Federal Pacific Electric Company (FPE) was a major American manufacturer of electrical distribution equipment — circuit breakers, load centers, panelboards, and switchgear — headquartered at 150 Avenue L, Newark, New Jersey. FPE used asbestos-containing phenolic molding compounds to manufacture the plastic housings, enclosures, and arc chambers required for their electrical panel products.

Litigation documentation

Federal Pacific Electric is named in a Reichhold Chemicals interrogatory as one of the electrical manufacturers to whom Reichhold supplied asbestos-containing phenolic molding compounds, alongside Cutler Hammer, Allen-Bradley (Rostone), Allis Chalmers, Ward Leonard, GE, Square D, and Westinghouse. Social security earnings records in asbestos litigation document workers employed at the Federal Pacific Electric Co. & Subsidiaries (EIN 22-1439677) Newark facility from the mid-1960s through the late 1960s — the peak asbestos-phenolic era.

Products manufactured with phenolic compound

FPE’s product line required phenolic molding compound for:

  • Circuit breaker housings — the plastic enclosures and arc chambers of FPE Stab-Lok and other breaker products
  • Panelboard and load center components — bus covers, neutral assemblies, and trim pieces
  • Switchgear enclosures — plastic components in distribution switchgear

FPE’s Stab-Lok circuit breaker product line has been widely cited in product liability litigation for safety defects; the asbestos exposure pathway from phenolic compound used in manufacturing these products represents a separate worker health claim.

Facility

  • 150 Avenue L, Newark, New Jersey — FPE headquarters and primary manufacturing location
  • Additional subsidiary facilities documented in earnings records

Worker exposure pathways

Workers at the Newark FPE facility were exposed during phenolic compound handling, press operations, deflashing, and machining of electrical components. Given the volume of circuit breaker and panel production at this facility, compound handling was a continuous daily operation.

Successor liability

Federal Pacific Electric was acquired by Reliance Electric and subsequently through multiple corporate transactions. Current successor entities carry FPE’s asbestos-era manufacturing liability.

If you worked at Federal Pacific Electric in Newark

Workers in production operations at the Newark FPE facility during the asbestos era may have been exposed to asbestos from phenolic molding compound.

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References to manufacturers, products, and litigation history reflect what has been alleged or documented in publicly filed asbestos litigation, federal regulatory records, and industry archives. This information does not constitute a finding of fact or liability.