High Temp Insulating Cement (W.R. Grace)

Product Description

High Temp Insulating Cement was a refractory insulation product manufactured by W.R. Grace and Company and sold commercially from approximately 1945 through 1971. Designed for use in extreme-heat industrial environments, the cement was formulated to withstand the sustained elevated temperatures found in furnaces, kilns, boilers, and other high-temperature processing equipment. Its primary application was as a bonding, patching, and finishing material applied over refractory brick, castable refractories, and metal surfaces that required thermal insulation and protection from heat damage.

The product was marketed to a broad range of industrial sectors, including steel mills, chemical processing plants, power generation facilities, paper mills, and petroleum refineries—anywhere that industrial processes demanded durable, heat-resistant insulation materials. As a cement-type product, it was typically supplied in dry or wet mix form and applied by workers directly to surfaces using trowels, brushes, or by hand. Once cured, the material formed a rigid, lightweight insulating layer capable of maintaining structural integrity at high operating temperatures.

W.R. Grace and Company was one of the major specialty chemical and construction materials companies in the United States during this period, with a broad product portfolio that included numerous asbestos-containing formulations. High Temp Insulating Cement was among the company’s refractory-grade offerings produced during the postwar industrial expansion, when demand for heat-resistant building and insulation materials was substantial.

Asbestos Content

High Temp Insulating Cement contained chrysotile asbestos as a primary component of its formulation. Chrysotile, sometimes called “white asbestos,” is a serpentine-form mineral fiber that was widely used in refractory and insulation products throughout the mid-twentieth century because of its heat resistance, tensile strength, and binding properties. In cement-type formulations, asbestos fibers served a structural function, reinforcing the cured material and helping it withstand thermal cycling without cracking or crumbling.

Chrysotile asbestos has been classified as a Group 1 human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Regulatory agencies including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have established that no safe level of asbestos exposure has been identified. OSHA’s current permissible exposure limit (PEL) for asbestos is 0.1 fibers per cubic centimeter of air over an eight-hour time-weighted average, a standard that did not exist during the decades when High Temp Insulating Cement was being actively produced and applied.

Litigation records document that W.R. Grace manufactured and sold asbestos-containing products, including refractory cements, with knowledge of the potential health hazards associated with asbestos fibers during a period when such hazards were not disclosed to workers or consumers.

How Workers Were Exposed

Industrial workers who handled, mixed, applied, or worked in proximity to High Temp Insulating Cement faced potential exposure to airborne chrysotile asbestos fibers throughout the product’s years of production and use. Because this product was a cement formulation, exposure pathways were particularly varied and could occur across multiple stages of a workday.

Workers who mixed dry formulations of the cement from bulk bags or containers would have generated significant quantities of airborne dust during the blending process. The handling of dry asbestos-containing powder—pouring, scooping, or agitating the material—is recognized as one of the higher-exposure activities associated with asbestos cement products, as fine fibers can remain suspended in the air for extended periods.

Application work also created exposure opportunities. Troweling, brushing, or otherwise working the wet cement onto surfaces could release fibers, particularly if the material was disturbed, spread over large areas, or applied in enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces such as furnace interiors, boiler rooms, or industrial ovens. Workers applying material inside enclosed kilns or furnace chambers faced especially confined conditions where fiber concentrations could accumulate without adequate air movement to disperse them.

Once cured, the cement remained a potential exposure source whenever maintenance, repair, or demolition activities were required. Chipping away old insulating cement to prepare surfaces for reapplication, grinding or cutting cured material, or breaking apart aged refractory linings would release previously bound fibers back into the breathing zone of nearby workers. Maintenance trades working in facilities where High Temp Insulating Cement had been installed over prior decades may have encountered deteriorated or friable material that released fibers with minimal disturbance.

Plaintiffs alleged in litigation that workers were not provided with adequate warnings about the asbestos content of this product or the health risks associated with fiber inhalation, and that appropriate respiratory protective equipment was not supplied or required during application and maintenance work.

The diseases associated with occupational asbestos exposure—including mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, and other asbestos-related conditions—can have latency periods of 20 to 50 years between initial exposure and clinical diagnosis, meaning workers exposed to High Temp Insulating Cement during the product’s production run may only be experiencing disease-related symptoms in recent decades.

High Temp Insulating Cement is a Tier 2 litigated product. There is no dedicated asbestos bankruptcy trust fund established specifically for claims arising from this product. Individuals diagnosed with asbestos-related disease who believe their illness is linked to exposure to W.R. Grace’s High Temp Insulating Cement should understand the legal landscape that applies to their situation.

Civil Litigation: Litigation records document that W.R. Grace has been a defendant in asbestos personal injury litigation. Plaintiffs alleged that the company was aware of the health hazards posed by its asbestos-containing products and failed to provide adequate warnings or take steps to protect workers and consumers. Claims arising from exposure to W.R. Grace products may be pursued through the civil court system, where plaintiffs can seek compensatory and, in some jurisdictions, punitive damages.

W.R. Grace Bankruptcy Proceedings: W.R. Grace and Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2001, in part due to liabilities arising from asbestos litigation. The company emerged from bankruptcy in 2014 following the establishment of the WRG Asbestos PI Trust, which was created to address personal injury claims related to asbestos exposure from W.R. Grace products. Individuals with documented asbestos-related disease potentially linked to Grace products should consult with an asbestos attorney to determine whether their exposure history and diagnosis may make them eligible to file a claim with the WRG Asbestos PI Trust or pursue litigation through other available channels.

Employer and Third-Party Claims: Workers exposed to High Temp Insulating Cement at industrial facilities may also have potential claims against facility owners, general contractors, or other manufacturers whose products contributed to their asbestos exposure. A thorough occupational and exposure history is essential to identifying all potentially responsible parties.

Anyone diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related condition who has a history of working with refractory cements or in industrial environments where such products were used should consult a qualified asbestos litigation attorney to evaluate their legal options.

This article is provided for informational purposes and documents publicly available product and litigation history. It does not constitute legal advice.