Asbestos Cloth, Tape & Removable Blankets — Asbestos Exposure Crosswalk

What This Equipment Is

Asbestos textiles are a distinct product family — woven, braided, or felted from spun chrysotile (and sometimes amphibole) fiber, often blended with cotton, glass, or wire for handling strength. Industrial applications included:

  • Asbestos cloth — flat woven fabric used for lagging covers, removable insulation jackets, welding curtains, splash shields
  • Asbestos tape — narrow woven tape used to wrap small piping, flange covers, and fittings
  • Asbestos rope — round or square braided rope used for door seals, boiler-port gaskets, gland packing
  • Removable insulation blankets — sewn assemblies (asbestos cloth outer, asbestos batting inner) wrapped around valves, traps, turbines, and other equipment that needed regular access
  • Asbestos millboard — pressed asbestos board used for high-temperature gasketing and heat shielding
  • Fire blankets and PPE — welder’s blankets, foundry workers’ aprons and mitts, firefighter turn-out gear

In commercial and consumer applications, asbestos textiles also showed up as ironing-board covers, hair-dryer hoses, theater fire curtains, and brake-lining cloth woven for clutch facings.

Why Asbestos Cloth / Tape Work Was a High-Exposure Activity

Woven asbestos products release fiber whenever they are cut, sewn, frayed at the edges, or torn at the end of service life. Removable insulation blankets were a particular exposure source: they were stripped off equipment for maintenance, the worn edges crumbled, and the asbestos batting inside released loose fiber as the blanket was handled.

Asbestos rope for boiler-door seals was replaced on every outage — the worker dug the old, baked-hard rope out of the seal channel and seated a fresh length, generating dust at close range. Welding curtains and similar shielding were handled daily by welders and the trades working near them.

Manufacturers Named in Litigation Involving Asbestos Textiles

  • Johns-Manville — asbestos cloth, tape, rope, millboard
  • Raybestos-Manhattan — woven asbestos textiles
  • A.W. Chesterton — packing and textile products
  • H.K. Porter / Southern Asbestos — textile products
  • Garlock Sealing Technologies — woven and braided products
  • Owens-Corning / Fibreboard — insulation products including textile-based assemblies
  • Asten-Johnson — industrial textile / dryer felts (paper industry)

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
  • Raybestos-Manhattan Asbestos PI Trust
  • Garlock Sealing Technologies LLC Asbestos PI Trust
  • H.K. Porter related trusts

Trades Most Exposed at Asbestos Cloth / Tape Work

Insulators (Heat & Frost), welders, boilermakers (door-seal rope work), foundry workers, theater stagehands, brake mechanics (woven clutch facings), pipefitters and millwrights handling removable insulation jackets.

Jobsites in the Network Documenting Asbestos Cloth 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.