About Basf - Dek Tank Palmyra
The BASF - DEK Tank facility in Palmyra, Missouri was an industrial site that reportedly utilized various asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) in its infrastructure and operations. Asbestos was widely used throughout the Missouri and Illinois industrial corridor along the Mississippi River for its fireproofing, insulation, and strengthening properties. These materials were common in building components and operational equipment throughout such facilities.
Official government records from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) NESHAP (National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants) program reportedly document the presence and abatement of asbestos-containing materials at this site. These records indicate that ACMs may have been present in several forms: floor tile and floor tile mastic (allegedly used in administrative areas, control rooms, and other parts of the facility), friable ACM (asbestos-containing materials that could be crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder by hand pressure), general insulation and pipe insulation for pipes, boilers, tanks, and other high-temperature equipment, and asbestos-cement board products.
MDNR NESHAP records document specific asbestos abatement and demolition projects at or associated with BASF facilities in the region. A February 27, 2002 renovation project at “BASF - DEK Tank” in Palmyra, MO, reportedly involved the abatement of 207 square feet of tank insulation by J & S Companies Inc. Additional demolition projects at related BASF facilities in the region—including a March 29, 2016 project at “BASF Hannibal” involving 800 square feet / 1188 linear feet of friable pipe insulation and 2772 square feet of non-friable floor tile/mastic, and an April 4, 2016 project at “BASF Chemicals - Hannibal Boiler” involving 1988 linear feet and 42,999 square feet of floor tile, mastic, asbestos-cement board, and pipe insulation—confirm that asbestos-containing materials were present and actively managed at BASF facilities in Missouri.
General Equipment at Basf - Dek Tank Palmyra
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
The records below are verified, state-documented asbestos removals at this facility. Each entry represents a regulated abatement project where the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (Missouri DNR) 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.
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:
Who May Have Been Exposed at Basf - Dek Tank Palmyra
Workers in various trades at the BASF - DEK Tank facility in Palmyra, MO, may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials, particularly during the installation, maintenance, repair, or removal of equipment and building components.
Insulators were directly responsible for applying and removing insulation and were likely among those with high risk of exposure given the documented presence of pipe and tank insulation. Members of Heat and Frost Insulators Local 1 (St. Louis, MO) or Local 27 (Kansas City, MO) may have handled products like pipe covering or calcium silicate pipe insulation. Pipefitters involved in piping systems may have worked closely with asbestos-insulated pipes, and cutting, fitting, or disturbing old pipe insulation could have released asbestos fibers. Plumbers and Pipefitters UA Local 562 (St. Louis, MO) or Local 268 (Kansas City, MO) members may have encountered these materials. Boilermakers working on boilers and related equipment often heavily insulated with ACMs were also at risk, with Boilermakers Local 27 (St. Louis, MO) members frequently working in such environments.
Additional trades at risk included Electricians who allegedly worked near or removed asbestos-containing electrical components and wiring insulation, Maintenance Workers who performed equipment repair and floor tile replacement, Construction Workers involved in original construction or subsequent renovations and demolitions, and Laborers who assisted various trades and may have been involved in tasks that disturbed asbestos-containing debris. Individuals who did not directly handle asbestos but worked near these trades or in areas where ACMs were deteriorating or disturbed may have been exposed to airborne asbestos fibers.
Critical Filing Deadline & Next Steps
Missouri law gives mesothelioma and asbestos-disease claimants 5 years from the date of medical diagnosis to file a personal-injury lawsuit (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.120). For wrongful-death claims after an asbestos-related death, the filing window is 3 years from the date of death (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.100). 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 Missouri 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
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.
Cross-State & Regional Corridor Workers
Asbestos was a ubiquitous component in construction and industrial processes throughout the Missouri and Illinois industrial corridor along the Mississippi River. Other significant Missouri and Illinois industrial sites, such as the Labadie Energy Center (Franklin County, MO — Ameren UE), the Portage des Sioux Power Plant (St. Charles County, MO — Ameren UE), Monsanto Chemical (Sauget, IL / St. Louis, MO), and Granite City Steel (Granite City, IL), also reportedly utilized similar asbestos-containing products extensively. Workers from Missouri and Illinois union locals such as Heat and Frost Insulators Local 1 (St. Louis, MO), Plumbers and Pipefitters UA Local 562 (St. Louis, MO), or Boilermakers Local 27 (St. Louis, MO) may have been involved in renovation and demolition projects across various Missouri and Illinois jobsites. The potential for exposure was not limited to BASF - DEK Tank but also posed a risk at other industrial sites like the Portage des Sioux Power Plant (St. Charles County, MO — Ameren UE), Monsanto Chemical (St. Louis, MO), or Clark Refinery (Wood River, IL).Data Sources
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)
- Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) 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.