Mesothelioma Lawyer Nebraska: Behlen Manufacturing Asbestos Exposure and Legal Claims

Urgent Filing Deadline: Your Window to Act Is Limited

If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease after working at Behlen Manufacturing in Columbus, Nebraska, the clock is already running. Nebraska law imposes a strict four-year statute of limitations from the date of diagnosis for personal injury claims under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-224. For wrongful death claims, the same four-year period runs from the date of death. These two clocks run independently — a diagnosis and a death in the same family each trigger their own deadline. Trust fund claims and civil lawsuits can be pursued simultaneously, and pursuing both at once is standard practice. Trust fund assets are finite and do deplete. Contact the O’Brien Law Firm today.

If you worked at Behlen Manufacturing’s Columbus, Nebraska facility during the 1940s through the 1980s, may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials, and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or another asbestos-related disease, you may be entitled to significant financial compensation. Former employees in skilled trades — insulators, pipefitters, boilermakers, electricians, and maintenance workers — carry the highest documented risk. Nebraska’s filing deadlines are strict. Unfortunately, many of the coworkers who shared shifts with you in the earlier years of your career may no longer be reachable. Time is precious. This page covers the alleged exposure sources at Behlen Manufacturing, the diseases asbestos causes, and the legal remedies available to you and your family.

Behlen Manufacturing: A Major Nebraska Industrial Employer

Behlen Manufacturing Company was founded in Columbus, Nebraska in 1936 by Walter D. Behlen. Over the following decades it became one of the region’s most significant industrial employers, producing agricultural storage systems and grain bins, steel grain storage structures, pre-engineered metal buildings, and fabricated metal products. The facility expanded substantially through the mid-twentieth century, adding production lines, warehousing, and support infrastructure that required mechanical, electrical, and thermal insulation systems. At its peak the plant employed hundreds of skilled tradespeople. Chief Industries, headquartered in Grand Island, Nebraska, ultimately acquired the facility and continues to operate the Columbus location.

Why Asbestos-Containing Materials Were Standard in Industrial Facilities

Like virtually every large industrial manufacturing facility operating through the 1970s, Behlen’s Columbus plant reportedly relied on asbestos-containing materials during construction, expansion, and ongoing maintenance. These materials were ubiquitous in American industrial settings from roughly the 1930s through the early 1980s because they were inexpensive, durable, effective at resisting heat and fire, and reliable as thermal insulators.

The legacy exposure period of greatest concern for mesothelioma litigation runs from the 1940s through the late 1970s, when OSHA rulemaking and growing awareness of asbestos hazards began producing regulatory restrictions on its use.

Where Asbestos-Containing Materials Were Reportedly Used

A heavy fabrication operation the size of Behlen’s Columbus facility would have required asbestos-containing materials across multiple systems:

  • Boiler and furnace systems — high-pressure steam and extreme heat demanded insulation capable of withstanding continuous thermal stress
  • Steam and hot-water piping — routed throughout the facility for process heat and space conditioning
  • Electrical components — wire insulation, switchgear, and panel linings rated for fire resistance
  • Roofing and siding — asbestos-cement composites were the industrial construction standard of the era
  • Floor tiles and adhesives — in offices, maintenance areas, and break rooms
  • Gaskets and packing materials — in flanged pipe connections and pump assemblies
  • Refractory and fireproofing materials — applied to structural steel and heat-producing equipment
  • Spray fireproofing — applied to steel framing during construction and renovation

Workers at such facilities allegedly encountered asbestos-containing materials not only during original installation but on a continuing basis during routine maintenance, repair, and renovation — activities that disturbed previously installed materials and released fibers into the breathing zones of anyone working nearby.

Product Identification and Asbestos Liability Attribution

Specific manufacturers of asbestos-containing products reportedly present at the Behlen Columbus facility are not identified in this article. Product identification, manufacturer attribution, and asbestos liability assignment are handled through the AsbestosIndex Product Crosswalk, which links product categories, facility types, and documented asbestos product manufacturers by era. That separation routes product-level claims through the appropriate liability channels.

Who Was at Risk: Occupations with Elevated Mesothelioma Rates

Asbestos-related disease does not sort neatly by job title, but certain trades at heavy industrial manufacturing facilities carry historically documented elevated rates of mesothelioma and asbestosis. If you held one of these positions at Behlen, an experienced toxic tort attorney familiar with trade-specific exposure patterns can assess your claim.

Insulators and Pipecoverers

Workers who installed and removed thermal pipe covering, block insulation, and insulating cement on steam lines, boiler systems, and process piping are among the occupational groups most frequently diagnosed with mesothelioma. Members of the Heat and Frost Insulators Local 39, which covers all of Nebraska, who worked at Behlen’s Columbus plant may have been exposed to asbestos-containing insulation materials throughout the facility’s peak production years. Removing old insulation — a required step in virtually every maintenance and upgrade project — releases concentrated fiber clouds.

Pipefitters and Steamfitters

Pipefitters who maintained and repaired the facility’s steam and process piping systems may have worked alongside insulation materials and handled asbestos-containing gaskets and packing routinely. Breaking a flanged pipe connection disturbs gasket material and releases respirable fibers. Members of UA Pipefitters Local 464 Omaha may have been among those at risk.

