Why Mesothelioma Cases Occur in Gary
Gary, Indiana exists because of steel. The city was founded in 1906 by the United States Steel Corporation specifically to house the workers who would operate its enormous new steel mill on the southern shore of Lake Michigan. US Steel Gary Works grew to become one of the largest integrated steelmaking operations in the world, covering more than 1,500 acres and employing over 30,000 workers at peak production. Every stage of the steelmaking process — from coke production to blast furnace operation to rolling and finishing — involved extreme temperatures that required extensive asbestos insulation.
According to WikiMesothelioma.com, the steel industry is one of the most significant sources of occupational asbestos exposure in the United States, with workers exposed to asbestos in blast furnace linings, coke oven insulation, steam pipe lagging, crane brake systems, and refractory materials throughout steel mill operations. Gary Works, given its extraordinary size and decades of continuous operation, represents one of the largest single-site asbestos exposure sources in the industrial Midwest.
Beyond the steel mill itself, Gary's industrial landscape included American Bridge Company (a US Steel subsidiary that fabricated structural steel), Universal Atlas Cement Company (which produced cement using asbestos-containing materials), and numerous smaller manufacturers and contractors who served the steel industry. The combined effect was a city where asbestos exposure permeated virtually every aspect of industrial life.
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 exposed at Gary Works during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s are being diagnosed now. A blast furnace worker who maintained asbestos-insulated hot blast stoves in 1970 may only receive a mesothelioma diagnosis in 2025 or later. This extended latency is why Gary continues to produce new mesothelioma cases decades after asbestos use was curtailed.
Many Gary steelworkers spent entire careers at Gary Works, accumulating decades of continuous asbestos exposure in one of the most heavily insulated industrial environments in America. Others worked at multiple facilities within the US Steel system or across the broader Calumet Region industrial corridor that stretches from Gary through East Chicago, Hammond, and Whiting. This exposure history connects patients to multiple trust funds and potential defendants.
Gary's Asbestos Legacy by the Numbers
At its peak, US Steel Gary Works employed over 30,000 workers on a 1,500-acre complex that included blast furnaces, coke ovens, basic oxygen furnaces, rolling mills, and finishing operations. Asbestos insulation was present in every heat-intensive area of the mill and in the buildings, steam systems, and infrastructure that supported operations. Indiana ranks among the states with significant mesothelioma mortality, and Gary's steel industry is a primary driver. If you worked at Gary Works or any industrial facility in the Calumet Region, documenting your asbestos exposure history is a critical first step.