AUBURN – Two former paper mill workers diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease have filed separate lawsuits against asbestos manufacturers and suppliers.

James Crowley, who worked at the former Oxford Paper Mill in Rumford for three years in the 1960s, and Emile Richard, who worked at International Paper in Jay from 1952 to 1987, filed the suits in Androscoggin County Superior Court. Their wives are also named as plaintiffs.

They name about two dozen businesses as defendants, including plumbing suppliers and an insurance company, but are not holding the mills where they worked responsible for their injuries.

The suits say that Crowley and Richard inhaled asbestos fibers when they worked at the mills. The men suffer from mesothelioma, which is thought to usually be caused by inhaling asbestos materials, according to the complaints.

“It’s a pretty awful disease,” said Suzanne Johnson, a lawyer for the plaintiffs.