For most of the twentieth century, manufacturers molded asbestos into the plastic parts of electrical equipment and chemical piping: circuit breakers, arc chutes (the part of a breaker that quenches the electrical arc), switchgear panels, motor controls, and the acid-resistant resin pipe that carried corrosive chemicals through process plants. It all looked like ordinary plastic, and it was sold as modern and safe. But running an electric saw through asbestos-reinforced resin pipe was measured at 148.7 fibers per cubic centimeter, which in fifteen minutes puts roughly forty-two years' worth of ordinary city background air through a worker's lungs1, and laboratory analysis confirmed the fiber in the air was 100% asbestos. You don't need to remember which brand of breaker or pipe you handled, and you don't need any old records, to find out whether you have a claim; if you cut, drilled, or worked on this material, that's where we start.
Even ordinary city air carries a faint trace of asbestos everywhere, from natural mineral erosion and decades of industrial use, and that trace is the baseline both sides of the panel are measured against.
What these numbers mean. Asbestos in air is measured in fibers per cubic centimeter (f/cc), a unit that hides how dangerous a task was. Across this site we translate each measurement into fibers breathed, feet of fiber end to end, and years of ordinary city air, using conservative, government-sourced assumptions. See how we measure asbestos in air for the method and its limits.
You don't need the product names or old records. No fee unless we recover compensation for your family.
Quick answers
| The parts I worked on were plastic. How could they contain asbestos? | The asbestos was the reinforcement inside the plastic. Molding compounds, breaker housings, arc chutes, switchgear panels, and resin pipe were filled with asbestos fiber, in some products up to 85% of the material by weight. |
|---|---|
| Did this equipment really expose me? | Sitting installed and untouched, a molded part sheds little. The exposure came from working the material: sawing resin pipe to length, drilling panels, filing and grinding molded parts to fit. That work put measured, laboratory-confirmed asbestos into the breathing zone. |
| How much exposure do I need for a claim? | For mesothelioma, less than you'd expect. Courts ask for a meaningful contribution to the disease, and the trusts that pay some of these claims are built to compensate brief exposure. We handle that distinction for you. |
| Which companies made this material? | Square D, Westinghouse, General Electric, Eaton, and Rockwell built asbestos into electrical equipment; Union Carbide sold the asbestos-filled Bakelite molding compounds; Nicolet made the Micolam laminate. |
| Do I need to remember the brand? | No. We reconstruct the products from your work history, our exposure database, and the manufacturers' own records. The brand names are our job, not yours. |
| Do I have to file a lawsuit? | Often, yes, and that's actually good news here. Most of these makers never went bankrupt, which means they're sued directly, and those recoveries often exceed what trusts pay. Nicolet claims run through a trust, a paper process with no courtroom. |
| Can a spouse or adult child call for the worker? | Yes. Most of our first calls come from a wife or an adult child. You don't need a power of attorney to ask questions. |
“I started this firm after learning that the cancers that killed my father and grandparents were caused by asbestos, something we did not realize until it was too late to hold anyone accountable. That experience is why we built this site: so that no other family misses their chance to ask the questions, hear the options, and decide for themselves what to do.”
What asbestos-reinforced plastics were
Early plastics were brittle and lost their strength in heat, so manufacturers reinforced them with asbestos fiber. The mineral gave a molded part heat resistance, electrical insulation, and dimensional stability, exactly the properties electrical equipment demanded. From the late 1930s on, asbestos-filled phenolic plastic (the family of resins sold under the Bakelite name) went into circuit breaker housings, arc chutes, switchgear panels, motor controls, and terminal boards throughout American industry.
The material came in a few standard forms. Molding compounds were asbestos-and-resin powders pressed into finished parts; Union Carbide sold Bakelite grades running from 12% to 30% asbestos. Laminates like Nicolet's Micolam were built up in asbestos-rich sheets, at roughly 85% asbestos, and cut or punched into panels and boards. And in chemical and process plants, asbestos-filled phenolic resin pipe, sold under the Haveg name, carried acids and corrosive liquids that would have eaten through steel.
