So I've been digging into this because my exposure was at Johns-Manville back in 1978-1985 and I need to understand what I'm actually eligible for. The number I keep seeing thrown around is like 140 trust funds but honestly that number feels slippery when I try to pin down what it actually means.
From what I've pulled together from the bankruptcy court filings, there are roughly 140 trusts that were established when different asbestos companies filed for Chapter 11. But here's what nobody explains clearly: not every trust applies to your specific exposure. Johns-Manville's trust is separate from Owens Corning's which is separate from dozens of others. The trust that matters is the one from whatever company actually exposed you.
I've got a spreadsheet going right now with the ones that might apply to my case. My attorney said the key is matching your workplace and exposure records to the right trust or trusts because some people worked around multiple products. I worked with insulation products and some pipe wrap at the plant. That might mean two different trusts.
The real question isn't how many exist overall. It's how many apply to you specifically. And that's where having documentation matters. I've pulled my old W2s, looked up the plant address (East 130th Street in Cleveland), and started matching product types to the companies that made them.
Have you figured out which companies' products you were actually exposed to? That's where I'd start if you haven't already.