Atlas Turner Newalls 85% Magnesia Insulation

Product Description

Atlas Turner Newalls 85% Magnesia was a high-temperature thermal insulation product manufactured and distributed by ASARCO (American Smelting and Refining Company). The product belonged to a category of magnesia-based insulating materials that were widely used throughout American industrial facilities during much of the twentieth century. These materials were engineered to withstand elevated temperatures in industrial settings, making them a preferred choice for applications ranging from pipe insulation to refractory linings in high-heat environments.

The “85% magnesia” designation refers to the primary composition of the insulation material, in which magnesium carbonate or magnesium oxide constituted approximately 85 percent of the product by weight. This chemical formulation gave the material its characteristic ability to resist heat transfer in demanding industrial applications. The product was sold under the Atlas Turner Newalls brand name, reflecting the interconnected network of insulation manufacturers and distributors that operated across North America during this era, including ties to the Turner & Newall corporate family, which was one of the largest asbestos enterprises in the world.

As with many industrial insulation products of its period, Atlas Turner Newalls 85% Magnesia was used across multiple industrial sectors, including chemical processing plants, oil refineries, steel mills, power generation facilities, and manufacturing operations. Its applications included pipe insulation, cement pipe systems, refractory installations, and spray-fireproofing contexts, placing the product in environments where workers had repeated and prolonged contact with the material.

Asbestos Content

The asbestos content of Atlas Turner Newalls 85% Magnesia reflects a manufacturing practice common to magnesia insulation products of the twentieth century. While magnesium-based compounds formed the structural core of the insulation, asbestos fibers were routinely incorporated into such products as a reinforcing binder. Asbestos provided tensile strength, improved the workability of the material during installation, and enhanced its thermal and fire-resistant properties.

Chrysotile asbestos, and in some formulations amphibole varieties such as amosite or crocidolite, were the fiber types most commonly used as reinforcing agents in magnesia insulation products of this class. These fibers were integrated throughout the material matrix, meaning that any activity that disturbed the product — including cutting, shaping, applying, or removing it — had the potential to release respirable asbestos fibers into the surrounding air.

The specific fiber content of Atlas Turner Newalls 85% Magnesia as documented in litigation and industrial records places it within the broader category of asbestos-containing thermal insulation products that federal regulators, including the Environmental Protection Agency under AHERA and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, have identified as sources of occupational asbestos exposure.

How Workers Were Exposed

Industrial workers who handled, installed, or worked in proximity to Atlas Turner Newalls 85% Magnesia faced potential asbestos exposure through several distinct pathways. Because the product was used across such a wide range of industrial environments and applications, the population of potentially affected workers is correspondingly broad.

Pipe insulation and cement pipe applications required workers to measure, cut, and fit sections of magnesia insulation to conform to pipe dimensions and configurations. This process generated visible dust that litigation records document as containing respirable asbestos fibers. Workers performing these tasks in enclosed mechanical rooms, boiler rooms, or pipe chases had limited ventilation and faced concentrated airborne fiber levels.

Refractory applications involved applying or repairing high-temperature linings in furnaces, kilns, and industrial ovens. Workers in refractory trades mixed, troweled, and shaped the material by hand, activities that released fibers at the point of application. Maintenance and repair work on existing refractory installations was particularly hazardous, as degraded or damaged material crumbled and shed fibers readily.

Spray-fireproofing operations involved the application of insulating materials to structural steel and other building components using spray equipment. This method of application was among the most hazardous from an exposure standpoint, as it generated a cloud of airborne particles throughout the work area. Workers operating spray equipment, as well as other tradespeople working in adjacent areas, were exposed to airborne fibers during these operations.

Beyond primary applicators, industrial workers generally — including maintenance personnel, pipefitters, boilermakers, millwrights, and laborers — were exposed as bystanders during insulation work or when performing their own tasks in areas where magnesia insulation had been installed, disturbed, or was in a state of deterioration. Aging and mechanically damaged magnesia insulation is known to shed fibers continuously, creating a chronic low-level exposure environment for workers in industrial facilities where the product remained in place over decades.

The latency period for asbestos-related diseases — typically ranging from ten to fifty years between initial exposure and diagnosis — means that workers exposed to Atlas Turner Newalls 85% Magnesia during peak industrial use in the mid-twentieth century may be experiencing diagnoses today.

Atlas Turner Newalls 85% Magnesia is classified as a Tier 2 litigated product, meaning that legal claims involving this product have been pursued through the civil court system rather than through an established asbestos bankruptcy trust fund.

Litigation records document claims filed by industrial workers and their survivors alleging that exposure to Atlas Turner Newalls 85% Magnesia caused serious asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, and other pulmonary conditions. Plaintiffs alleged that ASARCO and associated corporate entities manufactured and distributed a product known to contain asbestos without providing adequate warnings to workers about the hazards of fiber inhalation.

Plaintiffs alleged that defendants knew or should have known of the health risks associated with asbestos exposure based on the available scientific and medical literature, and that this knowledge was not communicated to the workers most at risk. Litigation records document that claims have been brought by pipefitters, insulators, maintenance workers, and general industrial laborers, among other occupational groups.

ASARCO itself underwent bankruptcy proceedings that resulted in the establishment of an asbestos claims resolution process; individuals pursuing claims related to ASARCO products should consult with qualified asbestos litigation counsel to determine whether any current legal remedies remain available, including potential civil litigation against other responsible parties in the product’s chain of distribution and use.

Individuals who believe they have been exposed to Atlas Turner Newalls 85% Magnesia and have received a diagnosis of mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or a related condition should consult with an attorney experienced in asbestos litigation. Documentation of work history, employer records, and product identification records are central to evaluating the strength of a potential claim. Given applicable statutes of limitations, which vary by state and by disease type, early consultation is strongly advisable.