Great Northern Paper Company — Millinocket, Maine

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that workers at Great Northern Paper Company’s mills in Millinocket and East Millinocket, Penobscot County, Maine, sustained occupational asbestos exposure during pulp and paper manufacturing operations.

Facility Background

Great Northern Paper Company built the Millinocket mill in 1900, and it quickly became one of the largest paper mills in the world. The company later added a second mill in East Millinocket in 1908. At their peak, the two mills employed thousands of workers and were the primary economic engine of the Katahdin region of northern Maine. The mills produced newsprint, groundwood papers, and other grades.

Plaintiffs alleged that the enormous steam requirements of these large-scale paper mills — used for cooking pulp, heating dryer sections, and powering generators — required extensive asbestos insulation on boilers, steam mains, dryer equipment, and associated systems throughout the facilities.

Alleged Asbestos Pathways

Plaintiffs alleged in litigation that asbestos exposure occurred through multiple pathways:

  • Power plant and boiler operations: Plaintiffs alleged that the large steam-electric generating stations at the Millinocket mills used asbestos-insulated boilers, turbines, steam mains, and associated equipment.
  • Paper machine steam systems: Plaintiffs alleged that the steam-heated dryer sections and steam supply systems on paper machines required asbestos insulation and gaskets maintained by mill maintenance workers.
  • Pulp processing systems: Plaintiffs alleged that digesters, evaporators, and associated pulp cooking systems used asbestos-containing insulation throughout.
  • Annual maintenance shutdowns: Plaintiffs alleged that outside contractors and mill maintenance workers performing scheduled maintenance outages encountered pervasive asbestos insulation throughout the mills.

Maine has a six-year statute of limitations under 14 M.R.S. § 752, running from the date of mesothelioma diagnosis. Wrongful death claims carry a two-year limit under 18-C M.R.S.A. § 2-807.

Workers who were employed at Great Northern Paper and who have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma or asbestos-related disease may have legal remedies available. Contact O’Brien Law Firm at (314) 237-3332 to discuss your work history and legal options at no cost.