GAF Corporation / Rubberoid Company: Asbestos Products, Occupational Exposure, and Trust Fund Information

GAF Corporation and its predecessor, the Rubberoid Company, manufactured one of the broadest ranges of asbestos-containing building and industrial products sold in the United States during the twentieth century. From pipe insulation systems used in industrial plants and shipyards to vinyl floor tile installed in schools and hospitals, GAF and Rubberoid products reached virtually every category of the American construction and manufacturing trades. The company manufactured asbestos-containing products continuously from its founding in 1928 until 1981, when it ceased asbestos use. Workers, building occupants, and their families who were exposed to these products during that period may have legal and financial options available to them today through the GAF Corporation Asbestos Settlement Trust.

Company History

The Rubberoid Company was established in 1928 and quickly became a significant manufacturer of roofing, insulation, and building materials for the American market. The company’s product lines relied heavily on asbestos as a functional ingredient — valued for its heat resistance, durability, and fire-retardant properties — across a wide range of industrial and commercial applications.

In 1967, General Aniline & Film Corporation reorganized and renamed itself GAF Corporation. Through this transition, GAF absorbed Rubberoid’s existing product lines and manufacturing operations, continuing to sell many of the same asbestos-containing products under both the Rubberoid and GAF brand names. The combined entity operated manufacturing facilities that supplied roofing contractors, industrial insulators, flooring installers, and construction tradespeople across the country.

By the mid-1970s, as the health consequences of asbestos exposure were becoming firmly established in both the scientific literature and public awareness, GAF began moving away from asbestos-containing formulations. The company formally ceased asbestos use in its product manufacturing in 1981. However, the volume and variety of products sold over the preceding five decades had already resulted in widespread occupational and environmental exposures.

Faced with mounting asbestos personal injury litigation arising from decades of product sales, GAF Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As part of the reorganization process, the GAF Corporation Asbestos Settlement Trust was established to compensate individuals who sustained asbestos-related injuries as a result of exposure to GAF or Rubberoid products.

Asbestos-Containing Products

GAF Corporation and Rubberoid manufactured documented asbestos-containing products across four major categories: pipe and thermal insulation, flooring, roofing and siding, and industrial paper and board products.

Pipe Covering and Thermal Insulation

Rubberoid’s pipe insulation systems were among the company’s earliest and most widely distributed asbestos-containing product lines, sold under several distinct trade names across several decades.

  • Ruberoid Air Cell Pipe Covering (1928–1981): A pipe insulation product marketed for use on steam, hot water, and process piping in industrial, commercial, and marine settings. Ruberoid Air Cell was sold continuously for more than fifty years and represented one of the company’s longest-running asbestos-containing products.
  • Calsilite Pipe Covering and Block (1944–1971): A calcium silicate insulation system containing asbestos, used on high-temperature piping and equipment in refineries, power plants, and industrial facilities.
  • Calsilite Insulation Cement (1951–1971): An asbestos-containing finishing cement used in conjunction with Calsilite pipe covering systems to seal joints and irregular surfaces.
  • Anti-Sweat Pipe Covering (1928–1958): Designed for use on cold-water and chilled-water piping to prevent condensation, this product contained asbestos as a component of its insulating material.
  • Woolfelt Pipe Covering (1928–1959): A felt-based pipe insulation product containing asbestos, used on lower-temperature piping systems in residential and light commercial construction.

Flooring Products

  • GAF Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tile (1959–September 1981): Manufactured and sold under the GAF brand, this vinyl tile product contained asbestos fibers throughout the tile body. It was widely installed in schools, hospitals, office buildings, and residences during the 1960s and 1970s. GAF’s records confirm asbestos content through September 1981, when production ended.
  • GAF Asphalt Tile (1959–1971): An earlier-generation floor tile product containing asbestos, commonly installed in basements, kitchens, and commercial spaces.

Roofing and Siding

  • Asbestos Cement Roofing Shingles (1930–1978): Manufactured under the Rubberoid brand, these shingles were a standard roofing material for residential and light commercial construction through much of the mid-century period.
  • Asbestos Cement Siding (1930–1978): Sold as an exterior cladding material, asbestos cement siding was marketed as durable and fire-resistant and was installed on millions of American homes and commercial buildings.
  • Roofing Felts (1928–1981): Asbestos-reinforced roofing underlayment felts were part of the Rubberoid/GAF product line for the company’s entire operating history with asbestos. Roofers who cut, tore, and applied these felts were exposed to airborne asbestos fibers throughout the installation process.

