This category covers how people actually came into contact with asbestos, which is the heart of most claims. Building a case means reconstructing where the fibers came from, often across jobs held decades ago. These terms name the settings, trades, and products that put asbestos into the air people breathed.
Much exposure was occupational. Insulators, pipefitters, and boiler technicians worked directly with asbestos insulation and joint compound, while machinist's mates and other Navy veterans encountered it below deck during shipyard work. Exposure wasn't limited to the workers themselves. Take-home exposure, sometimes called secondary or para-occupational exposure, reached family members through fibers carried home on clothing. Others faced bystander or neighborhood exposure near plants and job sites.
You'll also find the concepts that frame a claim: latency, the long gap between exposure and diagnosis; cumulative exposure and fiber year, which describe dose over time; and exposure reconstruction, the work of piecing that history back together. Every term below links to a full plain-language definition.
Terms in this category
- Acoustic Ceiling TextureAcoustic ceiling texture is a bumpy, sprayed-on ceiling finish, often called a "popcorn" or "cottage cheese" …
- Anatomic Pathway of ExposureThe anatomic pathway of exposure describes the physical route that asbestos fibers travel through the body, f…
- Asbestos ExposureAsbestos exposure is contact with airborne asbestos fibers that are then breathed in or swallowed. Because th…
- Asbestos MillboardAsbestos millboard is a stiff, gray board made mostly of asbestos fiber with a binder, used for heat and fire…
- Asbestos PackingAsbestos packing is braided, twisted or molded material wrapped around valve stems and pump shafts to stop st…
- Asbestos SidingAsbestos siding is exterior wall cladding, usually flat shingles or panels, made of cement reinforced with as…
- Asbestos TextilesAsbestos textiles are products made by spinning asbestos fibers into thread and weaving them into cloth, tape…
- Asbestos-Cement Pipe ManufacturingAsbestos-cement (A/C) pipe manufacturing was the industrial process of combining raw asbestos fibers (usually…
- AspirateTo draw a substance (such as air, fluid, or airborne particles like asbestos fibers) into the airways or lung…
- Assigned Protection FactorAn assigned protection factor is the level of protection a type of respirator is expected to give when it fit…
- Background ExposureBackground exposure is the small, unavoidable amount of asbestos nearly everyone breathes from natural source…
- Boiler InsulationBoiler insulation refers to the heat-resistant materials wrapped around boilers and their fittings to contain…
- Boiler TechnicianA boiler technician is a worker who installs, operates, inspects, repairs, or maintains boilers and associate…
- Brake LiningA brake lining is the friction material bonded or riveted to a brake shoe or pad that presses against the dru…
- Bystander ExposureBystander exposure is asbestos exposure that occurs when a person breathes in fibers released by someone else…
- Chlor-Alkali DiaphragmA chlor-alkali diaphragm is a porous barrier used inside industrial electrolytic cells that produce chlorine,…
- Consumer Product ExposureConsumer product exposure refers to asbestos exposure that happens through everyday products used at home rat…
- Cosmetic TalcCosmetic talc is finely milled talc powder used in consumer products such as baby powder, body and facial pow…
- Cumulative ExposureCumulative exposure is the total amount of asbestos a person has breathed in over their lifetime, calculated …
- Cutback AdhesiveCutback adhesive is a black, asphalt-based glue used to bond vinyl-asbestos floor tile and sheet flooring to …
- Diffuse"Diffuse" describes a pattern of disease or fiber distribution that is spread out broadly across tissue rathe…
- Drilling MudDrilling mud is a thick fluid pumped down oil and gas wells during drilling to cool the bit, lift rock cuttin…
- EncapsulationEncapsulation is an asbestos management method in which a sealant is applied to asbestos-containing material …
- EndemicEndemic describes a disease that is consistently present at a predictable, baseline rate in a particular plac…
- Engineering ControlsEngineering controls are physical methods for reducing exposure to a hazard at its source, such as ventilatio…
- Environmental ExposureEnvironmental exposure means contact with asbestos that isn't from a person's own job. It includes asbestos i…
- Exposure HistoryAn exposure history is a detailed account of when, where, and how a person came into contact with asbestos ov…
- Exposure ReconstructionExposure reconstruction is the process of piecing together when, where, how, and how much a person was expose…
