Carey Millboard / Carey Block Insulation / Carey MW-50 Insulating Cement / Carey Insulating Cement

Manufacturer: Celotex Corporation Years Produced: 1906–1972 Asbestos Type: Chrysotile Product Category: Pipe Insulation / Industrial Insulation Legal Status: Trust Fund Available — Celotex Corporation Asbestos Settlement Trust

Product Description

Carey Millboard, Carey Block Insulation, Carey MW-50 Insulating Cement, and Carey Insulating Cement were a family of industrial insulation products manufactured by Celotex Corporation beginning as early as 1906 and continuing through 1972. These products were sold and distributed under the Philip Carey brand, which Celotex Corporation acquired and incorporated into its broader product line. The Carey name became widely recognized across American industry as a reliable source of thermal and acoustic insulation for high-heat industrial environments.

Carey Millboard was a rigid, flat insulating board used in applications requiring a durable, heat-resistant barrier. Carey Block Insulation was manufactured in molded block and sectional pipe-covering configurations, designed to fit around pipes, boilers, and equipment carrying superheated steam or high-temperature fluids. Carey MW-50 Insulating Cement and Carey Insulating Cement were trowelable, paste-form products applied wet and dried in place to irregular surfaces, fittings, flanges, valve bodies, and pipe joints that could not be covered by pre-formed sections.

Together, these products served a broad range of industries throughout the twentieth century, including power generation, petroleum refining, chemical processing, shipbuilding, and heavy manufacturing. Their thermal performance, workability, and relatively low cost made them standard-specification materials across industrial construction and maintenance projects for most of the first half of the twentieth century. Celotex Corporation continued production of asbestos-containing Carey insulation products until 1972, when mounting regulatory pressure and emerging litigation began reshaping the industrial insulation market.

Asbestos Content

All four products in the Carey insulation line — Millboard, Block Insulation, MW-50 Insulating Cement, and Insulating Cement — contained chrysotile asbestos as a primary functional ingredient. Chrysotile, sometimes called white asbestos, was the most widely used form of asbestos in American manufacturing. Its long, flexible fibers bonded readily with binders and cement matrices, and its heat resistance made it well suited for products designed to withstand sustained high temperatures.

In rigid products such as Carey Millboard and Carey Block Insulation, chrysotile fibers were combined with binders and fillers to create a dense, formed material that could be cut, scored, and shaped to fit around pipes and equipment. The fiber content was sufficient to provide meaningful thermal performance across a wide range of operating temperatures.

In the cement products — Carey MW-50 Insulating Cement and Carey Insulating Cement — chrysotile was mixed into a wet slurry or paste. Workers applied these cements by trowel or by hand, pressing them into place and smoothing them over irregular surfaces. Once dried and cured, the cement formed a hard, heat-resistant shell. The asbestos fibers, however, remained bound within the hardened product and were released when the cured cement was disturbed during repair, replacement, or demolition work.

Celotex Corporation’s product documentation, trust fund eligibility records, and historical industrial specifications confirm the presence of chrysotile asbestos in the Carey insulation product line across the years of manufacture.

How Workers Were Exposed

Industrial workers in a wide range of trades and settings encountered Carey insulation products throughout their working careers. Exposure occurred at multiple stages of a product’s lifecycle, from initial installation through routine maintenance and eventual removal.

During installation, workers cut Carey Millboard and Carey Block Insulation to size using hand saws, knives, and mechanical cutting tools. These cutting operations generated visible clouds of asbestos-laden dust that settled on workers’ clothing, skin, and hair and remained suspended in the air of enclosed work areas. Workers handling cement products mixed dry or pre-mixed Carey Insulating Cement and MW-50 by hand or with mixing tools, releasing fibers before the product was ever applied to a surface.

During the application of Carey Insulating Cement and MW-50, workers applied wet product by trowel or by hand in close proximity to the treated surface. As the cement dried, surface cracking and finishing work generated additional fiber release. Workers who applied finish coatings or who sanded and shaped dried cement surfaces experienced particularly concentrated exposure.

Maintenance and repair work created some of the most hazardous exposure conditions. Insulation that had been in service for years became brittle and friable, meaning it could be reduced to powder by ordinary hand pressure. Pipefitters, millwrights, boilermakers, and other maintenance trades who removed or disturbed aged Carey insulation to access underlying equipment did so in conditions that generated high concentrations of airborne asbestos fiber. In many industrial facilities, this type of work was performed in confined or poorly ventilated spaces, with no respiratory protection.

Bystander exposure was also well documented across industrial settings. Workers in adjacent trades — electricians, painters, laborers, and others — who were present in work areas where Carey products were being cut, applied, or removed were exposed to asbestos fibers without directly handling the material themselves.

Celotex Corporation manufactured these products during a period when the health hazards of asbestos were known within the industry but not consistently communicated to the workers who used them. Many workers who handled Carey insulation products regularly throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s did so without adequate warning or protective equipment.

Documented Trust Fund / Legal Options

Celotex Corporation filed for bankruptcy protection as a result of the volume of asbestos personal injury claims brought against it. As part of that bankruptcy resolution, the Celotex Corporation Asbestos Settlement Trust was established to compensate individuals who suffered asbestos-related diseases as a result of exposure to Celotex products, including the full range of Carey-branded insulation products.

The Celotex Corporation Asbestos Settlement Trust accepts claims from individuals diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases including mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, and other asbestos-related conditions. Claimants who can document exposure to Carey Millboard, Carey Block Insulation, Carey MW-50 Insulating Cement, or Carey Insulating Cement manufactured by Celotex Corporation are eligible to file claims directly with the trust.

Filing eligibility requires documentation of:

• A confirmed diagnosis of a qualifying asbestos-related disease
• A history of occupational or other exposure to Carey-brand Celotex insulation products
• General employment or site history placing the claimant in proximity to the product during the years of manufacture and distribution (1906–1972)

Typical compensable claim categories recognized by the trust include mesothelioma claims, lung cancer claims with documented asbestos exposure history, asbestosis and diffuse pleural disease claims, and other asbestos-related conditions as defined under the trust’s distribution procedures.

Individuals who believe they were exposed to Carey Millboard, Carey Block Insulation, Carey MW-50 Insulating Cement, or Carey Insulating Cement, and who have received a qualifying diagnosis, should consult a qualified asbestos attorney to evaluate their eligibility and prepare a trust fund claim. Claims filed with the Celotex Corporation Asbestos Settlement Trust do not require active litigation and are processed according to the trust’s established claims procedures. Filing deadlines and procedural requirements apply, and timely action is important to preserving eligibility.