Caposite

Caposite was a brand of high-temperature insulating block and pipe-covering material manufactured in the mid-20th century that contained asbestos as a reinforcing and heat-resistant component. It was used primarily on boilers, steam pipes, turbines, and other industrial equipment operating at elevated temperatures. Like many similar products of its era, Caposite released respirable asbestos fibers when it was cut, sawed, sanded, scraped, or removed during demolition or repair.

Origin

The name is a trade name derived from the manufacturer (Keasbey & Mattison and successor formulations are part of the broader family of "-site" branded insulations marketed in the United States from the 1930s through the 1970s). The "-ite" suffix was a common marketing convention for engineered building and insulation materials of the period.

Significance in Asbestos Context

Identifying Caposite in a worker's exposure history is significant because it ties a specific named product to a specific manufacturer, which is a key step in building a product-identification case. Caposite was commonly installed and later removed by insulators, pipefitters, boilermakers, powerhouse workers, and shipyard tradesmen, and bystanders working nearby were also exposed. Because the product was friable when disturbed, fiber release during normal trade activities could be substantial. If you or a family member recall seeing Caposite labels, bags, or block on a jobsite, that recollection, even decades later, can become important evidence connecting an exposure to a particular defendant.

Example Sentence

The industrial hygienist reviewed the plant's purchasing records and confirmed that Caposite block insulation had been installed on the boilers where the patient worked as a young pipefitter in the 1960s.

Related Terms

Product Identification, Friable Asbestos, Pipe Covering, Block Insulation, Amosite, Insulator

Notes

• Write down every brand name of insulation, cement, gasket, or refractory product you remember from past jobsites. Brand recall is often the single most valuable piece of evidence in an asbestos claim.
• Ask former coworkers, union hall contacts, or family members whether they remember Caposite or similar block and pipe-covering products at the same facility; corroborating witnesses strengthen product identification.
• Preserve any old pay stubs, union books, job assignment sheets, or photographs that place you at a specific plant or shipyard during the years Caposite was in use.
• If you worked as an insulator, pipefitter, boilermaker, or in a powerhouse or shipyard between roughly 1940 and 1980, tell your legal team specifically about high-temperature pipe and boiler insulation. This is the product category most likely to include Caposite or its equivalents.