Heat & Frost Insulators Local 18 — Indianapolis

Jurisdiction

Indianapolis and Central Indiana — Marion County and surrounding counties

Local 18 organizes the Heat & Frost Insulators across Central Indiana — a region anchored by the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical complex, the Allison Transmission and Detroit Diesel facilities, the Indianapolis Power & Light generating stations, and the major Indianapolis hospitals serving the city.

For state-specific filing deadlines, primary courts, and the full jobsite catalog within the Local’s territory, see the partner state archive:

Notable workplaces in Local 18 territory

Through the asbestos era (roughly 1920s through early 1980s), Local 18 members were dispatched to facilities throughout the jurisdiction — many of which are now documented in federal NESHAP filings, state regulatory databases, and public asbestos litigation records. Major workplaces in the Local 18 historical territory included:

Eli Lilly Indianapolis pharmaceutical complex · Allison Transmission · Detroit Diesel Allison · Indianapolis Power & Light Petersburg, Edwardsport, Eagle Valley, Harding Street generating stations · Indiana University Medical Center · Methodist Hospital Indianapolis · Eskenazi Health · Indianapolis International Airport · the rail infrastructure of Beech Grove and the Big 4 yards · Indianapolis Motor Speedway construction-era work.

These are categories of workplace, not an exhaustive list. Local 18 dispatch records held by the Local’s business office contain the specific job-by-job assignments for individual members. For an active or retired member pursuing an asbestos claim, those dispatch records are typically the foundational evidence establishing which jobsites the member was on and when.

Why this Local matters for asbestos claims

Indianapolis is the center of Central Indiana’s 20th-century industrial buildout. Local 18 dispatch records correspond to many of the major facilities documented in federal NESHAP filings and Indiana asbestos cases. Eli Lilly’s extensive pharmaceutical-process steam systems were Local 18 territory for decades.

Products Local 18 insulators handled

Insulators in any jurisdiction worked the same general categories of asbestos-containing products through the asbestos era. The specific manufacturers varied by region, contract, and decade:

  • Pipe covering — Magnesia, calcium silicate, fiberglass-asbestos blends (Owens-Corning Kaylo, Johns-Manville Magnesia, Pittsburgh Corning Unibestos)
  • Block insulation — Calcium silicate or 85% magnesia block (details on AsbestosIndex)
  • Insulating cement — Dry-mixed asbestos cement, hand-applied to joints and irregular fittings — historically the highest-fiber-release product insulators handled
  • Refractory products — High-temperature furnace and boiler linings (refractory brick)
  • Gaskets and packing — Flange gaskets, valve packing (Garlock, John Crane, Anchor Packing)
  • Asbestos cloth and millboard — Outer wrapping, fire blankets, jacketing
  • Spray fireproofing — W.R. Grace Monokote and competitor products applied to structural steel

See the Asbestos Products page for the full catalog of products documented in insulator-era exposure.

If you or a family member is a Local 18 insulator

You have one of the most-documented exposure histories of any trade in U.S. occupational-health research. The medical literature has tracked your trade specifically since the 1960s. Your union health funds have actuarial data going back decades. The manufacturers that supplied your jobsites have funded over $30 billion in asbestos bankruptcy trust funds — many of which are still paying claims.

Free, confidential case review with an attorney experienced in insulator asbestos cases:

(314) 588-0558 — O’Brien Law Firm

All consultations are free. No fee unless a financial recovery is made on your behalf.

This page documents the historical context of Local 18’s jurisdiction in asbestos exposure research. It is not produced by or endorsed by the International Association of Heat & Frost Insulators and Allied Workers or Local 18. Information is drawn from public asbestos litigation records, federal NESHAP filings, state regulatory databases, and public industry-publication histories. Rights Watch Media Group LLC is an independent media publisher; O’Brien Law Firm is the editorial sponsor of this site.