Bird & Son Asbestos Roofing Shingles (1920s–1978)

Product Description

Bird & Son, Inc. was one of the United States’ most prominent roofing materials manufacturers throughout the twentieth century, operating out of East Walpole, Massachusetts. The company produced a broad line of residential and commercial roofing products for decades, and asbestos-containing roofing shingles represented a central part of its product catalog from at least the 1920s through 1978, when domestic asbestos use in roofing materials began its decline under increasing regulatory pressure.

Bird & Son’s asbestos roofing shingles were marketed to residential homeowners, commercial contractors, and industrial facility managers alike. The shingles were sold under several trade names over the years and were widely distributed through building supply chains, hardware stores, and direct contractor purchasing arrangements across the country. Their widespread availability and competitive pricing made them a common choice for roofing projects throughout the mid-twentieth century, meaning that installations of Bird & Son roofing shingles can be found on structures that span multiple generations of construction.

The shingles were considered a durable, fire-resistant product during their peak years of production. Asbestos was the primary ingredient credited with those properties, and Bird & Son promoted these characteristics heavily in trade and consumer advertising during the postwar building boom. As a result, the product achieved broad market penetration across residential neighborhoods, schools, factories, warehouses, and other structures built or re-roofed between the 1920s and the late 1970s.

Asbestos Content

Bird & Son asbestos roofing shingles were manufactured with chrysotile asbestos fibers bonded into an asphalt and mineral granule composite matrix. This construction method, common to the roofing shingle industry during this era, locked asbestos fibers into the body of each shingle to provide structural reinforcement, fire resistance, and dimensional stability across temperature extremes.

Chrysotile, sometimes called white asbestos, was the most commercially available asbestos variety in North America during the production period and was sourced through established supply networks serving the construction materials industry. While chrysotile fibers are somewhat shorter and more curved than the amphibole varieties, regulatory bodies including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) classify all asbestos fiber types as human carcinogens with no established safe level of exposure.

When Bird & Son asbestos shingles are intact and undisturbed, asbestos fibers remain bound within the composite material. However, asbestos-containing roofing shingles are classified as a regulated material under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) and relevant OSHA standards. Any activity that cuts, breaks, sands, or otherwise disturbs the shingle material can release respirable asbestos fibers into the surrounding air.

How Workers Were Exposed

Workers who manufactured, installed, repaired, or removed Bird & Son asbestos roofing shingles faced the most significant occupational exposures, though bystander exposure was also documented in litigation records and occupational health studies covering the roofing industry.

Manufacturing Workers: Employees at Bird & Son production facilities handled raw asbestos fiber during mixing, pressing, and finishing operations. Industrial workers in these settings were exposed to airborne asbestos fibers released during the production process, often without adequate respiratory protection, particularly in the earlier decades of production when industrial hygiene standards were minimal or nonexistent.

Roofing Contractors and Installers: Workers who installed Bird & Son shingles cut them to size using saws, tin snips, and scoring tools, each of which generated asbestos-laden dust. Roofing crews often worked in confined conditions on roof surfaces with limited ventilation, and the physical activity of installation created sustained dust exposure across a full working day.

Roofers Performing Repairs and Tear-Off: Repair and replacement work on existing Bird & Son asbestos roofs generated particularly significant fiber release. Breaking away weathered or damaged shingles, removing old courses to install new material, and grinding or trimming shingles during repairs all created conditions for heavy asbestos dust exposure. Tear-off work on aged roofing is now subject to stringent OSHA and EPA National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) requirements for this reason.

Industrial Facility Maintenance Workers: Industrial facilities that were roofed with Bird & Son shingles employed maintenance personnel who performed repeated repair and inspection work on those structures over decades. These workers accumulated exposure through recurring contact with disturbed roofing material throughout their careers.

Bystander and Adjacent Trade Workers: On construction sites where roofing work was underway, workers from other trades—including carpenters, electricians, and plumbers—could be exposed to asbestos dust released during shingle cutting and installation nearby.

Diseases associated with occupational asbestos exposure include mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, and pleural diseases including pleural plaques and pleural thickening. These conditions typically have latency periods of ten to fifty years between initial exposure and clinical diagnosis, meaning workers exposed during the peak production years of Bird & Son shingles may be receiving diagnoses today.

Documented Trust Fund / Legal Options

Bird & Son, Inc. no longer operates as a going concern, and its asbestos liabilities are administered through the Bird & Son’s Asbestos Settlement Trust. This trust was established to provide compensation to individuals who were harmed by exposure to asbestos-containing products manufactured by Bird & Son, including its roofing shingles.

Individuals who were diagnosed with a qualifying asbestos-related disease and who can document exposure to Bird & Son asbestos roofing shingles may be eligible to file a claim with this trust. Claims are generally evaluated based on medical documentation of a qualifying diagnosis and evidence of occupational or other direct exposure to Bird & Son products.

Typical claim categories recognized in asbestos trust fund proceedings include:

  • Mesothelioma — the highest-priority claim category, given the disease’s established causal link to asbestos exposure
  • Lung cancer — eligible where asbestos exposure and appropriate occupational history can be documented
  • Asbestosis — a chronic fibrotic lung disease caused by accumulated asbestos fiber inhalation
  • Other asbestos-related conditions — including pleural disease categories recognized under individual trust payment matrices

Filing eligibility generally requires a qualifying diagnosis from a licensed physician, documentation connecting the claimant to Bird & Son products specifically, and occupational or exposure history records. Former workers in roofing, manufacturing, and industrial maintenance trades who handled or worked near Bird & Son asbestos shingles are encouraged to consult with an asbestos attorney experienced in trust fund claims to evaluate their eligibility.

Claims must typically be filed within the statute of limitations applicable in the claimant’s state, which varies but commonly begins running from the date of diagnosis rather than the date of exposure. Legal counsel familiar with asbestos trust fund procedures can assist claimants in gathering the necessary documentation and submitting claims to the Bird & Son’s Asbestos Settlement Trust.