CertainTeed Corporation — Asbestos Products Reference

Manufacturer: CertainTeed Corporation Headquarters: Malvern, Pennsylvania Founded: 1904 Ceased Asbestos Use: 1978 Parent Company: Saint-Gobain (French multinational building materials group) Trust Fund: CertainTeed Corporation Asbestos Claims Trust (active)

Company History

CertainTeed Corporation traces its origins to 1904, when it was incorporated as General Roofing Manufacturing Company in Kansas City, Missouri. The company adopted the CertainTeed name in 1917 — a reference to its marketing slogan promising products of “certain” quality that were “tested.” Over the following decades, CertainTeed grew into one of the most significant building products manufacturers in the United States, expanding its product lines from roofing into insulation, siding, gypsum wallboard, pipe systems, and related construction materials.

Throughout the mid-twentieth century, CertainTeed operated manufacturing facilities across the country, supplying products to residential, commercial, and industrial construction markets. Asbestos was incorporated into several of CertainTeed’s core product lines from the 1940s onward, valued by the company and the broader industry for its fire resistance, tensile strength, and durability under extreme conditions.

In 1977, Saint-Gobain, the French building materials conglomerate, acquired CertainTeed. By that time, the scientific and regulatory consensus linking asbestos exposure to mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis had become impossible to ignore. CertainTeed ceased the use of asbestos in its manufactured products in 1978, consistent with the tightening regulatory environment of the late 1970s, including standards emerging from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

CertainTeed today continues to operate as a major building products manufacturer under Saint-Gobain. Its legacy asbestos liabilities have been addressed through the establishment of a dedicated compensation trust, described in detail below.

Asbestos-Containing Products

CertainTeed manufactured asbestos-containing products in two primary categories: cement-pipe systems and roofing materials. Both product lines were in widespread distribution across American jobsites for decades, placing large numbers of tradespeople, construction workers, and maintenance personnel at risk of fiber exposure.

Transite Asbestos-Cement Pipe and Board

CertainTeed’s most extensively documented asbestos-containing products fall under the Transite product line — a brand name that became nearly synonymous with asbestos-cement pipe in the American construction industry. Transite pipe was manufactured using Portland cement combined with chrysotile asbestos fibers, which were compressed under high pressure to form dense, rigid pipe sections.

Transite asbestos-cement pipe was marketed and sold for use in pressure water mains, sewer lines, drainage systems, electrical conduit applications, and underground utility installations. The product was widely specified by municipal water authorities, industrial facilities, and commercial construction contractors from the late 1940s through the 1970s.

In addition to pipe, CertainTeed manufactured Transite board — flat and corrugated asbestos-cement sheet products used in construction applications including interior partitions, exterior cladding, mechanical room panels, duct enclosures, and fireproofing applications. Transite board was a common material in industrial plants, schools, commercial buildings, and marine construction during the same period.

The asbestos content of Transite products was substantial. Chrysotile asbestos fibers comprised a significant percentage of the raw material composition by weight, and any cutting, drilling, grinding, or mechanical disturbance of these materials released respirable asbestos fibers into the work environment.

Asbestos Roofing Shingles

CertainTeed also manufactured asbestos-containing roofing shingles that were sold for installation on residential and commercial structures. These products incorporated chrysotile asbestos fibers bonded within an asphalt or cement matrix, providing fire resistance and dimensional stability.

Asbestos roofing shingles were installed on homes, schools, churches, and commercial buildings throughout the United States during the postwar construction boom. Workers involved in the manufacture, transport, cutting, installation, and eventual removal or repair of these shingles faced repeated exposure to asbestos fibers. Because roofing materials degrade over time, older structures may still contain in-place CertainTeed asbestos roofing products that pose an exposure risk during renovation or demolition.

Occupational Exposure

The populations most frequently exposed to CertainTeed asbestos-containing products include a wide range of tradespeople and laborers who worked with these materials during their manufacture, installation, and maintenance from the 1940s through the late 1970s — and in some cases beyond, through disturbance of installed materials that remained in place after asbestos use ceased.

