Crown Vantage. However, Crown Vantage went bankrupt in 2000 and the mill changed hands once again. This time Curtis took over. This was not to last long either as the company ran into financial difficulties with other businesses it ran and was forced to look for a buyer for the Port Huron mill. In 2003 the mill was purchased by its managers and an investment group, who restored the Dunn Paper name. Unfortunately for the workers, after 98 years the mill closed in November 2022. The Dunn Sulphite Paper Company employed nearly 249 people at its peak. Over the years, hundreds of workers were exposed to asbestos at the mill.

The mill had always been a paper mill, buying its pulp since startup. It bought mostly virgin bleached pulp, hardwood and softwood, all from North American sources.  At startup in 1924, Dunn Paper could produce 15,000-18,000 tons/yr on two Beloit paper machines with Yankee cylinders that could impart machine grade (MG) properties.

Dennison was interested in the one-time carbonizing paper market. It was this growth in this market that spurred the investment in paper machines 3 and 4 that were installed in 1969 and 1973 respectively. Paper machines 1 and 2 were also making one-time carbonizing once the technology was introduced in the 1950s. High-strength machine grade (MG) papers were needed for one-time carbonizing and Dunn had the ability to produce them. At one point in the 1970s, all four paper machines were making one-time carbonizing. The growth of thermal paper spelled the end of the one-time carbonizing era. Therefore, in the 1970s, the company invested heavily in product development in an effort to re-invent itself. This led to its production of bleached coated and uncoated packaging papers.

Most recently Dunn Paper Company, Inc. was manufacturing specialty papers for high performance applications. Projects included a new reel and waxer for PM 1; the conversion of one of the mill’s two power boilers to burn No. 6 fuel oil (giving the mill a hedge on natural gas); a new broke pulping system allowing the mill to pump broke to any of the four paper machines; and 25 separate energy projects that yielded more than $1.9 million in savings. It offered dry wax, uncoated, coated, and fluorocarbon treated papers for use in fast food and other food service applications; thermal transfer bases, matte and security labels, release bases, and beverage labels for the label and release base market; flexible packaging products, such as coated and uncoated pouch papers for converters; and specialty bag papers for pharmacy, novelty, merchandise, multiwall, theater popcorn, cookie, bread, and single-layer paper bag applications.

Due to the paper making process asbestos was used extensively and located thru out the plant on condensers, compressors, the digestors, evaporators, heat exchangers, fans, pumps, pipelines, valves, and other equipment including the paper machines and the pulp making equipment. Asbestos-containing brakes, blankets, clothing, clutches, gaskets, steam hoses, steam joints, composite pipes, packing and other asbestos-materials were used.

The Dunn Paper Company plant consisted of numerous departments. In addition to the Stock preparation and paper machine departments there was the coating, laboratory, shipping & finishing, rollwrap, maintenance and construction, powerhouse and wastewater treatment departments. Many of these departments required electrical power and steam to run the equipment to make the paper.

The Powerhouse had three steam generating boilers and several 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 systems, heat exchangers, fans, pumps, valves and compressors. In addition, there were also steam powered turbines that drove pumps, paper machines, and other equipment.

Dunn 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 Dunn:

Asbestos exposure in 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 became 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 Dunn Sulphite Paper Company 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 Dunn Sulphite Paper Company, Mesothelioma and the other asbestos diseases caused by asbestos exposure. If you have any questions concerning your exposure to asbestos and mesothelioma at Dunn Sulphite Paper Company 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 Dunn Sulphite Paper Company 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 Dunn Sulphite Paper Company 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.

Dunn Sulphite Paper Company 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 Dunn Paper Company 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 Dunn Sulphite Paper Company 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 Port Huron with significant asbestos exposure includes Mueller Brass, Detroit Edison, Diamond Crystal Salt, Morton Salt, and Port Huron/Domtar Paper.

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