Thermal Spray & Arc-Spray Coatings — Asbestos Exposure Crosswalk

What This Equipment Is

Thermal spray coatings are protective coatings applied by feeding metallic or ceramic wire / powder through a heat source (flame, plasma, or electric arc) that melts and propels the feedstock onto a substrate at high velocity. Major techniques include:

  • Flame spray — combustion-flame-melted feedstock
  • Arc spray — electric-arc-melted feedstock
  • Plasma spray — plasma-melted feedstock
  • High-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spray

Common applications: corrosion protection on storage-tank exteriors, refinery process equipment, bridge structural steel, paper-mill machine rolls, power-plant boiler tubes, and many specialty coating contexts.

From the 1960s through the 1980s, selected specialty intermediate coatings, sealers, and primer formulations in the thermal-spray application process incorporated asbestos fiber for thermal stability, sag-resistance during application, and dimensional control during cure. The thermal-spray equipment / process itself does not contain asbestos, but the surrounding coating ecosystem did.

Related products with asbestos content include certain mastic primer coats, sealer-coat formulations, and high-temperature corrosion-protective coatings used as a finish over thermal-spray base coats.

Why Thermal-Spray Coating Work Was an Asbestos Exposure Pathway

Coating system primers and sealers were applied wet — relatively low fiber release at application. Removal and recoating during periodic maintenance disturbed cured asbestos-bearing coatings via abrasive blast cleaning, grinding, or chemical stripping — generating respirable fiber.

Industrial corrosion-control crews working on tank exteriors, vessel exteriors, structural steel, and roll surfaces routinely encountered legacy asbestos-bearing coating systems when preparing surfaces for re-coating.

  • 3M Company — coating and sealer products
  • Sherwin-Williams — industrial coating products
  • PPG Industries — industrial coatings
  • Carboline — industrial protective coatings
  • Hempel — industrial coatings
  • International Paint — industrial coatings
  • Johns-Manville — sealer and mastic products

Documented Product References

Images sourced from publicly available product-identification reference materials. Inclusion does not constitute a finding of liability against any company.

Trust Funds That May Apply

  • Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust
  • Various coating-product trusts depending on specific named entities

Trades Most Exposed at Thermal-Spray Coating Work

Industrial-coating applicators, corrosion-control contractors, tank-coating specialists, paper-mill roll-coating crews, refinery coating maintenance crews, abrasive-blast cleaning crews preparing surfaces for re-coating.

Cross-References

Compiled from publicly filed asbestos litigation, EPA / OSHA records on industrial-coating exposure, and industry-publication histories. Product and company references reflect what has been alleged or documented in publicly filed litigation. This page does not constitute a finding of liability against any company. Not legal advice; consult a licensed attorney about your specific situation.