R.T. Vanderbilt Company History of Asbestos Use
R.T. Vanderbilt Company Inc. has a long history tied to asbestos exposure. The company sold industrial talc products that contained tremolite, which regulators and researchers identified as a form of asbestos.
Vanderbilt denied it was asbestos and continued selling the talc without warning its customers. This led to serious health risks for workers in industries such as ceramics, rubber and manufacturing.
Over the years, many people who came into contact with these products developed mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. As a result, the company has faced lawsuits related to asbestos exposure.
The original R.T. Vanderbilt Company was founded in 1916 in New York City by Robert Thurlow Vanderbilt. In 1974, Vanderbilt acquired International Talc, a company with a reputation for unsafe conditions that owned talc-processing mills. Since then, the company has branched out into several industries and markets with subsidiaries including:
- Vanderbilt (Beijing) Trading Ltd.
- Vanderbilt Chemicals LLC
- Vanderbilt Global Services LLC
- Vanderbilt Japan LLC
- Vanderbilt Minerals LLC
- Vanderbilt Worldwide Ltd.
Vanderbilt Minerals currently oversees the company’s mining operations in states across the country. In 2013, the company restructured under a parent entity called R.T. Vanderbilt Holding Company Inc. This holding company now oversees its subsidiaries, including Vanderbilt Minerals.
Despite these changes in name and structure, the company’s link to asbestos remains an important part of its history.
Resources for Mesothelioma Patients
R.T. Vanderbilt Company Asbestos Products
R.T. Vanderbilt Company, through its subsidiary Vanderbilt Minerals, produced and sold industrial talc products under the NYTAL® brand. These products were used across various industries, including ceramics, rubber, plastics, paints and tiles.
The talc was primarily sourced from a mine in St. Lawrence County, New York. This mine was operated by Vanderbilt’s subsidiary, Gouverneur Talc. This region is known for naturally occurring asbestos minerals, such as tremolite and anthophyllite, which often coexist with talc deposits. Consequently, the talc extracted from this area was contaminated with asbestos fibers. Internal records and expert testimony have shown that Vanderbilt was aware of this contamination.
Despite the company’s assertions that its talc was asbestos-free, independent laboratory analyses and expert testimonies in court cases have linked NYTAL products to asbestos exposure. The following NYTAL grades have been associated with asbestos contamination:
- NYTAL 100HR
- NYTAL 300
- NYTAL 99
NYTAL products were widely used in various industrial applications. In 2008, Vanderbilt ceased talc production at the Gouverneur Talc Division and discontinued both the NYTAL and CERAMITALC product lines.
Exposure to asbestos-contaminated talc has been linked to serious health conditions, including mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. Several lawsuits have been filed against Vanderbilt by individuals who developed such illnesses after working with or around the company’s talc products.
Note: R.T. Vanderbilt Company should not be confused with any of the companies founded by the Vanderbilt industrial dynasty (including Biltmore Company) or V by Vanderbilt Energizing Body Talc, an unrelated cosmetic product.
R.T. Vanderbilt Company and Occupational Exposure
Workers at Vanderbilt may have been exposed to asbestos on the job, especially those involved in talc mining and handling. Exposure could happen during tasks like drilling, crushing, bagging or moving talc. These actions released asbestos fibers into the air, where workers could breathe them in.
Asbestos exposure wasn’t limited to miners. The company’s talc was sold to companies in many industries, where it was used in products ranging from paints to plastics. Workers in these jobs could be exposed while mixing or shaping materials made with contaminated talc, often without knowing it contained asbestos.
Industries that used Vanderbilt’s talc include:
- Agricultural sciences
- Animal care
- Ceramics
- Household applications
- Paints
- Personal care
- Petroleum
- Pharmaceuticals
- Plastics
- Refractories
- Rubber
- Superplasticizers for concrete
Workers often handled talc without knowing it contained dangerous asbestos fibers. Even low levels of exposure can lead to serious diseases, like mesothelioma and lung cancer.
A wide range of jobs may have put workers at risk of asbestos exposure from Vanderbilt’s talc, including:
- Ceramic workers
- Construction workers
- Crane operators
- Excavators
- Freight and transport workers
- Geologists
- Industrial mixers/blenders
- Machine operators
- Machinists
- Maintenance workers
- Metallurgists
- Mine workers
- Mining engineers
- Packaging workers
- Paint mixers
- Plastic molders
- Processing facility engineers
- Processing facility supervisors
- Quality control technicians
- Rubber workers
- Warehouse workers
People who worked around Vanderbilt’s talc products weren’t the only ones at risk. Workers could unknowingly bring asbestos dust home on their clothes, shoes, skin or hair. This secondhand exposure endangered their loved ones as well.
Asbestos Lawsuits Against R.T. Vanderbilt Company
Vanderbilt and its related companies have faced asbestos exposure cases linked to their industrial talc products. Since the 1970s, thousands of people have filed lawsuits after getting sick from working with or near Vanderbilt’s talc.
Several workers filed lawsuits against R.T. Vanderbilt Company and received settlements and verdicts. For example, in late 2024, a Connecticut judge awarded $7.5 million in punitive damages to a mesothelioma victim’s estate. This was in addition to a $15 million jury verdict returned earlier that year, bringing the total awarded amount to $22.5 million. The deceased plaintiff worked with asbestos-contaminated talc while working at General Electric.
Additional settlements received from lawsuits filed against R.T. Vanderbilt include:
- $10.6 million for ceramics factory employee: A former summer worker at a ceramics plant was exposed to talc dust and later diagnosed with mesothelioma. His family received compensation in a wrongful death lawsuit.
- $4.1 million for tile sorter: A tile sorter at a flooring company died from mesothelioma after workplace exposure to asbestos-laced talc. Her estate was awarded $4.1 million.
- $3 million for pottery artisan: A pottery worker used Vanderbilt talc in ceramic glazes and developed mesothelioma. A jury awarded his widow $3 million.
- $2.9 million for worker at bathroom fixtures plant: A former employee at a bathroom fixtures plant was awarded $2.9 million after talc exposure led to his mesothelioma diagnosis.
- Confidential settlement for tile worker: A tile worker regularly handled talc-based materials and later became ill. During jury deliberations, a confidential settlement was reached after he sought $11.5 million.
Workers and others exposed to Vanderbilt’s contaminated talc can seek compensation with the help of experienced asbestos lawyers. They may also qualify for claims through asbestos trust funds set up by other companies. A lawyer can explain all the legal options available to an individual client.
