Roofing Felts Manufactured by G-I Holdings

Product Description

Roofing felts were a foundational component of the American construction and industrial roofing industry for much of the twentieth century. These products—also commonly referred to as roofing underlayment, tar paper, or saturated felt—served as weatherproofing barriers installed beneath surface roofing materials such as shingles, tiles, and built-up roofing membranes. Their primary function was to provide a secondary layer of moisture resistance, protect structural decking during installation, and extend the overall service life of roofing assemblies.

G-I Holdings, through its predecessor and affiliated entities, was a significant manufacturer in the building products sector, producing a range of roofing and construction materials under the GAF brand and through related operations. GAF Corporation—whose successor entity became G-I Holdings—was one of the largest roofing manufacturers in the United States, supplying commercial, industrial, and residential markets across the country for decades. Roofing felts bearing this lineage were distributed broadly throughout American construction, appearing on industrial facilities, commercial buildings, warehouses, and large-scale infrastructure projects.

The company’s involvement in asbestos-containing building products has been the subject of extensive civil litigation. G-I Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2001, citing overwhelming asbestos-related liabilities, making the company’s products a central subject of ongoing legal proceedings rather than a resolved trust fund process.

Asbestos Content

Roofing felts produced by G-I Holdings and its predecessor GAF Corporation were alleged by plaintiffs in litigation to have contained asbestos fibers incorporated into the felt substrate or binding compounds. Asbestos was historically added to roofing felts and saturated roofing papers for several practical reasons: it enhanced tensile strength, improved fire resistance, increased durability under thermal stress, and allowed the felts to better withstand the high temperatures associated with hot-mopped built-up roofing systems.

Asbestos-containing roofing felts were generally manufactured by blending mineral fibers—including chrysotile and, in some formulations, amphibole varieties—into a base mat of organic or inorganic fibers, which was then saturated with asphalt or coal tar compounds. The resulting product was typically sold in rolls and used in single-ply or multi-ply roofing assemblies.

Litigation records document that G-I Holdings and GAF Corporation manufactured and distributed roofing felts that contained asbestos during portions of the mid-to-late twentieth century, though the precise years of production and the specific asbestos content percentages associated with individual product lines are established through discovery materials, internal corporate documents, and witness testimony developed in the context of individual lawsuits rather than through a centralized trust fund disclosure process.

How Workers Were Exposed

Exposure to asbestos from roofing felts occurred primarily through the handling, cutting, tearing, and application of these materials in the field. Industrial workers generally represent the documented exposure population for G-I Holdings roofing felt products, encompassing a broad range of trades and occupational settings.

Cutting and Trimming: Roofing felts were routinely cut to size on the job site using utility knives, snips, or mechanical cutters. Plaintiffs alleged that this activity released asbestos fibers into the breathing zone of workers performing the cuts, as well as bystanders in the immediate area.

Dry Laying and Mechanically Fastening: When roofing felts were unrolled and nailed or stapled to roof decking, the manipulation of the material—including tearing, folding, and overlapping seams—was alleged to generate airborne fiber release under certain conditions.

Hot-Mopping Operations: Built-up roofing systems required multiple plies of felt to be mopped with hot asphalt or coal tar pitch. Litigation records document allegations that the heating process, combined with mechanical embedding of the felt into hot bitumen, could cause the release of asbestos fibers from the felt substrate, particularly at seams, edges, and areas of overlap where fibers were exposed or disturbed.

Removal and Demolition: Industrial workers engaged in the tear-off of existing roofing systems faced potentially significant asbestos exposure. Aged roofing felts, dried and weathered over years of service, could become friable—meaning the material could be crumbled by hand pressure—and release fibers during mechanical removal using pry bars, shovels, and similar tools.

Bystander and Maintenance Exposure: Workers performing other trades on the same job site—pipefitters, electricians, boilermakers, and general laborers—could be exposed to asbestos fibers released by nearby roofing operations. Maintenance workers who later accessed roofs containing installed G-I Holdings or GAF roofing felts may also have disturbed aged materials in the course of routine inspections, repairs, or equipment installation.

OSHA standards codified in 29 C.F.R. § 1926.1101 recognize roofing operations involving asbestos-containing materials as a category of regulated activity requiring specific hazard controls, reflecting the agency’s documented concern about fiber release during roofing work.

Documented Trust Fund / Legal Options

G-I Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2001. Unlike many other major asbestos defendants who emerged from bankruptcy with a confirmed reorganization plan and an established Section 524(g) asbestos trust, G-I Holdings’ bankruptcy proceedings were prolonged and contested over issues including the company’s financial relationship with its parent, Samuel Heyman’s holding company. As a result, no active, independent asbestos personal injury trust fund has been established for G-I Holdings claims in the manner seen with companies such as Johns-Manville or Armstrong World Industries.

Individuals who developed mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or other asbestos-related diseases following occupational exposure to G-I Holdings or GAF roofing felts have historically pursued compensation through direct civil litigation in state and federal courts. Plaintiffs alleged that G-I Holdings and its predecessors knew or should have known of the hazards associated with asbestos-containing roofing products and failed to adequately warn workers of those risks.

Potential legal options for affected workers and their families include:

  • Direct litigation against G-I Holdings successor entities or related corporate defendants, subject to applicable state statutes of limitations and bankruptcy court proceedings
  • Claims against other manufacturer trusts if a claimant was also exposed to asbestos-containing products made by other companies that have established Section 524(g) trusts—roofing workers commonly encountered multiple asbestos-containing products on job sites
  • Workers’ compensation claims in jurisdictions where occupational disease benefits cover asbestos-related illness
  • Consultation with an asbestos attorney experienced in navigating both bankruptcy court proceedings and multi-defendant civil litigation, who can evaluate the full exposure history and identify all potentially compensable claims

Workers who believe they were exposed to G-I Holdings or GAF roofing felts—or their surviving family members—should document all employment history, job sites, and exposure circumstances and seek legal counsel promptly, as statutes of limitations vary by state and disease type and begin running at the time of diagnosis.