It’s not an overstatement to say that our world is built on cement. The strong, durable material has been used for centuries to build roads, buildings, and infrastructure. The components used to make cement have changed over the years, and from the early 1900s until the 1980s it was commonly made using asbestos. The highly carcinogenic material was used so constantly and created so much dust within cement plant factory environments that employees of those workplaces are among those at the highest risk for being diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases like malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, and asbestos-related lung cancer.
Asbestos Use in Cement Products
Cement is such an integral part of our world that we take it for granted. As the primary ingredient of concrete, it is found in our sidewalks, roads, and bridges. It’s used in masonry mortar; in plaster, grout, and wall putty; in patios and driveways, swimming pools, fountains, sculptures, and more. It is one of the most popular building materials in the world, used for foundations, floors, lintels, interior and exterior walls, and ceilings, all because it is strong, low-cost, durable, and fireproof.[1]
There is evidence that cement was used 12,000 years ago, and it is known that the ancient Phoenicians used it to make mortar. The Romans used it to construct buildings including the Colosseum and the Pantheon, and their methods were copied for hundreds of years.[2] The Portland cement that is most commonly-used today was first created in 1824, and its process of heating limestone and clay and then grinding it and mixing it with water went through several evolutions, including adding chalk, clay, and calcium aluminate.[2] One of the most impactful and tragic changes to the way cement was made came in the early 1900s when cement makers began to add asbestos to the product.
Asbestos has many characteristics that made it an obvious choice for any application requiring strength and durability. Adding it to cement made it much less likely that concrete made with the material would crack. Asbestos also had the benefit of making cement more fire-resistant.[3] It was easy to mix with other ingredients and was readily available and inexpensive, so in the first half of the 20th century, amosite or crocidolite asbestos became a valued component; by the 1960s, cement workers were using chrysotile asbestos. This practice continued until asbestos was publicly identified as toxic. Its constant use in the production of Portland cement – the most common type of cement —exposed countless cement plant employees to the risk of asbestos-related diseases.
How Were Cement Plant Workers Exposed to Asbestos?
Employees of cement plant factories were constantly exposed to asbestos. The raw mineral arrived at the cement factories in bags that, though sealed, often leaked dust and allowed asbestos particles to float into the air, exposing those who were delivering and receiving the bags as well as those who carried the bags to their destination within the plant. Workers ripped these bags open, releasing more fibers as they wet-mixed the dry ingredient to create the cement. Depending upon the product being made, workers may have been exposed to asbestos while stacking asbestos cement sheets, moving products around the asbestos cement plant as it went through the production process, and packaging products for shipment to customers.
The asbestos fibers that cement plant workers inhaled or ingested on the job put them at significant risk of asbestos-related diseases like malignant mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer. The needle-edged, microscopic particles easily become embedded in the cells of the lungs or the mesothelium – the lining of the cavity that holds the lungs or abdominal organs. Once the particles are stuck, it is very difficult for the body to expel them, and cell death and mutations that grow into cancerous tumors follow. The long latency period that is typical of asbestos-related diseases means that people who are exposed may go fifty or sixty years before they begin to have symptoms, and by then the disease is so advanced that treatment is extremely challenging.
Scientists have spent years studying the health outcomes of asbestos cement manufacturing plant employees, and have concluded that those workers were placed at significant risk of malignant mesothelioma.
- A study of 6,931 employees of two New Orleans asbestos cement products manufacturing plants found a relation between the risk of mesothelioma and duration of employment, as well as the proportion of time spent in the area where the asbestos pipe was being made. The study also found that crocidolite asbestos presented greater danger than chrysotile asbestos.[4]
- A study of residents of a small town in northwest Italy that was home to the country’s second-largest asbestos cement factory demonstrated a high impact of asbestos exposure on the incidence of malignant mesothelioma among workers, their families, and people living in the town and a neighboring town.[5]
What Products Did Asbestos Cement Plants Make?
Cement plant employees made and handled several products that were used in construction and industrial settings. These included:
- Cement blocks and cinderblocks
- Patching compounds, sealants, and adhesives used around heat sources and for roofing installation
- Concrete and cement pipes and pipe coverings
- Asbestos cement countertops used in laboratories
- Furnace and stove cement
- Road gutters and splash gutters for homes
- Masonry to hold concrete blocks in place
- Panels erected next to electrical boxes and heating sources
- Cement sheets used as insulation and roofing
- Shingles and siding
- Tiles
Are Asbestos Cement Workers Still at Risk of Asbestos Exposure?
Though asbestos is no longer being used in cement being made in the United States, the majority of the cement being used today is imported into the United States from other countries where the same controls, regulations, and concerns may not apply. This puts those working with the product on construction sites at continued risk. Additionally, though concrete made with asbestos cement is harmless when it is intact, once it is repaired, removed, or modified it releases asbestos fibers into the air, exposing anybody doing this type of work without proper protection to significant health risks. Many older structures and infrastructure in the United States continue to hide legacy asbestos, putting homeowners, workers, and anybody exposed to improper renovation or demolition practices in danger of exposure.