Boilermakers

Boilermakers who installed, repaired, and maintained boilers and pressure vessels at the Behlen facility may have been exposed to asbestos-containing refractory materials, block insulation, and insulating cement. Boilermakers frequently worked in confined spaces where fiber concentrations could reach dangerous levels during repair work. Members of Boilermakers Local 11 in Nebraska could have been similarly affected.

Electricians

Industrial electricians working at Behlen may have encountered asbestos-containing wire insulation, arc chutes in switchgear, and fire-resistant panel linings. Cutting or stripping asbestos-containing electrical components releases fibers that lodge permanently in lung tissue. IBEW Local 22 Omaha and IBEW Local 265 Lincoln may have represented some of these workers.

Millwrights and Maintenance Mechanics

General maintenance workers who performed repairs across the facility may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials in floors, ceilings, walls, roofing, and equipment insulation — particularly during renovation or repair work that disturbed installed materials.

Sheet Metal Workers

Sheet metal tradespeople working on HVAC systems and associated ductwork may have encountered asbestos-containing duct wrap, duct board, and fire-resistant joint compound.

Production Workers and Laborers — Bystander Exposure

Workers who never directly handled asbestos-containing materials could still have been exposed through bystander exposure — inhaling fibers disturbed by tradespeople working nearby. Fibers released during maintenance work on an active production floor do not stay confined to the immediate work area.

Asbestos-Containing Materials Allegedly Present at the Behlen Facility

Based on the industrial processes, construction methods, and equipment in use at large Nebraska manufacturing facilities during the relevant period, workers at the Behlen Columbus facility may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials in these categories:

  • Pipe covering and thermal insulation on steam distribution lines and process piping
  • Block insulation surrounding boilers and large process equipment
  • Insulating cement used to seal and finish insulated pipe sections and equipment joints
  • Gaskets and packing in flanged pipe connections, valves, and pump assemblies
  • Refractory materials lining furnaces, boilers, and high-temperature process equipment
  • Spray fireproofing applied to structural steel during construction or renovation
  • Floor tiles and adhesives in plant offices, locker rooms, break areas, and administrative spaces
  • Roofing materials — reportedly including asbestos-cement corrugated panels common on industrial buildings of this era
  • Electrical insulation in older wiring systems and switchgear
  • Ceiling tiles and acoustical panels in office and support areas adjacent to production spaces

For the specific manufacturers associated with these material categories at industrial facilities of this type and era, consult the AsbestosIndex Product Crosswalk.

Asbestos causes disease through inhalation of microscopic mineral fibers that lodge permanently in the lining of the lungs, abdomen, or heart. These fibers are biopersistent — the human body cannot dissolve or expel them — and over decades they produce the chronic inflammation and genetic damage that results in malignant disease.

Malignant Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive cancer of the mesothelial lining. Three primary forms exist:

  • Pleural mesothelioma — affects the lung lining; accounts for approximately 75% of all diagnoses
  • Peritoneal mesothelioma — affects the abdominal lining; often associated with ingestion of fibers
  • Pericardial mesothelioma — affects the heart lining; the rarest form

Asbestos exposure is the only well-established cause of mesothelioma. The disease carries a latency period of 20 to 50 years, meaning workers allegedly exposed at Behlen during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s may only now be receiving diagnoses. No safe level of asbestos exposure exists with respect to mesothelioma risk.

Asbestosis

Asbestosis is a progressive, non-cancerous fibrotic lung disease caused by accumulation of asbestos fibers in lung tissue. Scarring reduces lung function and produces chronic shortness of breath, persistent cough, exercise intolerance, and in advanced cases, respiratory failure requiring supplemental oxygen. It is dose-dependent and most common in insulators, boilermakers, and pipefitters with sustained heavy exposure histories.

Lung Cancer

Asbestos exposure raises lung cancer risk independently of tobacco use. In workers who smoked, the combination creates a multiplicative — not merely additive — cancer risk. Former workers with asbestos exposure histories face substantially elevated lung cancer rates compared to the general population, regardless of smoking history.

Pleural Plaques and Diffuse Pleural Thickening

Pleural plaques are calcified deposits on the lung lining that serve as a biological marker of past asbestos exposure. They are not cancer, but their presence documents exposure history for both medical and legal purposes. Diffuse pleural thickening can cause significant restrictive lung disease and progressive breathlessness on its own.

Nebraska Filing Deadlines: What You Must Know Before You Call Anyone

Nebraska’s asbestos personal injury statute of limitations is four years from the date of diagnosis under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-224. The wrongful death statute of limitations is four years from the date of death. These clocks run independently — a family may face two separate deadlines simultaneously if a loved one was diagnosed and later died.

Missing either deadline almost certainly eliminates your right to recover compensation, regardless of how strong your underlying exposure case may be. Trust fund claims operate under their own administrative deadlines and those timelines do not pause while you consider your options.

If you were diagnosed recently — or if a family member died recently after an asbestos-related illness — the most important thing you can do right now is speak with an attorney who handles these cases. Not next month. Now.

Former Behlen Manufacturing workers and their families may be entitled to pursue:

  • Asbestos trust fund claims — dozens of bankrupt asbestos manufacturers have established compensation trusts holding billions of dollars in aggregate; claims can be filed without a lawsuit
  • Civil litigation — lawsuits against solvent defendants who manufactured, distributed, or installed asbestos-containing materials at the facility
  • Trust fund claims and civil lawsuits pursued simultaneously — these paths are not mutually exclusive and

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