Flexitallic Compressed Asbestos Sheet

Product Description

Flexitallic is a name long associated with industrial sealing technology, and for much of the twentieth century the company manufactured a broad range of gasket and sealing products intended for use in high-temperature, high-pressure industrial environments. Among these products was compressed asbestos sheet — a flat, pliable sheet material supplied in large rolls or cut-to-size blanks that industrial facilities purchased in bulk for fabricating custom gaskets, packing, and sealing components on-site.

Compressed asbestos sheet occupied a central role in the maintenance and operations of refineries, chemical plants, power generation facilities, paper mills, shipyards, and heavy manufacturing operations throughout most of the twentieth century. Because the material could be cut, punched, or shaped by hand using simple tools, it was not only sold pre-formed as finished gaskets but also supplied as raw sheet stock that workers trimmed to fit specific flange connections, valve bodies, pump housings, and pipe joints. This flexibility made compressed asbestos sheet one of the most widely distributed and frequently handled asbestos-containing materials found in industrial settings.

Flexitallic’s compressed asbestos sheet products were marketed under various trade designations and were available in multiple grades, thicknesses, and temperature ratings to match the demands of different service conditions. The material was a standard inventory item in plant maintenance departments and was specified by engineers, procurement officers, and millwrights as a reliable sealing medium across a wide range of process industries. Its commercial availability over many decades meant that workers across generations encountered this product on a routine basis.

Asbestos Content

Compressed asbestos sheet derived its defining mechanical properties from the asbestos fibers incorporated into its structure. The manufacturing process for this category of product typically involved combining asbestos fibers — most commonly chrysotile, though other fiber types including amosite were used in certain grades — with rubber binders, fillers, and processing chemicals. The resulting mixture was calendered or pressed into uniform flat sheets, which were then cured and trimmed to commercial dimensions.

The proportion of asbestos fiber in compressed asbestos sheet products of this type was substantial, often comprising the majority of the material by weight. This high fiber loading was intentional: asbestos provided tensile reinforcement, thermal stability, resistance to chemical attack, and the ability to conform under compressive load to seal irregular mating surfaces. Without asbestos, the product could not perform the sealing functions for which it was specified.

Litigation records document that compressed asbestos sheet products, including those manufactured by Flexitallic, contained asbestos as a primary constituent material. Plaintiffs alleged that the asbestos content of these sheets was sufficient to generate airborne fiber concentrations capable of causing serious disease when the material was cut, punched, ground, or otherwise disturbed during normal industrial use.

How Workers Were Exposed

Exposure to asbestos fibers from Flexitallic compressed asbestos sheet occurred across the full range of activities associated with the product’s use in industrial settings. The nature of compressed asbestos sheet — sold as raw stock intended to be shaped by the end user — meant that industrial workers regularly performed cutting and fabrication operations that generated visible dust and airborne particulate.

Gasket cutting was among the most common exposure activities. Workers using handheld knives, rotary cutters, die punches, or mechanical cutting equipment to fabricate gaskets from sheet stock disturbed the fiber matrix and released asbestos into the breathing zone. When flanged connections required custom profiles, workers traced patterns and cut freehand, often in confined spaces or poorly ventilated maintenance areas.

Litigation records document that workers also experienced exposure during the removal and replacement of existing compressed asbestos sheet gaskets. Gaskets that had been compressed and heat-cycled under service conditions frequently bonded to flange faces and required mechanical scraping, wire brushing, or grinding to clean the mating surfaces for reinstallation. These removal and surface preparation tasks are documented as generating particularly high concentrations of airborne asbestos fiber because the gasket material was degraded and friable after service.

Plaintiffs alleged that workers across numerous industrial trades — including pipefitters, boilermakers, millwrights, maintenance mechanics, refinery operators, and plant utility workers — were routinely exposed to asbestos fibers from compressed asbestos sheet without adequate warning of the associated health hazards and without provision of appropriate respiratory protection. Bystander exposure was also alleged, as other trades working in proximity to gasket fabrication or removal activities could inhale fibers released into shared workspaces.

The chronic, repetitive nature of gasket work meant that many affected workers accumulated exposure over years or decades of employment in facilities that maintained ongoing inventories of compressed asbestos sheet. Litigation records document that industrial workers who routinely handled, cut, or removed this category of product did not receive hazard warnings consistent with the level of risk that internal industry documentation had identified.

Because Flexitallic remains an active, solvent company, claims arising from exposure to its compressed asbestos-containing products are pursued through direct litigation rather than through an asbestos bankruptcy trust fund. Flexitallic has not filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 for the purpose of resolving asbestos liabilities, and no Flexitallic-specific trust fund has been established to process claims on a no-fault basis.

Individuals who developed mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or other asbestos-attributable diseases after working with Flexitallic compressed asbestos sheet may have grounds to pursue civil litigation against the company. Litigation records document that claims against Flexitallic and similar gasket manufacturers have been filed in state and federal courts by plaintiffs alleging that the company knew or should have known of the hazards associated with asbestos-containing sheet products and failed to provide adequate warning to end users.

Plaintiffs alleged in documented cases that Flexitallic and other gasket manufacturers had access to medical and scientific literature establishing the relationship between asbestos fiber inhalation and serious pulmonary disease, and that despite this knowledge, compressed asbestos sheet products were sold without adequate hazard labeling or instructions for safe handling over an extended period.

Workers who believe they were exposed to Flexitallic compressed asbestos sheet should document their occupational history as completely as possible, including the facilities where they worked, the trades they performed, and the specific products they handled or observed being handled. Establishing a detailed product identification record is important for litigation because defendants may contest whether a specific manufacturer’s product was present at a given worksite.

In addition to potential claims against Flexitallic directly, workers with complex exposure histories may also have viable claims against other product manufacturers or facility owners, and — where those entities have established bankruptcy trusts — against asbestos trust funds arising from other defendants in the exposure chain. An attorney with documented experience in asbestos disease litigation can assess the full scope of potentially liable parties given an individual claimant’s work history and medical diagnosis.