Insulator

An insulator is a tradesperson who installs and removes thermal insulation on pipes, boilers, ducts, and industrial equipment. Through most of the 20th century this work meant handling asbestos products daily. Insulators, also called laggers or asbestos workers, are among the trades with the highest rates of asbestos disease.

Significance in Asbestos Context

Insulators had some of the heaviest asbestos exposures of any occupation, because they cut, mixed, applied, and tore out asbestos insulation in enclosed spaces, often without protection. Their union, the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators, was the group studied in Irving Selikoff's landmark research showing high rates of asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma. If a patient worked as an insulator, that occupational history alone is powerful evidence of significant asbestos exposure, and the specific products and sites they recall can identify responsible manufacturers. Insulators also carried fibers home, exposing family members.

Example Sentence

As an insulator for thirty years, he applied asbestos cement and cut pipe covering daily, an occupational history his lawyer used to establish substantial exposure.

Related Terms

Pipe Covering, Lagging, Occupational Exposure, Bystander Exposure, Selikoff Studies, Product Identification, Insulator asbestos exposure

Notes

• Union records, dispatch cards, and job referrals can document where and when an insulator worked; preserve them.
• List the products handled (block, cement, cloth, pipe covering) and their manufacturers; this drives product identification.
• Household members exposed through laundered work clothing may also have claims.