Bankrupt Asbestos Companies: 60+ Active Trust Funds, $30-35B in Assets (2026)

Approximately 60 active asbestos bankruptcy trust funds hold an estimated $30 to $35 billion in remaining compensation assets as of 2026, paying mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, and asbestosis claimants under standardized procedures administered outside the civil court system. Since the first trust — Johns-Manville — was established in 1988, the U.S. asbestos trust system has paid more than $17 billion to claimants, with the average mesothelioma claimant recovering $300,000 to $400,000 in total across multiple trust filings ^[2]. This article maps the complete list of bankrupt asbestos companies that established 524(g) trusts, with current scheduled values, payment percentages, and filing guidance for 2026.

What Are Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Funds?

Asbestos bankruptcy trust funds are federally authorized compensation mechanisms created under Section 524(g) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, enacted in 1994 ^[1]. When an asbestos manufacturer, supplier, or product installer files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy because its asbestos liabilities exceed its ability to pay them from operations and assets, the company can establish a 524(g) trust as part of its reorganization plan. The trust assumes all the debtor's asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death liabilities, and in exchange the reorganized company receives a permanent channeling injunction that bars all future asbestos litigation against the company itself.

Claimants who would otherwise have sued the bankrupt company in civil court file claims with the trust instead. The trust evaluates each claim under standardized Trust Distribution Procedures (TDP) and pays the claimant a calculated amount: scheduled value × payment percentage. For an authoritative reference, see the Section 524(g) overview on WikiMesothelioma. The first 524(g) trust — Johns-Manville Corporation — was established in 1988 (predating the 1994 statute, under analogous Bankruptcy Code provisions later codified in 524(g)) and remains the model on which subsequent trusts were patterned.

"The 524(g) trust system was Congress's answer to a structural problem: asbestos liability outlived the corporations that created it. By channeling claims into administered trusts, the system gives mesothelioma victims a paper-based path to compensation that doesn't depend on whether the responsible company is still in business 30 years after the exposure."

How Many Active Asbestos Trust Funds Exist in 2026?

The U.S. Government Accountability Office, in its 2011 report Asbestos Injury Compensation: The Role and Administration of Asbestos Trusts (GAO-11-819), identified 60 active 524(g) trusts and analyzed 52 of them in depth ^[2]. Subsequent industry tracking — including the annual Mealey's® Litigation Report: Asbestos and the KCIC Annual Asbestos Litigation Report — has maintained approximately the same count, with new trusts entering the system as additional bankruptcies are completed and a small number of older trusts being merged or wound down.

As of 2026, the active list includes the following major trusts, organized by historical era and prominence:

Foundational Trusts (1988–2000)

• Johns-Manville (1988) — the original 524(g) trust; mesothelioma scheduled value $350,000 at 5.1% payment percentage
• UNR Industries (1989) — early multi-product asbestos manufacturer
• Eagle-Picher (1991) — insulation and pipe-covering products
• Celotex / Carey Canada (1996) — roofing and building materials
• National Gypsum / NGC Settlement Trust — drywall and joint compound
• H.K. Porter — industrial machinery and gaskets

Major Mid-Era Trusts (2000–2010)

• Owens Corning / Fibreboard (established 2006) — fiberglass insulation manufacturer
• W.R. Grace — vermiculite (Libby, Montana) and asbestos-containing materials; mesothelioma scheduled value $180,000 at 30.1%
• USG Corporation — drywall, joint compound; mesothelioma scheduled value $155,000 at 11%
• Babcock & Wilcox (effective 2006) — Navy and power-plant boilers; $1.845B initial funding; mesothelioma scheduled value $90,000 at 4.7% ^[3]
• Combustion Engineering / ABB Lummus — boilers and refractory products
• Federal-Mogul / T&N Limited — automotive friction products, brake linings
• Pittsburgh Corning (PCC) — glass-block and pipe insulation; mesothelioma scheduled value $175,000 at 19%
• Western Asbestos — West Coast insulation contractor; mesothelioma scheduled value $524,000 at 51.1%
• Halliburton / DII Industries — oilfield and industrial products; mesothelioma scheduled value $60,700 at 60%
• NARCO (North American Refractories) — high-temperature refractory products; mesothelioma scheduled value $75,000 at 100%
• ASARCO — mining and smelting; mesothelioma scheduled value $170,000 at 35%

Recent and Pending Trusts (2010–2026)

• Garlock Sealing Technologies — gaskets and packing; matrix-based scheduled values at 85% mesothelioma payment percentage
• Bondex / RPM International — joint compound
• Plant Insulation — California insulation contractor
• Yarway — steam-related industrial products
• Skinner Engine — industrial machinery
• Imerys Talc America / Cyprus Mines — talc supplier; $1B+ proposed trust currently pending plan confirmation ^[6]

The full active list is maintained by trust trustees and the Delaware Claims Processing Facility (which administers many of the largest trusts collectively). See the comprehensive 524(g) trust list on WikiMesothelioma for the consolidated view, including current scheduled values and payment percentages.