Representative products and their asbestos content. These are examples, not a full list:
| Product | Maker | Fiber | Asbestos content | In production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Micolam laminate | Nicolet | Chrysotile | 85% | from 1939 |
| Heat-resistant Bakelite | Union Carbide | Chrysotile (presumed) | 30% | from 1939 |
| High-impact heat-resistant Bakelite | Union Carbide | Chrysotile (presumed) | 30% | from 1939 |
| General-purpose Bakelite | Union Carbide | Chrysotile (presumed) | 12% | from 1939 |
How reinforced plastics put asbestos in the air
A molded breaker sitting in a panel doesn't shed much fiber. The exposure came from secondary fabrication, the everyday field work of making factory parts fit a real installation. Electricians drilled and filed panels, boards, and molded housings; pipefitters and plant workers sawed resin pipe to length and dressed the cut ends. Every one of those operations tore fiber out of the resin and drove it into the breathing zone.
That release isn't an inference; it was measured. In 1981, GCA/Technology Division, working under contract for the EPA, sampled the air during exactly this fabrication work. The figures below are phase-contrast (PCM) measurements, which count only the longer fibers and so read as a floor, not a ceiling, and the personal breathing-zone samples were confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM, a laboratory method that identifies each fiber's mineral type) to be 100% asbestos:
| Task | Measured (f/cc) | ≈ years of background per 15 min | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric-saw cutting resin pipe | 148.7 | ~42 years | GCA / Technology Division 19811 |
| Drilling reinforced plastic | up to 7.1 | ~2 years | GCA / Technology Division 19811 |
| Hand-sawing the pipe | 5.36 | ~2 years | GCA / Technology Division 19811 |
| Filing / grinding | 2.8 | ~1 year | GCA / Technology Division 19811 |
By the illustrative math on our how we measure asbestos in air page, 15 minutes of electric-saw cutting resin pipe put roughly 42 years of ordinary city air through the lungs. This estimates fibers in the air breathed, not a retained dose.
The full story of who did this work, day in and day out, lives on the occupation and industry pages linked below. What belongs here is the material itself and the fact that its danger was built into how it had to be worked.
What the makers knew
The measurement at the center of this page wasn't made by a plaintiff's expert. It was made by a government contractor. The 1981 GCA/Technology Division study, prepared for the EPA, documented electric-saw cutting of reinforced-plastic pipe at 148.7 f/cc, with the breathing-zone fiber TEM-confirmed as 100% asbestos1, and the work it sampled was the exact secondary fabrication that electricians and pipefitters performed in the field for decades. Air like that stands far above any workplace exposure limit ever set2.
And the hazard wasn't incidental; it was a design choice. The electrical-equipment makers built asbestos into breakers, arc chutes, switchgear, and motor controls year after year, knowing the parts would be drilled, filed, and cut to fit in the field, and the workers doing that fitting were given no warning that the "plastic" in their hands was releasing asbestos fiber.
Who was exposed
Reinforced plastics weren't confined to one trade, but two groups did the bulk of the hands-on work. Rather than retell their stories here, this page hands that off to the pages that own them:
- electricians, who drilled, filed, and fitted breakers, switchgear, motor controls, and arc chutes throughout their careers
- chemical and process plant workers, where acid-resistant resin pipe was cut and installed throughout the facility
If you or your family member did electrical work or plant work around this equipment, the exposure history is usually straightforward to reconstruct.
The manufacturers and the trusts
This product category runs opposite to most of the asbestos landscape: the major makers never went bankrupt. Square D survives inside Schneider Electric, Westinghouse's liabilities sit with CBS and Paramount Global, and General Electric, Eaton, Rockwell, and Union Carbide are all still in business. That means most reinforced-plastics claims are lawsuits against solvent companies, filed directly against the defendant, and those tort recoveries often exceed what a bankruptcy trust pays on a comparable claim. The exception is Nicolet, whose Micolam claims run through a trust with no lawsuit at all.
