Tonawanda Coke: facility history and asbestos cleanup record
EPA records give this Western New York site a long industrial timeline and a later asbestos-cleanup record. Used carefully, those records can help a family distinguish plant history from the worker’s own department, task and period.
What the public record tells us
Coke manufacturing at the site since 1917
EPA states that the property was used for coke manufacturing beginning in 1917 and that Tonawanda Coke Corporation operated the facility from 1978 until shutdown in October 2018.
Asbestos-containing materials identified for mitigation
An EPA community update for Site 108 states that asbestos-containing materials would be mitigated as part of cleanup work alongside removal of coal tar and contaminated soil.
Sixty coke ovens and extensive process systems
EPA describes a facility with 60 coke ovens and substantial process infrastructure. For an individual work history, the important next step is identifying the worker’s department, trade, equipment and years rather than treating the site as one uniform environment.
How to use these records
Public records can narrow a work-history investigation when they are connected to the person who was actually there. The most useful next details are usually the worker's years, employer or contractor, department, trade, daily tasks, nearby crews, equipment and remembered materials.
Which operation or department?
Coke ovens, by-product systems, maintenance, utilities, material handling and other areas can lead to different records.
What trade and years?
The facility operated across many decades and ownership periods; dates are essential to keep the research accurate.
What equipment or maintenance work?
Remembered piping, valves, boilers, insulation, furnaces or shutdown work can provide the next useful lead.
Primary and authoritative sources
Continue the investigation
Western New York research → Industrial-worker research → Exposure timeline →