Kansas Mesothelioma Lawyer: Burns & McDonnell Engineering Asbestos Exposure

For Former Employees, Their Families, and Those Diagnosed with Mesothelioma or Asbestosis

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you or a family member has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease potentially connected to work at Burns & McDonnell Engineering in Kansas City, Kansas, consult a qualified asbestos litigation attorney immediately.

You Have Two Years to File a Mesothelioma Lawsuit in Kansas

Under K.S.A. § 60-513, Kansas gives you two years from the date of diagnosis to file an asbestos lawsuit. That deadline is absolute. Courts do not extend it for grief, delay, or uncertainty. If you’ve been diagnosed with mesothelioma or asbestosis and believe your exposure may have occurred at a Burns & McDonnell project site, call an experienced Kansas asbestos attorney today — not next week, today.

Why This Article Exists

Workers who spent careers in industrial construction, power plant engineering, refinery maintenance, or commercial facility development at Burns & McDonnell project sites may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials on the job — often without any warning that they were doing so.

Burns & McDonnell Engineering, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, has operated throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area — including Kansas City, Kansas — for over a century. As one of the nation’s largest engineering, architecture, construction, and environmental services firms, Burns & McDonnell designed, built, and managed projects across industries where asbestos-containing materials were reportedly used as standard practice throughout much of the twentieth century.

Those industries included electric utilities, petroleum refineries, water treatment facilities, and military installations. Workers at Burns & McDonnell-engineered facilities — and family members who laundered their work clothes — now carry elevated risks for mesothelioma and asbestosis decades after the work was done.

If you worked at a Burns & McDonnell project site in Kansas, handled contaminated work clothing, or have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or asbestosis, this page documents the relevant exposure history, disease risks, and legal remedies available to you.

Burns & McDonnell: Company History and Kansas Operations

From Regional Firm to National Engineering Powerhouse

Clinton Burns and Robert McDonnell founded the firm in 1898 in Kansas City. What began as a small civil engineering partnership grew into one of the most influential construction and engineering enterprises in the country, with documented expertise in:

Electrical power generation and transmission
Oil and gas infrastructure
Industrial process facilities
Environmental engineering
Large-scale commercial construction

Corporate headquarters have long been in Kansas City, Missouri. Burns & McDonnell has maintained substantial project presence throughout Kansas City, Kansas, and across the state for generations.

Burns & McDonnell Project Sites in Kansas: Industrial Corridor Expansion

Burns & McDonnell reportedly designed, engineered, or managed construction at major industrial facilities throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area and beyond, including:

Power Generation and Utility Infrastructure:

Utility substations and transmission projects serving Kansas City Power & Light and predecessor entities throughout northeastern Kansas
Coffeyville Resources refinery (Coffeyville, Kansas)

Aerospace Manufacturing Facilities:

Boeing Wichita (Wichita, Kansas)
Cessna Aircraft (Wichita, Kansas)
Beechcraft (Wichita, Kansas)

The Kansas City Industrial Corridor and Asbestos Exposure Risk

Kansas City, Kansas, built its industrial identity on meat packing, steel, petroleum refining, and chemical manufacturing — one of the most industrially dense corridors in the central United States. The greater Kansas City metropolitan region became home to some of the nation’s largest refineries, steel mills, chemical plants, and power generation facilities.

Burns & McDonnell, as the region’s dominant engineering firm, reportedly designed and built facilities throughout this corridor. Workers employed directly by Burns & McDonnell — and workers employed by subcontractors on Burns & McDonnell-managed projects, including members of IBEW Local 226, Asbestos Workers Local 24, Pipefitters Local 441, and Boilermakers Local 83 KC — may have worked alongside asbestos-containing materials in:

Utility boiler rooms
Pipe chases
Turbine halls
Control buildings
Industrial process areas
Refinery process units
Chemical manufacturing facilities

Why Asbestos Was Specified in Engineering and Construction

Physical Properties That Made Asbestos the Default Material

Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. Its physical properties made it the default choice for thermal and fire protection in industrial construction for most of the twentieth century:

Heat resistance: Fibers withstand temperatures exceeding 1,000°F without melting or igniting
Tensile strength: Stronger than steel by weight in many configurations
Electrical insulation: Non-conductive
Chemical resistance: Resists degradation by acids, alkalis, and many solvents
Sound absorption: Reduces noise transmission in industrial buildings
Low cost: Inexpensive and abundant until the full scope of health consequences became undeniable

These properties made asbestos-containing materials the standard specification for thermal pipe insulation, boiler insulation, turbine insulation, fireproofing, gaskets, packing materials, floor tiles, ceiling tiles, roofing materials, and electrical insulation — exactly the categories of materials present in the types of facilities Burns & McDonnell designed and built.

Peak Use: 1940–1975 and the Legacy Exposure Problem

Asbestos use in U.S. engineering and construction peaked between 1940 and 1975. During those decades, engineers specified asbestos-containing materials in project drawings and construction documents. Tradespeople installed them. Facility workers maintained them. Most did so without respiratory protection of any kind.

The EPA began restricting certain asbestos applications in the 1970s, and OSHA established its first permissible exposure limits in 1971. But many forms of industrial asbestos use continued through the 1980s. More importantly, asbestos-containing materials installed in earlier decades remained in service for decades longer — workers continued encountering them during maintenance, repair, and renovation work well into the 1990s and 2000s. Exposure did not end when installation stopped.