| Manufacturer / brand | Status | How claims are handled |
|---|---|---|
| Square D (QO/QOB breakers, switchgear, motor controls) | Schneider Electric successor since 1991, solvent | Lawsuit |
| Westinghouse (industrial transformers, motors, switchgear) | CBS / Paramount Global, solvent | Lawsuit |
| General Electric, Eaton, Rockwell (electrical equipment) | Solvent | Lawsuit |
| Union Carbide (Bakelite molding compounds) | Solvent (Dow subsidiary) | Lawsuit |
| Nicolet (Micolam) | Nicolet trust | Trust claim, no lawsuit |
Which corporate entity answers for which historical brand is a successor-specific analysis, and that's work we do for your file, not something you need to sort out. And if the idea of a lawsuit is uncomfortable, you're in good company; Clarence Borel, the refinery insulator whose 1973 case built the modern asbestos-litigation system, didn't want to sue either. We'll walk you through what each path actually asks of you before anything is filed.
Sources of compensation
A reinforced-plastics case usually draws from several sources at once, and they run in parallel:
- Lawsuits against solvent makers. Square D, Westinghouse's successors, GE, Eaton, Rockwell, and Union Carbide can all be sued directly, and on this page's facts the lawsuit channel is usually the main one. How product liability lawsuits work.
- Asbestos bankruptcy trusts. Nicolet claims are paper claims through the Nicolet trust, with no lawsuit and no courtroom, and a career that touched other asbestos products often supports additional trust filings. How asbestos trust claims work.
- Premises liability against site owners. The plants, refineries, and utilities that controlled the worksites where this cutting and fitting happened can be held responsible for the conditions they allowed. How premises liability claims work.
- Federal and disability benefits. Navy service around shipboard electrical equipment can support VA disability benefits, paid in addition to the rest. How asbestos disability and benefit claims work.
In our case-law library
68 court decisions in our case-law library involve asbestos-reinforced plastics. Among them:
- Curtis v. Abb IncorporatedU.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 2015 · Repaired and sanded electrical components
- Estes v. Eaton CorporationCalifornia Court of Appeal, 2020 · Electrician at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, 1966-1973
- Melendrez v. Ameron International CorporationCalifornia Court of Appeal, 2015 · Performed various tasks in the manufacture of Ameron's Bondstrand pipe at Ameron plant (Bondstrand pipe manufacturing), 1961-1985
- Butler v. Union Carbide CorporationGeorgia Court of Appeals, 2011 · Preforming operator at Watertown Manufacturing, Madison, 1965 to 1973
- Adamson v. General Elec. Co.Georgia Court of Appeals, 2010 · Electrician at FMC Corporation phosphate plant, Idaho, 1951-1952; 1960s
- Asbestos Corporation Limited v. AkaiwaIndiana Court of Appeals, 2007 · Electrical contractor at Everett Electric, 1980-1982
In our products database
The asbestos-reinforced plastics our document library describes, by the company that made or sold it. Each product's page says when it was made and how much asbestos it held, from the documents.
Beacon Sales Company: Yankee
Burndy: Asbestite
Cannon Electric: Diall 51-01
Cape Asbestos: Noramite
Cape Asbestos Co. of London: Caposite
Chase-Foster: Permatherm
Chase-Foster Div., Keene: Permatherm 6
Continental Diamond Fibre: Celoron · Dilecto
Cottrel Paper Co. Inc. (Fall River, MA): Copalam
David E. Kennedy: Kenbase · Kensert
Dossert: Asbestohm
Gold Bond Bldg. Products (National Gypsum): Plasti-Clad
J. W. Roberts Ltd (Turner & Newall): Ferrobestos
Johns-Manville: Chemtite · Min Klad Interlok · Quinorogo R-470 · Structo Shape · Temp-Tite · Thermomat · Thermomat Style 383
Keene: Thermasil
Monsanto: Resinox
Navtar: Aboglas
O'Neill Lumber Co.: Houservice
Raybestos-Manhattan: Pyrotex · Pyrotex Felt · Vee-Square
Rexall Chemical: Nylode
Rogers: Fiberloy
Sears: Homart
Sun Chemical: Preg-Pli
Surface Coatings: Surco
Turner Brothers Asbestos: Dura-Color · Duraform · Durestos
U.S. Plywood-Champion Papers: Weldwood
Union Carbide: Bakelite
Westinghouse: Fosterite Asbestos · Micarta 8564
The defenses companies raise, and how we answer them
The makers raise the same handful of arguments in most reinforced-plastics cases, and none is new to us. All of this applies only to the lawsuit side. Trust claims are a paper process: no opposing lawyer raises defenses, no one is deposed, and no one goes to court.
