Monsanto Chemical Company manufactured the Resinox line of phenolic resins and molding compounds at its Springfield, Massachusetts Plastics Division plant beginning in 1941. Monsanto’s corporate administration for the phenolic line later operated under Monsanto Plastics & Resins Co. in St. Louis, Missouri. Resinox grades were used as binders in resinoid grinding wheels, laminating resins for asbestos cloth and paper, and phenolic molding compounds for electrical parts, wiring devices, and industrial components.

Asbestos use period

Monsanto’s own corporate discovery responses, produced in publicly filed asbestos litigation, state: “Monsanto, at its Springfield, MA plant, manufactured a group of phenolic resins known as ‘Resinox.’ From 1941 until 1958, some formulations of Resinox contained asbestos.” An internal Monsanto document from the Springfield plant corroborates this directly: “Asbestos was used in the production of Resinox soon after the operation began at the Springfield Plant in 1941. Asbestos was found in some of the Resinox formulations until 1958. At that time, the production process was changed for economic reasons and asbestos was no longer required.”

The 1941–1958 window is among the most precisely documented in publicly available litigation records for any phenolic resin manufacturer.

Products

Resinox grades documented in publicly filed litigation records and product literature include:

  • Resinox 215 — mineral-filled, heat-resistant phenolic molding compound meeting MIL-M-14F specification; used for wiring devices and heater plugs
  • Resinox 2200 — general-purpose phenolic molding compound marketed to the plastics-molding industry
  • Resinox 3700 Green — phenolic molding material for electrical parts; later relabeled Duraphene 3700 GN by a successor operation
  • Resinox 438 — high-solids liquid bonding resin used as a binder for resinoid grinding wheels and asbestos-reinforced applications
  • Resinox 468 — water-dilutable phenolic liquid resin; product literature documents use for impregnation of asbestos cloth, glass cloth, paper, and fabric
  • Resinox RI-4009 RC — liquid resin specifically documented for use with “asbestos based flat panels and molded parts”

Plants

  • Springfield, Massachusetts — primary Resinox manufacturing and research facility; asbestos used in Resinox formulations 1941–1958
  • St. Louis, Missouri — Monsanto Plastics & Resins Co. divisional headquarters at 800 N. Lindbergh Boulevard; distribution and administration for the Resinox line

Worker exposure and company response

In 1978, the Springfield plant physician discovered cases of asbestosis among workers who had been employed in the Resinox Department. Monsanto initiated a program to survey all current and former Resinox Department employees through chest X-ray examination and to communicate the implications of asbestos exposure to those employees. Workers with positive findings were placed on annual monitoring.

Workers at the Springfield plant who handled raw asbestos fiber, operated compound-mixing equipment, packaged Resinox compound, or worked in proximity to these operations during 1941–1958 may have sustained substantial asbestos exposures. Downstream workers at molding shops and fabrication plants who processed Resinox-bonded asbestos cloth, sheets, or phenolic molded parts also experienced exposure.

The St. Louis manufacturing corridor is directly relevant: Resinox liquid resins and molding compounds were distributed to regional customers throughout Missouri and Illinois. Workers at Koller Craft in Fenton, Missouri — a documented mesothelioma-exposure jobsite — processed phenolic compound products in this supply chain. See the Missouri Asbestos archive — Koller Craft Fenton.

Litigation history

Monsanto has been named as a defendant in asbestos litigation involving both Springfield plant manufacturing employees and downstream molding-shop workers who processed Resinox-bonded asbestos products. Publicly filed case records include references to Monsanto’s own internal documentation of the asbestos-use period and the subsequent worker health monitoring program.

If you worked with Monsanto Resinox products

Workers who handled Resinox compound powder, processed Resinox-impregnated asbestos cloth or fabric, worked in the Resinox Department at the Springfield plant, or machined and finished Resinox-bonded phenolic parts may have substantial exposure history within the 1941–1958 manufacturing window and beyond.

Useful documentation includes: Social Security earnings records confirming employment dates, pay stubs or W-2s, union dispatch records (for shop workers), and any material identification records, product spec sheets, or MSDS documents for Resinox products.

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References to manufacturers, products, and litigation history reflect what has been alleged or documented in publicly filed asbestos litigation, corporate discovery records, and industry archives. This information does not constitute a finding of fact or liability. This site does not provide legal or medical advice.