Asbestos-Containing Materials Allegedly Present at Burns & McDonnell Projects

Manufacturers Whose Products Were Allegedly Specified

Burns & McDonnell reportedly specified asbestos-containing products manufactured by:

Johns-Manville — the nation’s largest asbestos manufacturer; pipe insulation and thermal products branded as “Thermobestos”
Owens-Illinois and Owens Corning — asbestos-containing insulation products
Eagle-Picher — asbestos insulation
W.R. Grace — spray-applied fireproofing products
Georgia-Pacific — asbestos-containing building materials
Celotex — insulation, floor tiles, and ceiling tiles
Armstrong World Industries — ceiling tiles and floor tiles
Crane Co. — pipe fittings, valves, and specialty equipment containing asbestos-containing materials

Specific Product Trade Names

Burns & McDonnell project specifications reportedly called for asbestos-containing materials under specific product trade names, including:

Thermobestos (Johns-Manville) — high-temperature pipe and block insulation
Kaylo (Johns-Manville) — rigid block insulation for boilers and vessels
Aircell (Owens-Illinois) — pipe insulation
Monokote (W.R. Grace) — spray-applied fireproofing
Unibestos (Owens-Illinois) — insulating materials
Cranite (Crane Co.) — specialty pipe fittings
Superex — packing materials
Gold Bond — joint compound and drywall products
Pabco — roofing materials

Categories of Asbestos Products Allegedly Specified

Burns & McDonnell engineers reportedly specified the following categories of asbestos-containing materials on project documents:

Pipe insulation for steam, hot water, and process piping — typically Johns-Manville Thermobestos or Owens-Illinois Aircell products
Block and sectional insulation for boilers, furnaces, and industrial vessels — typically Johns-Manville Kaylo or comparable products
Insulating cement for irregular surfaces and fittings
Spray-applied fireproofing for structural steel — including W.R. Grace Monokote
Floor and ceiling products — Armstrong World Industries ceiling tiles, Celotex floor tiles
Gaskets and packing for flanged pipe connections, valve stems, and pump seals — including Superex packing and Crane Co. Cranite fittings

Asbestos Exposure Risk by Project Type

Power Generation and Utility Projects in Kansas

Power generation facilities rank among the most asbestos-intensive industrial environments ever constructed. Burns & McDonnell reportedly designed and oversaw construction of power generation projects throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area and across northeastern Kansas — including facilities associated with Kansas City Power & Light.

Workers at those facilities may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials including:

High-pressure steam pipe insulation in turbine halls and boiler rooms — typically Johns-Manville Thermobestos or Owens-Illinois Aircell products
Steam drum insulation — asbestos-containing block products applied to boiler surfaces
Turbine and generator insulation — asbestos-containing electrical insulation systems
Insulating boards and sheets in control buildings — including Armstrong World Industries and Celotex products
Boiler refractory and insulating cements containing asbestos

These facilities, built largely between the 1950s and 1970s, remained in service for decades. Workers — including members of Asbestos Workers Local 24 and Pipefitters Local 441 — may have been exposed to legacy asbestos-containing materials during maintenance, repair, and renovation activities well into the 1990s and 2000s.

Petroleum Refinery Projects

Burns & McDonnell reportedly managed engineering and construction at significant refinery sites in Kansas, including the Coffeyville Resources refinery. Workers at those sites may have encountered asbestos-containing materials in:

Refinery piping insulation — high-temperature pipe insulation products from Johns-Manville and Owens-Illinois
Process unit insulation — block insulation applied to heat exchangers and processing vessels
Packing and gasket materials — used throughout valve, pump, and flange connections

Refineries operated continuously. That operational reality demanded frequent maintenance, turnarounds, and upgrades — every one of which potentially brought workers into direct contact with legacy asbestos-containing materials long after initial installation.

Aerospace and Industrial Manufacturing Facilities in Wichita

Burns & McDonnell reportedly performed engineering and construction work at major aerospace manufacturing campuses in Wichita, including facilities associated with Boeing, Cessna, and Beechcraft. Workers at those facilities may have encountered asbestos-containing materials in:

Structural fireproofing on steel frames — including spray-applied W.R. Grace Monokote
Mechanical system insulation — pipe and duct insulation throughout manufacturing buildings
Floor and ceiling materials — Celotex and Armstrong World Industries products used in industrial and administrative spaces

Workers who performed renovation, demolition, or maintenance at these facilities after original construction may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials that had been in place for decades.

How Asbestos Causes Mesothelioma

When asbestos fibers are inhaled or ingested, they become permanently embedded in the tissue lining the lungs (pleura), heart (pericardium), or abdominal organs (peritoneum). The body cannot break down or eliminate asbestos fibers. Over decades, those fibers trigger chronic inflammation, DNA damage, and ultimately malignant cell transformation. Mesothelioma typically develops 20 to 50 years after initial exposure — which is why workers from the 1960s and 1970s are receiving diagnoses today.

Disease Latency and Kansas Diagnosis Trends

Workers who may have been exposed to asbestos at Burns & McDonnell projects during the 1950s through 1980s are now in the age range where mesothelioma diagnosis peaks — typically 65 to 85. The disease’s long latency period is precisely why so many victims are surprised by the diagnosis. The exposure happened decades ago. The disease is happening