How Much Do Asbestos Trust Funds Pay for Mesothelioma?

Trust fund payouts follow a uniform formula across all 524(g) trusts: Actual Payout = Scheduled Value × Payment Percentage. The scheduled value is set by each trust's TDP based on the claimant's disease level (mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, and so on). The payment percentage is set by the trustees based on actuarial projections of total liability versus trust assets and is periodically reconsidered to ensure long-term solvency.

Examples of current 2026 payouts for mesothelioma at major trusts ^[2]:

Trust	Scheduled Value (Mesothelioma)	Payment %	Approximate Payout
Johns-Manville	$350,000	5.1%	~$17,850
W.R. Grace	$180,000	30.1%	~$54,180
USG Corporation	$155,000	11%	~$17,050
Babcock & Wilcox	$90,000	4.7%	~$4,230
Pittsburgh Corning (PCC)	$175,000	19%	~$33,250
ASARCO	$170,000	35%	~$59,500
Halliburton / DII	$60,700	60%	~$36,400
NARCO	$75,000	100%	~$75,000
Western Asbestos	$524,000	51.1%	~$267,800

No single trust pays anywhere near a full mesothelioma settlement value on its own. The trust system is designed to compensate claimants across many trusts simultaneously. A typical mesothelioma claimant with documented multi-employer exposure files with 10 to 20 or more trusts, and the combined recovery averages $300,000 to $400,000 — with documented totals exceeding $2 million for high-exposure occupational histories ^[2].

"The mistake families make is looking at a single trust's payout number and concluding the system isn't worth pursuing. The system is built on the assumption that a worker exposed to asbestos at multiple job sites between 1940 and 1980 was exposed to products from many different manufacturers. Filing with every applicable trust is how the system was designed to work."

How Does the Asbestos Trust Fund Filing Process Work?

The trust filing process is administrative and paper-based — no court appearances, no depositions, no adversarial counsel. The steps are uniform across most major trusts:

Step 1 — Establish the diagnosis. Obtain pathology and medical records confirming mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or another TDP-recognized disease. Each disease level requires specific medical documentation under the trust's TDP.

Step 2 — Document the exposure. Reconstruct the claimant's full work history, identifying every employer, every job site, and every asbestos-containing product the claimant may have contacted. Tools include Social Security earnings records, union records (IBEW, UA, Boilermakers, OPCMIA), DD-214 and military service records, employer records, and co-worker affidavits. Most experienced mesothelioma firms maintain pre-built exposure maps that match worker histories to specific product manufacturers and job sites.

Step 3 — Identify applicable trusts. Match the documented exposure history to the manufacturers whose products were used at each job site. Each manufacturer's bankruptcy trust handles claims for that company's products only — but most mesothelioma claimants qualify for 10 to 20 or more trusts based on multi-employer exposure.

Step 4 — Choose Expedited Review or Individual Review. Expedited Review evaluates the claim against scheduled values and pays in 3 to 6 months; covers approximately 97 to 98 percent of all trust claims. Individual Review is appropriate for high-value or claim-specific cases and takes 6 to 18 months. Most claimants elect Expedited Review for faster processing.

Step 5 — Submit claims through the trusts' claim portals. The Delaware Claims Processing Facility (DCPF) administers many of the largest trusts collectively. Claims are typically submitted electronically with documentation packets including the medical records, exposure narrative, and supporting affidavits.

Step 6 — Receive payments in staggered fashion. Trusts pay claims under their own processing timelines. The 10 to 20 trust filings a typical claimant submits generate a staggered series of payouts across the 3 to 18 month window, with the combined total averaging $300,000 to $400,000. The full mechanics of filing and timing are discussed in our 2026 trust fund payout timeline guide.

Can I File a Trust Fund Claim AND a Mesothelioma Lawsuit?

