Why Mesothelioma Cases Occur in Union City
Pacific States Steel Corporation operated a steel manufacturing facility in what is now Union City (then part of the Decoto and Alvarado communities that merged to form Union City in 1959). The plant produced steel rods, wire, and structural steel products for the Bay Area construction and manufacturing market. Steel furnaces were lined with asbestos-containing refractory materials, and the plant's entire piping and boiler infrastructure was insulated with asbestos throughout its operating decades.
Steelworkers at Pacific States Steel faced asbestos exposure from multiple simultaneous sources. Furnace workers who maintained and relined the electric arc furnaces handled asbestos refractory bricks and cements directly. Pipefitters and insulators who maintained the plant's steam and water systems installed and disturbed asbestos pipe insulation throughout the facility. Boilermakers who serviced the plant's steam generation equipment worked with asbestos boiler lagging and gaskets on every job.
The 20-to-50-Year Latency Period
Mesothelioma has a latency period of 20 to 50 years. A worker exposed to asbestos at Union City facilities in the 1970s may only receive a mesothelioma diagnosis in 2025 or later. This is why Union City continues to produce new mesothelioma cases decades after asbestos use was restricted.
The Union City area also included agricultural processing operations, light manufacturing facilities, and the railroad infrastructure that served these industries. Southern Pacific Railroad tracks and maintenance operations in the area exposed railroad workers to asbestos in the same ways that affected workers throughout the SP network — locomotive boiler insulation, rail car insulation, and maintenance facility building materials all contained asbestos.
Union City's postwar residential and commercial growth generated extensive construction activity. Schools, the Decoto area commercial buildings, and the residential developments built to house the growing workforce in this East Bay industrial community all incorporated asbestos products as a matter of standard construction practice through the 1970s.
Union City's Asbestos Legacy by the Numbers
Pacific States Steel was one of the Bay Area's primary steel producers for decades. Steel manufacturing consistently produced the highest mesothelioma rates of any industrial sector. California allows only 2 years from diagnosis to file a mesothelioma claim — one of the shortest deadlines in the nation. Documenting your asbestos exposure history is a critical first step.