Workers at elevated exposure risk include:

  • Pipefitters and plumbers who cut, threaded, connected, and installed Transite asbestos-cement pipe on jobsites, generating visible dust clouds during pipe cutting operations
  • Construction laborers who unloaded, transported, and handled Transite pipe and board on job sites
  • Sheet metal workers and insulators who worked in mechanical rooms lined with Transite board
  • Roofers and shingle applicators who cut and nailed asbestos roofing shingles during installation
  • Demolition workers who removed aged Transite pipe or asbestos roofing materials during renovation and teardown
  • Maintenance workers at industrial plants, schools, and commercial buildings where Transite board was used in construction
  • Municipal water and sewer workers who excavated, repaired, or replaced Transite water mains and sewer lines in the field
  • Factory workers at CertainTeed manufacturing facilities who handled raw asbestos fiber and processed it into finished products

Because Transite pipe was installed in underground utility infrastructure and within the walls and mechanical systems of buildings constructed before 1978, many workers continue to encounter in-place asbestos-cement materials during maintenance, renovation, and demolition activities today. Regulations under the EPA’s Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) and OSHA’s asbestos construction standard govern the handling and abatement of such materials.

The latency period for asbestos-related diseases — particularly mesothelioma — typically ranges from 20 to 50 years following initial exposure. Workers exposed to CertainTeed products during the 1940s through the 1970s may only now be receiving diagnoses of mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease.

CertainTeed Corporation Asbestos Claims Trust

CertainTeed Corporation established the CertainTeed Corporation Asbestos Claims Trust to compensate individuals who developed asbestos-related diseases as a result of exposure to its products. This trust is an active, funded mechanism available to eligible claimants and their families.

Asbestos personal injury trusts were created through the bankruptcy reorganization process to ensure that funds are reserved and available for current and future claimants, separate from corporate assets. The CertainTeed trust operates under Trust Distribution Procedures (TDP) that define eligible disease categories, exposure requirements, and compensation levels.

Who May Be Eligible to File

Individuals who may be eligible to file a claim with the CertainTeed Corporation Asbestos Claims Trust include:

  • Workers with documented occupational exposure to CertainTeed Transite pipe, Transite board, or CertainTeed asbestos roofing shingles
  • Family members of workers who were exposed secondhand through take-home fiber contamination on work clothing
  • Workers who handled or installed CertainTeed products at any point during the company’s asbestos-era production (approximately 1940s through 1978)
  • Individuals diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, pleural plaques, or other asbestos-related conditions

Disease Categories and Documentation

The trust typically recognizes several disease severity levels, including mesothelioma (the most serious and most compensated category), primary lung cancer with asbestos exposure history, asbestosis, and pleural disease. Payment amounts vary by disease category in accordance with the trust’s distribution procedures.

To support a claim, claimants or their attorneys typically need to provide:

  • A verified medical diagnosis of an asbestos-related disease from a qualified physician
  • Documentation of exposure to CertainTeed products, which may include employment records, union records, coworker affidavits, Social Security earnings records, or product identification evidence
  • Evidence of the geographic location and approximate dates of exposure

How to File a Claim

Trust claims are generally filed by an attorney experienced in asbestos litigation on behalf of the claimant or, in the case of death, the claimant’s estate. Attorneys submit claims through the trust’s administrative processes, which include review for completeness, exposure verification, and medical documentation. Claims can be filed regardless of whether a lawsuit has been filed in civil court.

There is no requirement to litigate against CertainTeed in court to access the trust. Trust claims represent an administrative compensation pathway designed to deliver payments more efficiently than civil litigation.

Summary

CertainTeed Corporation manufactured asbestos-containing Transite cement pipe, Transite board, and asbestos roofing shingles from the 1940s until 1978. These products were distributed nationally and used on a wide range of residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal construction projects. Workers across multiple trades — including pipefitters, plumbers, roofers, laborers, and maintenance workers — faced documented exposure to asbestos fibers released by CertainTeed products during cutting, installation, removal, and repair.

The CertainTeed Corporation Asbestos Claims Trust is an active trust fund available to individuals diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or related conditions who can document exposure to CertainTeed asbestos products. Workers who handled Transite pipe or board, or installed or removed CertainTeed asbestos roofing shingles at any point from the 1940s through the late 1970s — and potentially during later disturbance of in-place materials — should consult with an asbestos attorney to evaluate whether a trust claim or civil claim may be available to them.

Because asbestos diseases have long latency periods, many individuals are receiving diagnoses today from exposures that occurred decades ago. Compensation pathways remain open, and legal assistance from attorneys specializing in asbestos claims is available at no upfront cost under contingency fee arrangements.