Yes — in most jurisdictions, trust fund claims and civil lawsuits can be filed in parallel without offset. The two pathways target different defendants. Trust claims target the bankrupt manufacturers whose 524(g) trusts have channeling injunctions in place. Civil lawsuits target solvent asbestos manufacturers, suppliers, and product installers that remain in business and are not protected by 524(g). Most mesothelioma exposure histories include products from both categories.

The economics typically argue strongly for pursuing both. The average civil lawsuit settlement is $1 million to $1.4 million per Mealey's, and the 2024 average mesothelioma trial verdict reached $20.7 million. Trust fund recoveries average $300,000 to $400,000 in addition. Combined, mesothelioma claimants with strong exposure documentation typically recover $1.5 million to $2.5 million or more across all pathways. The mechanics, sequencing, and state-specific setoff rules are detailed in our comprehensive trust fund vs. lawsuit decision guide.

"Approximately 20 states have enacted trust transparency or setoff laws since the Garlock Sealing Technologies decision in 2014 — Texas, Ohio, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Arizona, Iowa, and others. In those states, trust claims must be filed and disclosed by specific pre-trial deadlines. Filing strategy matters: a mesothelioma family needs counsel who maps the state-specific rules to their case before any deadline closes."

Which Bankrupt Asbestos Companies Are Most Important for Navy Veterans?

Navy veterans — who account for approximately 30 percent of all U.S. mesothelioma lawsuit filings, reflecting the dense use of asbestos in mid-20th-century Navy shipbuilding — typically qualify for several trusts based on shipboard exposure to multiple manufacturers' products. The trusts most-relevant to Navy occupational exposure include:

• Babcock & Wilcox — Navy boilers and pressure vessels installed across destroyers, cruisers, frigates, carriers, and submarines. The TDP eligibility scope explicitly includes "boilers" in the §5.7(b)(3) definitional language. The current 4.7% payment percentage is under reconsideration as of May 7, 2026, with the earliest effective date for any new rate being June 6, 2026 ^[4].
• Combustion Engineering / ABB Lummus — Navy boiler and steam-plant equipment
• Johns-Manville — pipe insulation, gaskets, asbestos-cement materials used throughout Navy vessels
• Owens Corning / Fibreboard — insulation and bulkhead lining materials
• Federal-Mogul / T&N — brake bands, clutch facings, friction products on Navy deck equipment
• Garlock Sealing Technologies — gaskets and packing on every flanged joint in engineering plants

Navy veterans typically file these trust claims in parallel with VA disability claims (mesothelioma rated 100% disabling) and civil lawsuits against solvent private manufacturers whose products supplemented the bankrupt suppliers' installations. The three pathways do not offset each other — the Feres doctrine bars suits against the U.S. government but does not protect private contractors. For the full veteran compensation framework see our veterans benefits compensation guide and the Veterans Mesothelioma Claims wiki page.

What Should I Do If I Was Exposed to Asbestos at a Bankrupt Company?

If you or a family member worked for, or with products from, any of the 60+ bankrupt asbestos companies and has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, or asbestosis, the first step is a free case evaluation that maps the specific exposure history to the applicable menu of trust filings, civil lawsuits, and VA claims. The compensation a family ultimately recovers depends on choices made in the first 30 days after diagnosis — particularly in setoff states where trust claim filing windows can affect civil litigation outcomes.

Trust fund deadlines run independently of state statutes of limitations. Most TDPs require claims within 2 to 3 years of diagnosis or death; some are shorter. State-court SOLs (governed separately) range from 1 year (Kentucky, Tennessee) to 6 years across the United States, with the clock typically starting at the date of diagnosis under the discovery rule. Finding experienced mesothelioma counsel by state is the practical starting point.

Compensation under all four pathways — trusts, civil lawsuits, VA, and workers' compensation — is generally not federally taxable under Internal Revenue Code §104(a)(2) when the recovery is for personal physical injury or sickness. Punitive damages and pre-judgment interest are taxable exceptions.

How Do I Start an Asbestos Trust Fund Claim Today?

The 60+ active asbestos trust funds represent more than $30 billion in standing compensation for mesothelioma victims and their families. Filing claims with every applicable trust is not optional in a properly handled mesothelioma case — it is the floor of what a family is entitled to recover. Take our free 2-minute case assessment to see which trusts may apply to your exposure history, or schedule a free case evaluation with Danziger & De Llano. You can also call (855) 699-5441 for a direct conversation with an attorney. The firm files trust-fund claims nationwide and works on a contingency-fee basis — no upfront cost. Additional background on trust-fund practice and recent verdicts is available at Mesothelioma Lawyer Center.