Even as cries to ban asbestos mining and production reverberate from country to country around the world, the mining, transporting, trading and manufacturing of asbestos products continues to proliferate. In fact, in addition to those countries where asbestos is still mined, including Russia, Brazil, Kazakhstan and Zimbabwe, there are almost 600 asbestos companies and suppliers worldwide held a 2011 inventory of more than 60,000 asbestos-laden products.
It is not altogether clear how much care asbestos manufacturers in those countries give to their workers, people who are the most likely to be exposed to a natural mineral that is traced to fatal cancers like mesothelioma and asbestosis. The history of those companies in the United States is not sterling. Many companies learned early in the 20th century that their mining and manufacturing of asbestos contaminated their workers and the public yet chose either to ignore the medical findings or to bury them. That is a key reason why so many of them are bankrupt and, together, have paid billions to settle asbestos related claims.
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History of Asbestos Manufacturing
Nobody knows when the first asbestos product manufacturing company opened its doors. Asbestos has been mined for centuries in Russia and Italy and utilized for the manufacture of cloth, paper, and board. But it was only during the Industrial Revolution, in the latter part of the nineteenth century, that the asbestos industry came into its own.
Because asbestos can withstand extremely high temperatures, is highly resistant to chemical and water damage, and is an excellent insulator for electrical wiring, the mineral quickly became the preferred material for fireproofing, insulating and making construction products more durable. It also found its way into the automobile industry as a lining for brake pads and shoes and in clutches, seals and gaskets.
In 1858, Henry Ward Johns founded the H.W. Johns Manufacturing Company in lower Manhattan, selling a new, fireproof roofing material made of burlap, asbestos, tar and other ingredients. In 1901, his firm merged with the Manville Covering Company, becoming the largest asbestos manufacturing enterprise in the country – Johns-Manville.
Throughout the 20th century, hundreds of other asbestos manufacturing firms grew and prospered as asbestos fiber was incorporated into thousands of commercial and household products. In addition to Johns-Manville, some major asbestos manufacturers in the United States were:
- Owens Corning/Fibreboard Corp.
- National Gypsum Corporation
- W.R. Grace & Co.
- Celotex Corp.
- Raybestos-Manhattan Co.
By mid-century, asbestos and asbestos products were virtually everywhere in America – in buildings, roads, homes, schools, factories, battleships, automobiles. It even went into space as an insulator for the solid fuel boosters for NASA’s fleet of space shuttles.
Ongoing Asbestos Manufacturing
Although many Americans believe asbestos is banned in the United States that is actually not true. There is still no prohibition of asbestos products in the U.S., though it is banned in numerous countries around the world, including France, Italy, Australia, Japan, Poland, Norway, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Israel and Ireland, among others.
In fact, there are dozens of U.S. corporations that continue to manufacture and/or sell products that contain imported asbestos.
Some of those companies are:
- Chicago Metallic Corp.
- Georgia-Pacific Gypsum LLC
- Armstrong World Industries
- Sherwin-Williams Co.
- Berridge Metal Roof and Wall Panels
- CECO Door
- GAF, Nichiha USA, Inc.
- Duro-Last Roofing, Inc.
- Arch Wood Protection, Inc.
- CertainTeed Insulation
- CertainTeed Fiber Cement Siding
- CertainTeed Roofing
- Reefe Industries, Inc.
- Ampco Products, Inc.
- Roppe Corp.
- Big D Metalworks
- Plycern USA, Inc.
- Wasco Products, Inc.
- CENTRIA
- General Electric
- Tecturn, Inc.
- FLEXCO
- Custom Building Products
- Republic Storage Systems, LLC
- Maxxon Corp.
- R.C. Musson Rubber Co.
- Perfection Architectural Systems, Inc.
- Specified Technologies, Inc.
- Horner Flooring Co.
- Florence Manufacturing Co.
- Xypex Chemical Corp.
- GRAHAM, Tubelite Inc.
- Temple-Inland Gypsum Products
- Forbo Linoleum and Flooring
- And Ardex Engineered Cements
Lawsuits against Asbestos Manufacturers
As lawsuits against asbestos manufacturers multiplied in the last part of the 20th century, major asbestos manufacturers and dozens of other companies declared bankruptcy in the three decades between 1982 and 2011.
Recent additions to the list are State Insulation Corp. of New Jersey and United Gilsonite Laboratories of Pennsylvania, both of which sought Chapter 11 protection in 2011. Many other companies have been sued for their use of asbestos in products they sold to the general public, more than a few of them, household names. They include:
- General Motors
- Dow Chemical
- Colgate-Palmolive
- Daimler Chrysler
- Ford
- IBM
- Kaiser Aluminum
- Pfizer
- Sears
- Lockheed Martin
- Viacom
- Walt Disney Co.