About Spurlock Power Station | Maysville, KY | East Kentucky
The William C. Spurlock Power Station is a coal-fired electricity generating facility in Maysville, Mason County, Kentucky, on the Ohio River, owned and operated by East Kentucky Power Cooperative, Inc. (EKPC) — a generation and transmission cooperative serving approximately 16 member distribution cooperatives across rural Kentucky. Unit 1: Commercial operation began 1977 (approximately 300 MW capacity); Unit 2: Commercial operation began 1980 (approximately 300 MW capacity); Units 3 and 4 (Smith Unit): Added in subsequent years; Peak generating capacity: Over 1,600 megawatts; Workforce: Hundreds of direct employees, contractors, and subcontractors throughout operational history. EKPC was founded in 1941 as a nonprofit, member-owned rural electric cooperative. Units 1 and 2 were built during the decades — particularly the mid-1970s through 1980 — when asbestos-containing materials manufactured by companies, gaskets and packing, and were industry-standard components across virtually all aspects of coal-fired power plant construction and maintenance.
Coal-fired power plants operate at temperatures exceeding 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit and steam pressures of hundreds of pounds per square inch. For most of the 20th century, asbestos-containing materials were the commercial and engineering standard for thermal insulation because asbestos remains stable at temperatures approaching 1,832°F, does not burn, resists chemical corrosion, bonds with cement, textile, and plaster, and wrapped easily around irregular surfaces including pipes, turbines, and boilers.
Construction of Units 1 and 2 — running from the early-to-mid 1970s through 1980 — proceeded when asbestos-containing materials were standard industrial specification. ASME and comparable standard-setting bodies routinely called for asbestos-containing insulation products in power generation applications. Asbestos-containing materials allegedly present during construction include: Boilers and steam systems: Asbestos-containing block insulation, blanket insulation, and finishing cement reportedly manufactured by; asbestos-containing pipe coverings reportedly supplied by; Steam and condensate piping: Asbestos-containing pipe covering and fitting insulation — including Thermobestos and calcium silicate pipe insulation products — throughout the facility; Turbine halls and generator rooms: Asbestos-containing floor tiles, gaskets, packing, and insulation from gaskets and packing; Electrical systems: Asbestos-containing wire insulation and panel board components, potentially including products from various manufacturers; Structural fireproofing: Sprayed asbestos-containing materials — including spray-applied fireproofing and comparable sprayed fireproofing products — reportedly applied to structural steel members.
The hazard did not end when construction finished. Ongoing maintenance and repair operations posed equal or greater exposure risks because installed asbestos-containing insulation degrades over time, releasing fibers into work areas; maintenance requires removing and replacing insulation — including calcium silicate pipe insulation, Thermobestos, and pipe insulation products — and disturbing asbestos-containing gaskets and packing; routine turbine overhauls, boiler tube replacements, and valve maintenance required extensive work on systems allegedly insulated or packed with asbestos-containing materials; and work in confined spaces — ductwork, boiler casings, and steam tunnels — concentrates airborne fiber levels. From initial operation through at least the mid-1980s, maintenance workers, contract laborers, and plant employees may have been repeatedly and chronically exposed to elevated concentrations of airborne asbestos fibers.
As federal regulations tightened, power plants across the country undertook asbestos abatement projects. EPA’s National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for asbestos (40 CFR Part 61, Subpart M) requires facilities conducting renovation or demolition involving regulated asbestos-containing materials to notify EPA and follow specific work practice standards. These NESHAP abatement notification records — documented in EPA regional office files — identify asbestos-containing material presence and abatement activities at specific facilities. Abatement workers themselves — including Missouri and Illinois contractors who may have performed abatement work at Spurlock or comparable regional facilities — may have been exposed to asbestos fibers released during removal operations if proper containment and respiratory protection protocols were not followed.
General Equipment at Spurlock Power Station | Maysville, KY | East Kentucky
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 Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection (Kentucky DEP) 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 Spurlock Power Station | Maysville, KY | East Kentucky
Workers involved in original construction — ironworkers, insulators affiliated with Heat and Frost Insulators Local 1 (St. Louis, MO), pipefitters affiliated with UA Local 562 (St. Louis, MO), boilermakers affiliated with Boilermakers Local 27 (St. Louis, MO), laborers, and electricians — may have been exposed to asbestos fibers released during material installation.
Insulation workers faced among the highest asbestos exposure of any trade in the power generation industry. Members of Heat and Frost Insulators Local 1 (St. Louis, MO) applied, removed, repaired, and replaced thermal insulation on boilers, turbines, pipes, and associated systems throughout the regional corridor, including at facilities such as Spurlock. Cutting, sawing, and fitting asbestos-containing block insulation and pipe covering — including calcium silicate pipe insulation and Thermobestos products — released heavy concentrations of airborne fibers directly in the breathing zone of the worker performing the task and anyone working nearby.
Members of UA Local 562 (St. Louis, MO) and affiliated locals who worked at Spurlock may have been exposed to asbestos-containing pipe covering, fitting insulation, and valve packing on steam and condensate systems throughout the plant. Pipefitters routinely worked alongside insulators — and in many cases disturbed existing asbestos-containing insulation in order to access piping — creating secondary exposure pathways in addition to direct contact. Members of Boilermakers Local 27 (St. Louis, MO) who performed construction, maintenance, and repair work at Spurlock may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials in boiler casings, refractory linings, and associated steam systems. Turbine overhaul and maintenance work at power plants is among the most insulation-intensive maintenance activity in industrial settings. Workers who may have been exposed while performing turbine maintenance at Spurlock include millwrights who removed and replaced asbestos-containing packing, gaskets, and insulation from turbine casings, governor systems, and steam chests. Electricians who worked at Spurlock may have been exposed to asbestos-containing wire insulation and panel board components.
Critical Filing Deadline & Next Steps
Kentucky law gives mesothelioma and asbestos-disease claimants 1 year from the date of medical diagnosis to file a personal-injury lawsuit (KRS § 413.140). For wrongful-death claims after an asbestos-related death, the filing window is 1 year from the date of death (KRS § 413.180). 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 Kentucky 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
Spurlock Station sits within the same Ohio and Mississippi River industrial corridor that encompasses Labadie Energy Center (Franklin County, MO), Portage des Sioux Power Station (St. Charles County, MO), Monsanto chemical facilities (St. Louis, MO), and Granite City Steel (Granite City, IL). Workers and contractors regularly moved across this corridor. Insulators from Heat and Frost Insulators Local 1 in St. Louis, pipefitters affiliated with UA Local 562, and boilermakers affiliated with Boilermakers Local 27 frequently performed work at regional power facilities — and Missouri and Illinois residents who worked at Spurlock may have cumulative exposure claims spanning multiple sites. Union members from Missouri and Illinois locals who traveled to Spurlock for maintenance outages may have faced this exposure on top of cumulative exposures at Missouri and Illinois facilities including Labadie Energy Center, Portage des Sioux Power Station, and Granite City Steel.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)
- Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection 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.