About St. Clair Power Plant
Facility Location and Operations
St. Clair Power Plant sits in East China Township, St. Clair County, Michigan, along the St. Clair River near Belle River. It has operated as one of the largest coal-fired electricity generating facilities in Michigan.
Key facility facts:
- Operator: DTE Electric Co. (formerly The Detroit Edison Company)
- Construction began: 1950s
- Peak capacity: Seven generating units
- Primary function: Coal-fired steam generation for regional power distribution
- Cooling system: Circulating water from the St. Clair River
- Current status: Undergoing unit retirements and decommissioning as part of a carbon reduction strategy
Why Asbestos-Containing Materials Were Used at This Facility
The St. Clair Power Plant, like virtually every large coal-fired power facility built in the United States during the 1940s–1980s — including Michigan’s industrial corridor facilities such as comparable regional power stations, comparable regional power stations, and comparable regional power stations, as well as Great Lakes industrial corridor industrial facilities such as regional steel operations — allegedly relied heavily on asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) throughout its construction, maintenance, and operation. The same product lines, the same manufacturers, and the same occupational trades were present across all of these facilities, making cross-facility asbestos exposure evidence directly relevant to litigation involving St. Clair workers.
1950s–1960s: Original Construction and Early Expansion
During initial construction and the addition of early generating units, asbestos-containing materials were reportedly used throughout the facility — standard industry practice for comparable DTE Electric Co. facilities built during the same period, and mirroring documented construction-era ACM use at Missouri facilities including comparable regional power stations.
ACMs allegedly present in original construction:
- Asbestos-containing pipe insulation on steam and water lines, reportedly including products from, and Thermal Insulation Manufacturers
- calcium silicate pipe insulation rigid block insulation on boilers and high-temperature lines
- Thermobestos insulation products on critical thermal systems
- Gaskets, valve packing, and sealing compounds from gaskets and packing, Flexitallic, and John Crane
- Floor tiles and thermal insulation blocks containing asbestos binders
- Electrical insulation in panels and switchgear from General Electric, Westinghouse Electric, and Square D Company
1960s–1970s: Operational Maintenance and Ongoing Expansion
As additional generating units came online and routine maintenance continued, workers at St. Clair may have been exposed to ACMs through ongoing installation, maintenance, and repair activities. Michigan union members — including members of Heat and Frost Insulators Local 1, and Boilermakers Local 169
- Demolition workers may have encountered undisclosed or improperly abated ACMs from, and other manufacturers
- Environmental remediation triggered NESHAP notification requirements for removal of insulation, gaskets, and refractory materials
- neighboring states residents who performed abatement or decommissioning contract work at multiple facilities — including St. Clair, comparable regional power stations, and comparable regional power stations — may have accumulated compound exposures across job sites throughout the region
General Equipment at St. Clair Power Plant
The equipment below represents the systems and infrastructure documented or typically present at this facility during the era when asbestos-containing materials were specified in industrial construction. This is general facility-equipment reference — not a legal attribution of any specific product, manufacturer, or exposure event to this facility. Material-category and manufacturer information is addressed in the AsbestosIndex Product Crosswalk linked under the records table below.
Documented Asbestos Evidence — Michigan
The records below are verified, state-documented asbestos removals at this facility. Each entry represents a regulated abatement project where the Michigan EGLE (Environment, Great Lakes & Energy) (Michigan EGLE) was notified under federal NESHAP rules, the work was logged, and the asbestos-containing material was confirmed and removed under regulated conditions. These are not allegations or estimates — they are paper records tying documented asbestos-containing material to this specific site.
No Michigan EGLE NESHAP abatement notifications have been identified for this facility in current public records. Per the framing above, absence of state-agency documentation should not be read as absence of asbestos — only as absence of a formal, regulated abatement event meeting reporting thresholds. Workers who recall encountering pipe insulation, block insulation, gaskets, or other asbestos-era construction materials at this facility may still have viable claims regardless of whether a state record exists.
Material Categories in Documented Records
The materials documented above (and similar asbestos-containing materials commonly encountered in records of this type) appear in the AsbestosIndex catalog with historical manufacturer and trust-fund information. Click a category to view manufacturers historically associated with that material:
Michigan — Filing Deadline & Next Steps
Michigan law gives mesothelioma and asbestos-disease claimants 3 years from the date of medical diagnosis to file a personal-injury lawsuit (MCL § 600.5805(13)). For wrongful-death claims after an asbestos-related death, the filing window is 3 years from the date of death (MCL § 600.5852). The two deadlines run on separate tracks — preserving one does not extend the other.
The personal-injury clock runs from diagnosis, not from exposure. Mesothelioma latency is typically 20 to 50 years, so workers exposed in the 1950s–1980s are being diagnosed today.
Practical first steps
- Document what you remember. Pay stubs, W-2s, union cards, photographs, coworker names, and dates of employment. The WorkChain widget on this page can save a copy you can email yourself.
- Preserve medical records. Pathology reports, biopsy results, imaging, and pulmonary-function tests are central to both civil claims and trust-fund filings.
- Identify household members. Spouses who laundered work clothing and children of plant workers are eligible for secondary-exposure claims when diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease.
- Speak with an asbestos attorney with Michigan experience. The first conversation is free and confidential. Asbestos trust-fund claims and civil claims run on different tracks — both can be pursued in parallel.
Asbestos-Related Diseases — Michigan
Asbestos fiber exposure can cause several specific diseases that typically appear decades after the original exposure. The latency period — the gap between exposure and diagnosis — usually runs 20 to 50 years. That's why workers exposed in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s are receiving diagnoses today.
Mesothelioma
A rare, aggressive cancer that affects the lining of the lungs (pleural mesothelioma), abdomen (peritoneal), or heart (pericardial). Mesothelioma is almost exclusively caused by asbestos exposure, which is why a mesothelioma diagnosis often points directly to historical workplace exposure. Average latency from first exposure to diagnosis is 30-50 years.
Asbestosis
A chronic, non-cancerous scarring of lung tissue caused by inhaled asbestos fibers. Asbestosis causes progressive shortness of breath, persistent cough, and reduced lung function. It does not improve with treatment, and it is a recognized basis for compensation under most trust schedules and civil claims.
Lung Cancer
Asbestos exposure significantly increases the risk of lung cancer, particularly when combined with a history of smoking. Asbestos-related lung cancer is compensable under the same trust schedules and civil claim avenues as mesothelioma.
Other Recognized Diseases
Pleural plaques, pleural thickening, laryngeal cancer, ovarian cancer, and certain gastrointestinal cancers are also recognized as asbestos-related under various trust schedules and case-law authorities, though eligibility and proof requirements vary by claim type.
If you have any of these diagnoses and you worked at this facility, lived with someone who did, or were exposed in any documented capacity, you may have a claim worth pursuing. Speak with an attorney before assuming you don't qualify.
Data Sources — Michigan
Information about facility equipment, industrial materials, and occupational records referenced on this page is drawn from publicly available sources where applicable, including:
- EPA ECHO Facility Compliance Database — enforcement and compliance records for industrial facilities
- OSHA Establishment Search — federal workplace inspection history
- EIA Form 860 Plant Data — power-plant equipment and ownership records (where applicable)
- Michigan EGLE (Environment, Great Lakes & Energy) NESHAP asbestos abatement notification records
- Published asbestos trial and trust fund records (publicly filed court documents)
- AsbestosIndex Product & Manufacturer Crosswalk — historical asbestos-containing product schedules linked to manufacturers
If specific equipment or product claims in this article are sourced from a non-public database, the source is identified parenthetically within the text above.