Lawsuits Filed by Asbestos Cement Workers
Exposure to asbestos in cement has led to illness among those who worked in asbestos cement plant factories, people who lived near to those plants, people who worked with the products made by those plants, and the family members of those workers. The companies responsible for exposing these individuals to the carcinogenic material have been named in thousands of lawsuits, including:
- Four different residents of a Tokyo neighborhood who lived within 500 meters of an asbestos cement factory were diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma and filed claims against the factory’s owners. Some of the victims recalled playing with asbestos that was piled up around the factory, and many of the plant’s workers received compensation for asbestos-related illnesses they had been diagnosed with.
- Rudolf Horvath filed suit against asbestos cement pipe manufacturer Ameron International, accusing the company of negligence in having exposed him to asbestos-contaminated pipe.
- A former construction supervisor diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma was awarded over $15 million in damages by a California jury that agreed he had been exposed to asbestos in cement pipes.
- A 66-year-old man filed suit against his father’s employer after being diagnosed with mesothelioma he blamed on secondary exposure to asbestos fibers carried home on his father’s work uniform. Alfred Mata pointed to his father’s work duties of cutting and milling asbestos cement water pipes with a power saw. He was awarded $6.3 million in damages.
Asbestos Cement Manufacturing Companies
The companies whose asbestos-containing cement caused malignant mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases have been named as defendants in thousands of personal injury lawsuits and wrongful death claims. Some of these claims have resulted in settlements, while in other cases, juries have found victims’ claims convincing and have ordered that victims be paid damage awards that have reached into the millions. While many companies have continued defending themselves, others have sought bankruptcy protection and established special asbestos trust funds to provide compensation to those victims.
Companies that manufactured asbestos cement and asbestos cement products include:
- Atlas Asbestos Cement Co. – patio pots and tiles
- Baltimore Roofing & Asbestos Manufacturing Co. – roofing products, siding, and shingles
- Belknap Inc. – furnace cement
- Canadian Asbestos Ontario Limited – Domite stove and furnace cement
- CertainTeed Corporation – cement pipes, blind nailing cement, cold process cement, joint treating compound, plastic cement, wet seal plastic cement, sealing cement
- EaglePicher Industries, Inc. – Super 66 Insulating Cement, One-Cote Insulating Cement, Hylo Finishing Cement, 43 Insulating Cement
- Flintkote Company – GF-8 floor tile cement, joint cement, cement boards
- Gold Bond – cement board, Chroma-Shake cement siding, 7M-2 Thermal Insulating Cement, Mortar/Special Asbestos Cement Mix, No. 340-N Insulating Cement, Rockwool No.340 Insulating Cement
- Johns Manville – Transite asbestos cement, JM Shingle Tab Cement, Colorbestos roofing shingles, Permastone Asbestos-Cement Flexboard, Thermobestos Cement
- Keasbey & Mattison – asbestos cement siding, furnace cement, Amberlerex No. 2 Asbestos Cement, Century Asbestos -Cement Shingles, Featherweight Insulating Cement, Monobestos Cement, Sheetflextos Cement
- Mule-Hide Products – asbestos plastic cement
- National Gypsum Company – asbestos-containing cement sheets, siding, joint cement, topping cement, All-Purpose Joint Cement, Crown Coat Cement, Tri-Treatment Cement
- Philip Carey Manufacturing Company – Carey Thermo-Board concrete
- Supradur Manufacturing – asbestos cement roofing tiles
- Ruberoid/GAF – asbestos-containing insulation cement, Calsilite insulating cement, 7M insulating cement, cement roofing shingles, corrugated sheets, cement siding
- Rutland Fire Clay Co. – asbestos furnace cement, roofing cement, wallboard joint cement, Ready-Mined joint cement
- W.R. Grace – Zonolite Insulating Cement, Zonolite Mono-kote Cement
What To Do If You Were Exposed to Asbestos Cement Products
Whether you worked in an asbestos cement plant, worked with asbestos cement products, or lived with someone who suffered occupational exposure to asbestos in one of these settings, you may be at risk for diagnosis with an asbestos-related disease like malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer. Though there is little you can do to prevent yourself from getting sick, you can inform your physician of your asbestos exposure history so that they can monitor your health and screen you for asbestos-related diseases.
If you’ve been diagnosed with one of these illnesses, an experienced asbestos attorney can provide you with all of the information and resources you need to ensure that you know all of the options available to you. You may be eligible to file a claim with an asbestos bankruptcy trust fund or to seek compensation through a personal injury lawsuit. What’s most important to your quest for justice is that you act quickly, as the justice system imposes limits on how much time can go by between being diagnosed and taking legal action. The more quickly you seek information, the faster you can get the justice you deserve.
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