Westinghouse Electric — Baltimore Defense / Aerospace Division in Baltimore MD

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that they were allegedly exposed to asbestos while working at the Westinghouse Baltimore Defense / Aerospace Division (“Westinghouse Electronic Systems,” “Astronautics,” “Air Arm Division”) in the Baltimore / Linthicum area of Maryland. This page documents the Baltimore portion of Westinghouse’s multi-state industrial footprint. For the full corporate summary, see the Westinghouse manufacturer page.

Plant Description and Operating Era

The Westinghouse Baltimore defense complex — sited around Friendship International Airport (now BWI) beginning in 1956 — grew to become one of the region’s largest employers, producing airborne and shipboard radar, defense electronics, and integrated weapons systems for U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Army programs. The site anchored Westinghouse’s Electronic Systems Group and its Astronautics / Air Arm activity. Westinghouse sold the defense business to Northrop Grumman in 1996 and the Baltimore operations continued under Northrop Grumman Mission Systems.

Premises ACM Narrative

At the Westinghouse Baltimore defense plant during the U.S. asbestos era (approximately 1956-1980), plaintiffs allegedly encountered:

  • Asbestos pipe covering on steam mains, process piping, and utility lines feeding the electronics production halls
  • Asbestos-block hot-side lagging on solder-reflow ovens, environmental test chambers, and heat-treat equipment
  • Asbestos-molded De-Ion arc chute plates in Westinghouse switchgear supporting the plant’s high-current radar and test loads
  • Asbestos-fabric electrical insulation on radar transmitter magnetron and klystron cabinets and shipboard-radar cabinet buildups
  • Asbestos sheet gaskets at process piping, boiler, and test-cell flanges
  • Asbestos-cement bulkhead panels in RF-shielded test rooms, high-voltage laboratories, and radar test bays
  • Asbestos sprayed fireproofing on structural steel in the multi-story electronics buildings (pre-1973 EPA ban)
  • Defense-specific pathway — asbestos arc-chute and asbestos-millboard insulation inside shipboard radar cabinets and airborne electronics chassis assembled at Baltimore for U.S. Navy destroyers, cruisers, aircraft carriers, and submarines

Workers Exposed

  • HFIAW Insulators — asbestos pipe covering and block insulation
  • UA Pipefitters — flange bolt-up on steam and process lines
  • IBB Boilermakers — powerhouse boiler work
  • IBEW Electricians — high-voltage test, switchgear, and radar cabinet work
  • BAC Bricklayers — refractory work on furnaces
  • IUE / United Electrical Workers (UE) — electronics assemblers, wire-wrap technicians, cabinet builders
  • Millwrights — heavy manufacturing and test-stand equipment installation

If You Worked at Westinghouse Baltimore

If you or a family member worked at the Westinghouse Baltimore defense / electronics plant — or any other Westinghouse manufacturing site — before 1980 and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease, you may have a legal claim.

Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 936-2956