Industrial Paper and Board Products

  • Asbestos Millboard — Foundriboard (1928–1981): A rigid asbestos-containing board product used as a heat shield and fire barrier in foundries, industrial plants, and commercial construction applications.
  • Corrugated and Flat Asbestos Paper (1928–1981): Flexible asbestos paper products used in gaskets, insulation wrapping, and industrial fabrication were manufactured by Rubberoid/GAF across the company’s full period of asbestos production.

Occupational Exposure

The range and volume of GAF and Rubberoid products meant that workers across dozens of trades encountered these materials on American jobsites from the late 1920s through the early 1980s.

Pipe coverers and insulators who worked with Ruberoid Air Cell, Calsilite, Woolfelt, and Anti-Sweat products faced repeated high-concentration exposures during cutting, fitting, and finishing operations. Mixing Calsilite Insulation Cement generated visible asbestos-laden dust in the work area.

Roofers and sheet metal workers who handled Roofing Felts, Asbestos Cement Shingles, and Asbestos Cement Siding regularly cut, scored, and trimmed these materials, releasing asbestos fibers into their immediate breathing zones. Jobsite conditions — particularly the absence of respiratory protection common before the mid-1970s — meant that cumulative exposures over a career could be substantial.

Flooring installers who cut and scored GAF Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tile and GAF Asphalt Tile released asbestos fibers during the cutting process. Removal of old tile — a task that accelerated during renovation work in the 1970s and 1980s — was particularly hazardous, as dry-scraping and mechanical removal generated high fiber concentrations.

Maintenance workers and building engineers in facilities where these products had been installed faced ongoing secondary exposure when pipe insulation became damaged or disturbed, when floor tiles cracked or were worked on, or when roofing materials deteriorated.

Industrial plant and shipyard workers encountered Rubberoid pipe covering and insulation products in some of the most concentrated exposure environments of the twentieth century — engine rooms, boiler houses, and refineries where asbestos-containing materials were applied, removed, and replaced on a continual basis.

Family members of workers in these trades may also have been exposed to asbestos brought home on work clothing, a pathway recognized in asbestos medical literature and in trust fund eligibility determinations.

GAF Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a result of asbestos personal injury litigation arising from its decades of product manufacturing. As part of the bankruptcy reorganization, the GAF Corporation Asbestos Settlement Trust was established and is currently active, providing compensation to individuals who can document an asbestos-related disease and exposure to GAF or Rubberoid products.

Who May Be Eligible

Individuals diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or other asbestos-related diseases who can document occupational, para-occupational, or household exposure to GAF or Rubberoid products may be eligible to file a claim with the trust. Eligible diseases and exposure requirements are defined in the trust’s claims procedures.

How to File a Claim

Trust claims are administered through a formal process that requires claimants — typically represented by an asbestos attorney — to submit:

  • Medical documentation confirming an asbestos-related diagnosis
  • An exposure history identifying specific GAF or Rubberoid products, worksites, and approximate dates of exposure
  • Supporting occupational records such as employment history, union records, or co-worker affidavits

Claims are reviewed by the trust against established medical and exposure criteria. The trust operates independently of the court system, and filing a trust claim does not necessarily preclude pursuing additional legal options against other responsible parties.

An attorney with experience in asbestos trust fund claims can help evaluate whether a claimant’s exposure history and medical records meet the trust’s eligibility criteria, identify other potentially responsible manufacturers whose products were present at the same worksites, and manage the filing process on the claimant’s behalf. Most asbestos attorneys handle these cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning there is no upfront cost to the claimant.

Summary: GAF Corporation and its predecessor Rubberoid Company manufactured asbestos-containing pipe insulation, floor tile, roofing, siding, and industrial paper products from 1928 through 1981. Workers in the insulation, roofing, and flooring trades — as well as industrial plant and shipyard workers — faced significant exposures to these products over that period. The GAF Corporation Asbestos Settlement Trust is an active trust fund established to compensate individuals with documented asbestos-related diseases linked to GAF or Rubberoid product exposure. Workers, family members, and their legal representatives can pursue trust claims by documenting a qualifying diagnosis and a supported exposure history.