How we answer the defenses raised in reinforced-plastics cases
"The asbestos was bound in the plastic or resin, so it stayed encapsulated." Encapsulation ends the moment a saw or drill touches the material. Cutting, sawing, and drilling released fiber into the breathing zone, and the 1981 EPA-commissioned samples of exactly that work were TEM-confirmed at 100% asbestos1. The measured air answers the theory.
"It was only chrysotile." Chrysotile is classified by IARC as a Group 1 human carcinogen, the same category as every other form of asbestos3. And the category wasn't chrysotile-only: some acid-resistant resin products carried crocidolite (blue asbestos, a more hazardous amphibole fiber).
"The exposure from any one company's equipment was too small to matter." These cases rest on documented exposure: the specific high-dust fabrication tasks and the dose built up across a full career of electrical or plant work. In court we prove a meaningful contribution with that task and career evidence, and the trusts that apply pay on brief exposure.
Frequently asked questions
My loved one has already passed away. Can we still bring a claim?
Yes. Families regularly file after a death, both trust claims and, depending on the state, a wrongful death lawsuit. Some of these deadlines are short, so it's best to call promptly. We handle wrongful death and estate claims as a matter of routine.
Could my family have been exposed through the work clothes?
Yes, and it's common. Fiber from cutting and drilling settled on an electrician's or plant worker's clothes and came home, and spouses who laundered the clothes were exposed too. Our representation includes free asbestos health screening for family members, and if one is later diagnosed, they may have a claim of their own. The screening is a chest X-ray read by a B-reader, with a CT scan if needed; it looks for asbestos-related changes in the lungs and isn't a diagnosis or a reliable way to find mesothelioma early.
I only did this work occasionally, a few installations a year. Does that count?
It can. The saw-cutting measurement on this page shows why: a single fifteen-minute task put decades' worth of background air through the lungs. Mesothelioma claims don't require constant exposure, and we evaluate what your actual work history supports at no cost.
I did this work in the 1970s and 80s. Is that too recent to matter?
No. Mesothelioma typically appears twenty to fifty years after exposure, so work from the 1970s and 80s is producing diagnoses right now. If you've been diagnosed, the timing of the exposure is our problem to document, not a barrier to your claim.
What does it cost to work with you?
Nothing up front, and nothing at all unless we recover for you. We work on a contingency fee, which means our fee comes only out of money we recover, and the case review is free.
What happens when I call?
A member of our litigation team, not a screener, takes the call, and the first conversation usually runs twenty to thirty minutes. We listen to the work history, explain which claims may apply, and lay out the timeline. No one is pressured to sign anything.
Do we have to travel to your office?
No. We handle these cases by phone, video, and mail, and we come to you when an in-person visit helps. Families work with us from every state without traveling to us.
Talk with an asbestos lawyer about reinforced-plastics exposure
Whether you're an electrician or plant worker who was just diagnosed, or a spouse or adult child trying to find help for someone who is sick, we're ready to talk. You don't need the product names, you don't need the old records, and you don't need to travel to us. Start with what you remember, and we'll take it from there.
Related resources
Sources and references
- GCA/Technology Division. Reinforced-plastics secondary-fabrication fiber-release study (Table 26). Prepared for EPA; 1981.
- OSHA asbestos standard, permissible exposure limit 0.1 f/cc over eight hours with a short-term excursion limit of 1.0 f/cc over thirty minutes. 29 C.F.R. § 1910.1001.
- International Agency for Research on Cancer. Arsenic, Metals, Fibres, and Dusts. IARC Monographs, Vol. 100C (all forms of asbestos classified as carcinogenic to humans, Group 1).
This page is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Every asbestos case turns on its own facts, exposure history, diagnosis, deadlines, available evidence, and applicable law. Reviewing this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, call 833-4-ASBESTOS for a free case review.