Asbestos in Fire Doors and Other Building Materials Fire doors are common in many public buildings, particularly theaters, and are also an integral component of marine vessels. These doors usually are made of heavy timber or other material, overlaid with steel. The frame is lined with fireproof gaskets so that when the fire door is closed, an air-tight seal is maintained. Fire doors are rated according to how many hours they can withstand a fire before they collapse or burn through. Prior to the 1980s, the core of a fire door as well as the gaskets and liners were likely to contain one of three types of commercial asbestos. The most common of these was chrysotile, or "white" asbestos. Most of the U.S. supply of chrysotile was mined in northwestern Montana and upstate Vermont. During the heyday of the asbestos industry, chrysotile made up between 97 and 98% of the market. Consequences of long-term exposure to chrysotile include asbestosis (a build-up of scar tissue in the lungs), pleural plaques (stiffening of lung tissue) and mesothelioma cancer.
Hazards Associated with Fire Door Products Fire doors that are intact and new pose relatively little risk of exposing people around them to asbestos. Asbestos materials generally do not emit fibers into the atmosphere when they are in good condition. Asbestos hazards begin to develop when products like fire doors are damaged by heat or water, or when they simply undergo wear and tear due to age and use. The individual asbestos fibers begin to come loose from the surrounding material, and can then be inhaled. Individuals working in factories where fire doors were manufactured were likely to have sustained some degree of asbestos exposure while on the job as few safety measures were employed until the late 1900’s. The main threat existing from asbestos fire doors today occurs during the course of a fire when damaged doors can release asbestos fibers into the air. Firemen, rescue workers, maintenance personnel, cleanup crews, and demolition workers would be most likely to come into contact with this asbestos.
Maintenance workers caring for existing fire doors might also be exposed if they came into contact with worn or damaged gaskets.Fatal Deception: The Untold Story of Asbestos (New York: Touchstone, 2003) Please fill in the form below to request a FREE information guide about your legal rights. It will be sent to you within 24 hours. Have you or someone you know been diagnosed with mesothelioma? Managing the High Medical Costs Associated with Mesothelioma Treatment Funds Set Aside for Mesothelioma Victims Providing Financial Security for Your Loved Ones A Free Case EvaluationYears Produced: 1200s – present Although there are many instances throughout history of asbestos being used for its heat and fire resistance characteristics, it did not become popular as a fireproofing material until the early 1900s. It was seen as an inexpensive additive that could be used to create a range of inexpensive, fire-resistant products, including materials such as roofing shingles, wallboard and concrete.
It was woven into textiles to manufacture fire-resistant fabrics and cloths, plus fire-resistant insulations and coatings. Asbestos works well as a fire-resistant material because of its chemical properties. It is non-flammable and non-combustible and has a melting point of around 1600 degrees Fahrenheit. It consists of lightweight fibers that are stronger than cotton, rayon or nylon. Those fibers are also flexible enough to be woven with other fibers (hence their use in textiles); mixed and sprayed with cement; or packed with other materials. With no laws or regulations in place to limit the use of asbestos, it was added to thousands of products, primarily in the construction industry. In the late 1970s, studies revealed asbestos a carcinogenic and a health hazard. The hazards stem from human exposure to asbestos. From that point, its use as a fireproofing material declined, and its use in many products was banned. Exposed to an Asbestos-Containing Product? Our Patient Advocates can answer your questions about asbestos exposure and help you find a top attorney.
In his travels, the famous Italian merchant, traveler and explorer Marco Polo found fire-resistant clothing in China made from salamander wool or cotton rock. During the 1500s and 1600s, scientists such as George Agricola, the father of modern mineralogy, were intrigued by asbestos and extensively researched and wrote about the mineral. This intense scientific exposure eventually led to inventors using asbestos to create new and better products. In the United States, Benjamin Franklin made one of these first inventions leveraging the fire resistant characteristics of asbestos – a fire-proof purse, which now resides in the Natural History Museum. Modern day uses of asbestos as a fire resistant material developed in the mid-1800s. At the time fire was a fairly common hazard. The first asbestos fire prevention materials developed were textiles. Asbestos was woven into fabrics to make them more fire resistant. Those asbestos textiles were then made into hundreds of different fire prevention products like:
The inclusion of asbestos in fire-resistant construction materials was not far behind its incorporation into textiles. Two men, Henry Ward and Ludwig Hatschek are credited with implementing the earliest mass production of fireproof asbestos construction materials. Henry Ward, a building contractor, made fireproof paint and fire-resistant tar paper for roofing in the 1860s. In 1900 Ludwig Hatschek, an engineer, made the Hatschek machine, which was the first machine that could cheaply and efficiently produce asbestos roof panels. Following roofing materials, fireproof spray was added during building construction. Starting in the 1950s, lightweight insulation materials such as spray-on fireproofing were utilized in high-rises. These ultra-lightweight asbestos materials were applied to steel and other core building materials to prevent structures from buckling during a fire. The Chase Manhattan Bank in New York City, built in 1958, was one of the first high rises to have spray fireproofing.
By 1970, around 40,000 tons of asbestos-containing insulation was used in high-rise construction. Common manufacturers of asbestos fireproofing spray included W. R. Grace, Isolatek International, United States Gypsum, J. W. Roberts Limited and U. S. Mineral. Over the years a wide array of asbestos construction materials were developed, covering nearly every conceivable potential fire hazard: The use of Asbestos in fireproof materials and products continued to increase until the early 1970’s, when several studies linking the mineral to lung cancer and mesothelioma were published. These studies led to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to restrict the use of Asbestos. Federal legislation also prevented production of specific asbestos products. The Asbestos National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) determined in 1973 that asbestos fire-proofing spray should be banned. However, it revised its decision in 1991, stating that the fireproofing spray must contain either less than 1 percent asbestos or have the asbestos encapsulated within a binder.
Fire-proofing spray continues to be sold, but without asbestos listed as an ingredient because of the small quantity added. Because of the range of fireproof materials, plus where and how they were used, their asbestos content varies from product to product. For instance, ceiling tiles contain on average 10-percent asbestos, while insulating boards could contain up to 40-percent asbestos. Textiles developed for fireproofing purposes could be made of as much as 100-percent asbestos. Because of the prevalence of asbestos fireproofing products, a large number of different occupations could potentially be unknowingly exposed to asbestos. However, because of the very nature of asbestos fireproofing products construction workers and firefighters are particularly at risk of exposure to high concentrations of asbestos. When buildings are renovated or there is a fire products that contain asbestos can be damaged. When these products are damaged asbestos is released, potentially exposing anyone in the general vicinity to the deadly mineral.
Asbestos fireproofing spray is a particularly dangerous fireproofing material. When it is first applied, it is wet, foam-like material. As it dries out, it becomes friable. Friable means that the material crumbles easily. As asbestos fireproofing ages it becomes even more friable, often to the point where even the slightest disturbance will damage the asbestos within, causing exposure. Claimants like Timothy Waters and Carroll Marrow developed health problems from encounters with asbestos fireproofing spray. Timothy Waters worked as a tile-setter from the 1950s to the 1980s. Waters did jobs in close quarters with plasterers spraying fireproofing, specifically using W. R. Grace’s Monokote. Years later, in 1986,Waters was diagnosed with asbestosis. At trial, W. R. Grace was held responsible for $283,392 in damages. Carroll Morrow worked as a plant inspector at Western Electric where Cafco and Spraycraft fire-proofing sprays were used from 1950 to 1965. Morrow developed mesothelioma from asbestos exposure and died before his trial concluded.