Product Description
Owens Corning marketed marine-grade Aeroflex rigid board for shipboard use as fire-rated joiner bulkheads, overhead panels, and machinery-space linings. According to publicly filed asbestos litigation records, the marine-grade board allegedly contained asbestos fiber bound in a cementitious and silicate binder pressed into rigid panels dimensioned for Navy and merchant-marine shipbuilding. Field cutting, sawing, and drilling to fit around penetrations, and rip-out of panels during availabilities and overhauls, allegedly released respirable asbestos dust in enclosed shipboard spaces.
Workers Exposed
- Shipyard boilermakers and pipefitters cutting Aeroflex board around pipe, valve, and cable penetrations
- Marine insulators installing and demolishing Aeroflex panels in engine rooms and firerooms
- Joiners and carpenters fabricating berthing, passageway, and machinery-space bulkheads
- Navy machinist mates ripping out damaged panels during overhaul periods