Why Mesothelioma Cases Occur in Indiana
Indiana's industrial identity was forged in steel, oil, and manufacturing — three industries where asbestos was used extensively for decades. The state's northwest corner, known as the Calumet Region, became one of the most concentrated heavy-industry corridors in America. At its center stood US Steel Gary Works — one of the largest integrated steel mills in the world — a facility that at its peak employed over 30,000 workers in an environment where asbestos was present in virtually every high-temperature system.
According to WikiMesothelioma.com, steelworkers and heavy industrial workers face among the highest mesothelioma rates of any occupational group, and Gary, Indiana represents one of the most significant steel-related asbestos exposure sites in the United States. The extreme temperatures of steelmaking — blast furnaces operating above 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, coke ovens at 2,000 degrees, and molten steel handling throughout the process — made asbestos insulation essential for worker protection and equipment function. The irony was devastating: the material meant to protect workers from heat was slowly killing them through fiber inhalation.
Beyond Gary's steel mills, the Calumet corridor included the BP Whiting Refinery (formerly Standard Oil/Amoco), one of the largest oil refineries in the Midwest, along with chemical plants, auto manufacturing facilities, and power generation stations. Communities like East Chicago, Hammond, and Whiting were defined by their proximity to these industrial operations, and generations of families depended on them for their livelihoods.
The 20-to-50-Year Latency Period
Mesothelioma does not appear immediately after asbestos exposure. The disease has a latency period of 20 to 50 years, meaning steelworkers, refinery workers, and manufacturing employees exposed in Indiana's industrial facilities during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s are being diagnosed now. A blast furnace worker at Gary Works who handled asbestos-insulated equipment in 1970 may only receive a mesothelioma diagnosis in 2026 or later. This long latency period is why Indiana continues to produce new mesothelioma cases decades after the peak era of asbestos use.
Many Indiana workers held positions at multiple Calumet Region facilities over the course of a career. A pipefitter might have worked at Gary Works, then at the Whiting refinery, then at a power plant — each position adding to the cumulative asbestos burden. This multi-site exposure history is critically important for legal claims because it can connect a patient to multiple asbestos trust funds and defendants, significantly increasing the total compensation available.
Indiana's Steel Belt Asbestos Legacy
The Calumet Region — spanning Gary, East Chicago, Hammond, Whiting, and surrounding communities — was the epicenter of American steelmaking for much of the 20th century. US Steel Gary Works alone covered more than 1,500 acres along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Combined with Inland Steel in East Chicago, Youngstown Sheet & Tube, and the BP Whiting Refinery, this industrial corridor employed hundreds of thousands of workers over decades, nearly all of whom encountered asbestos in their working environments. If you worked at any industrial facility in Indiana's Calumet Region, documenting your asbestos exposure history is a critical first step.
