Asbestos-Cement Board (Transite) — Asbestos Exposure Crosswalk

What This Equipment Is

Asbestos-cement board — sold under the genericized trade name Transite as well as many other brand names — is a rigid sheet material made by combining chrysotile asbestos fiber with Portland cement and water. The asbestos fiber gave the cement tensile strength and impact resistance; the cement gave the asbestos a dense binder.

Asbestos-cement board was made in many forms:

  • Flat sheet — fire-resistant interior wall panels, electrical-room walls, lab benchtops, fume hoods
  • Corrugated sheet — industrial roofing and siding
  • Transite pipe — water mains, ducting, exhaust flues, drying-oven ducts
  • Asbestos-cement shingle — residential and commercial siding
  • Wallboard — fire-rated wall systems

In industrial settings, Transite panels were widely specified for boiler-room walls, ductwork enclosures, breeching insulation jackets, drying-oven walls, and any other application requiring a non-combustible rigid panel.

Why Asbestos-Cement Board Work Was a High-Exposure Activity

The intact, painted, dust-free panel is relatively non-friable in service. The exposure comes during cutting, drilling, sanding, and demolition — any mechanical disturbance that breaks the cement matrix and releases the bound chrysotile fiber.

Cutting Transite with a power saw, drilling holes for fasteners, breaking panels off a wall during demolition, or tearing off shingle siding generates dense fiber concentrations at close range. Workers in trades that routinely fabricated Transite to fit (HVAC sheet-metal mechanics, electricians installing panel boards in Transite-walled rooms, building demolition crews) had significant cumulative exposure.

Manufacturers Named in Litigation Involving Asbestos-Cement Board

  • Johns-Manville — Transite brand
  • Eternit — asbestos-cement products
  • CertainTeed — asbestos-cement products
  • Keasbey & Mattison — asbestos-cement
  • National Gypsum — asbestos-cement and wallboard
  • Atlas Asbestos Company — asbestos-cement
  • Flintkote — asbestos-cement

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
  • National Gypsum / NGC Bodily Injury Trust
  • Flintkote Asbestos PI Trust
  • Keasbey-Mattison related trusts

Trades Most Exposed at Asbestos-Cement Board Work

HVAC sheet-metal mechanics, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, building demolition workers, roofers (corrugated), siding installers, laboratory and fume-hood installers.

Jobsites in the Network Documenting Asbestos-Cement Board Use

Compiled from publicly filed asbestos litigation, EPA / state-DNR records, 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.