Industrial talc has been used for more than a century as a low-cost mineral filler, anti-tack agent, mold release, processing aid, paint extender, ceramic body component, paper coating, and cosmetic ingredient across U.S. manufacturing. The largest industrial-talc consumers historically were the rubber, plastics, paint, ceramic, paper, and personal-care industries.
Per publicly filed U.S. asbestos and talc litigation, certain industrial talc supply sources — most notably the Vermont (Gouverneur), upstate New York, Texas (Allamoore), and Montana talc deposits — have contained naturally-occurring tremolite, anthophyllite, and actinolite asbestos contamination at varying concentrations through the asbestos era. Workers handling tremolite-contaminated industrial talc as a rubber compounding filler, anti-tack agent, mold release, or other processing aid were exposed to airborne amphibole asbestos fiber even where the end product was nominally specified as “asbestos-free.”
Industrial talc supplier defendants named in publicly filed U.S. asbestos and talc litigation include:
Workers exposed:
14 products ·3 manufacturers
Cyprus Industrial Minerals was a major U.S. industrial-talc supplier mining and processing talc from the Vermont, upstate New …
Imerys Talc America Inc. is the current corporate successor to the Luzenac America (Rio Tinto) and earlier Cyprus Industrial …
Luzenac America Inc., a former subsidiary of the Rio Tinto Group, operated U.S. industrial-talc mining and processing operations …
R.T. Vanderbilt Holding Company operated Gouverneur Talc Company in upstate New York, mining and processing industrial talc from …
Industrial talc used as a filler in asbestos-era phenolic resin molding compounds — documented in NIOSH health hazard evaluations …
Overview of asbestos contamination in talc products — geological context, major defendants (Vanderbilt, Imerys, Cyprus, J&J, …
Ceramic Plant Workers — Asbestos Exposure from Industrial Talc — occupational asbestos exposure pathway for workers handling …
Cyprus Industrial Talc — talc-based product documented in publicly filed asbestos litigation as having been contaminated with …
Imerys Luzenac Industrial Talc — talc-based product documented in publicly filed asbestos litigation as having been contaminated …
Paint Plant Workers — Asbestos Exposure from Industrial Talc — occupational asbestos exposure pathway for workers handling …
Paper Mill Workers — Asbestos Exposure from Industrial Talc — occupational asbestos exposure pathway for workers handling …
Roofing Felt & Asphalt Plant Workers — Asbestos Exposure from Industrial Talc — occupational asbestos exposure pathway for workers …
Rubber Compounders & Industrial Rubber Workers — Asbestos Exposure from Talc — occupational asbestos exposure pathway for workers …
Vanderbilt Industrial Talc — talc-based product documented in publicly filed asbestos litigation as having been contaminated with …
Each manufacturer is listed with the specific products they sold in this category. Click a manufacturer name for the full exposure and legal history.
If you have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease and were exposed to asbestos-containing products, you and your family may be entitled to significant compensation through asbestos trust funds and civil litigation. An attorney experienced in product liability and asbestos claims can evaluate your case — at no cost to you.