- Exposure-Reconstruction ProblemThe exposure-reconstruction problem is the practical and scientific challenge of estimating a person's past a…
- Fiber BurdenFiber burden is the quantity of asbestos fibers retained in a person's lung tissue or lymph nodes at a given …
- Fiber ReleaseFiber release is the escape of asbestos fibers from a material into the air, where they can be breathed in. I…
- Fiber SeparationFiber separation is the process by which individual asbestos fibers or fiber bundles break free from an asbes…
- Fiber YearA fiber-year (f/cc-year) is the standard unit for cumulative asbestos exposure, calculated by multiplying the…
- Fire DoorA fire door is a door built to resist fire for a rated time, used in stairwells, boiler rooms, corridors and …
- Fluffers"Fluffers" was the informal nickname for the (almost always female) workers in the London Underground who cle…
- Foundry Sand AdditiveA foundry sand additive is any material mixed into molding or core sand at a metal-casting foundry to improve…
- Friction ProductsFriction products are parts designed to create controlled resistance, mainly vehicle brake linings, brake pad…
- Industrial TalcIndustrial talc is a grade of talc mined and processed for use in manufacturing (including ceramics, paint, p…
- InsulatorAn insulator is a tradesperson who installs and removes thermal insulation on pipes, boilers, ducts, and indu…
- Joint CompoundJoint compound is the paste used to seal seams and cover nail heads between sheets of drywall, then sanded sm…
- LatencyLatency is the time between when a person was first exposed to asbestos and when an asbestos-related disease …
- Machinist's MateA Machinist's Mate is a U.S. Navy enlisted rating responsible for operating and maintaining a ship's propulsi…
- Membrane CellA membrane cell is one of three main technologies historically used to produce chlorine and caustic soda from…
- naturally occurring asbestos (NOA)Naturally occurring asbestos refers to asbestos minerals that exist in their original geological setting (in …
- Navy VeteransNavy veterans are among the occupational groups at highest risk for asbestos-related disease because of the h…
- No Safe Level of Exposure"No safe level of exposure" is the position of public-health agencies, including the World Health Organizatio…
- Non-Occupational ExposureNon-occupational exposure means contact with asbestos that happens outside of a person's own job. It includes…
- Occupational ExposureOccupational exposure means contact with asbestos that happened because of a person's job. It covers work tha…
- Occupational Exposure HistoryAn occupational exposure history is a detailed reconstruction of the jobs a person held, the tasks they did, …
- Perineal MigrationPerineal migration is the proposed biological pathway by which asbestos fibers travel from the perineum (the …
- Pipe CoveringPipe covering is insulation made to wrap around pipes to control heat and prevent condensation. For much of t…
- PipefitterA pipefitter is a skilled tradesperson who installs, maintains, and repairs the piping systems that carry ste…
- Quebec Chrysotile Contamination PathwayThe Quebec Chrysotile Contamination Pathway refers to the recognized scientific finding that chrysotile asbes…
- Radon ProgenyRadon progeny are the short-lived radioactive decay products formed when radon gas breaks down in the air. Un…
- RespiratorA respirator is a mask or hood that protects the wearer from breathing harmful dust, fumes or gases, either b…
- Shipyard ExposureShipyard exposure refers to asbestos exposure that occurred while building, repairing, or dismantling ships. …
- Spray Boy"Spray boy" is an informal occupational term for a worker, often young and entry-level, whose job was to appl…
- Surfacing MaterialSurfacing material is the regulatory term for material sprayed, troweled or otherwise applied to ceilings, wa…
- Take-home ExposureTake-home exposure refers to asbestos fibers brought into the home on a worker's clothing, hair, skin, shoes,…
- Talc Migration PathwayA talc migration pathway is the route by which talc particles, and any asbestos fibers contaminating that tal…
- Thermal System Insulation (TSI)Thermal system insulation is the regulatory name for insulation on pipes, fittings, boilers, tanks, ducts and…
- Vinyl-Asbestos TileVinyl-asbestos tile (VAT) is a type of resilient floor tile manufactured from polyvinyl chloride resin, plast…
- Welding Rod CoatingA welding rod coating (or flux coating) is the outer layer surrounding the metal core of a stick-welding elec…
- WhitewashIn the context of asbestos science, "whitewash" refers to the deliberate effort by industry-funded researcher…
- Work HistoryA work history is a detailed record of the jobs a person held over their lifetime, including employers, job t…
Terms in this category
Browse the full Lexicon, or talk it through with a member of our litigation team, not a screener, at 833-4-ASBESTOS.