Asbestos Roofing Felts Manufactured by G-I Holdings

Product Description

Roofing felt is a base sheet material installed beneath finished roofing surfaces to provide weatherproofing, structural reinforcement, and a secondary moisture barrier. Historically, roofing felts were produced by saturating or coating fibrous mat substrates with bituminous compounds such as coal tar pitch or asphalt. The resulting product was sold in rolls and applied in overlapping courses across roof decking before the installation of shingles, tiles, membrane systems, or other surface materials.

G-I Holdings, Inc. — formerly operating as GAF Corporation and tracing commercial roots through the General Aniline and Film Corporation lineage — was one of the major producers of roofing materials in the United States throughout much of the twentieth century. The company manufactured asbestos-containing roofing felts from approximately 1928 through 1981, spanning more than five decades of American commercial and residential construction activity. These products were distributed widely and incorporated into building projects across industrial, commercial, and residential sectors throughout that period.

During the years of production, asbestos-reinforced roofing felt was considered a premium building material. Asbestos fibers improved the tensile strength of the felt mat, enhanced fire resistance, and extended the expected service life of the product. Industry standards of the era recognized these performance characteristics, and asbestos-containing felts were specified in many construction documents well into the 1970s.

Asbestos Content

G-I Holdings’ roofing felts contained chrysotile asbestos, the most commercially prevalent form of asbestos used in building products during the twentieth century. Chrysotile, sometimes called white asbestos, belongs to the serpentine mineral group and was mined extensively in Canada, the Soviet Union, and other regions before regulatory pressure curtailed its use in the United States.

In roofing felt manufacturing, chrysotile fibers were integrated into the base mat during the wet-lay or dry-lay forming process, creating a reinforced substrate with improved mechanical properties. The asbestos content provided dimensional stability under thermal cycling and resistance to degradation from moisture exposure — characteristics that made the product attractive for roofing applications where long-term outdoor exposure was expected.

Chrysotile asbestos, when processed and incorporated into manufactured products, generates respirable fibers. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies chrysotile as a known human carcinogen under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA). OSHA’s construction industry standards, codified at 29 C.F.R. § 1926.1101, recognize roofing felts as a product category potentially containing asbestos and establish exposure limits and work practice requirements when such materials are disturbed.

How Workers Were Exposed

Industrial workers involved in the manufacturing, handling, transport, cutting, and installation of G-I Holdings’ asbestos roofing felts faced the greatest documented exposure risks. Fiber release can occur whenever asbestos-containing roofing felt is mechanically disturbed — through cutting, tearing, nailing, abrading, or removal of aged and weathered material.

Manufacturing environments presented continuous exposure conditions. Workers operating felting machines, handling raw chrysotile fiber bales, managing mat-forming lines, and trimming finished roll goods worked in proximity to airborne asbestos dust generated at multiple points in the production process. Industrial hygiene documentation from mid-century manufacturing facilities frequently shows that fiber controls in such environments were inadequate by modern standards.

Installation activities generated fiber release whenever felt rolls were cut to length on job sites. Workers using utility knives, roofing shears, or snips to trim felt to fit roof geometries, valleys, and penetrations could disturb the asbestos-laden substrate. The act of driving nails through felt — whether by hammer or pneumatic nailer — also had the potential to fracture the mat and release fibers at the point of penetration.

Removal and abatement work presented significant exposure hazards, particularly as buildings constructed during the 1928–1981 production window aged and required reroofing. Tearing up old roofing assemblies — a process that frequently involves prying, scraping, and mechanically breaking apart layers of aged roofing material — can release substantially elevated fiber concentrations. Weathered and degraded asbestos-containing felts may shed fibers more readily than intact material, compounding the hazard.

Workers in adjacent trades and bystanders on construction sites could also encounter airborne fibers released by roofing operations without direct participation in the work itself. Industrial workers generally employed at facilities where these felts were manufactured, stored, or used in large quantities represent a recognized exposure population.

G-I Holdings, Inc. does not currently maintain an established asbestos bankruptcy trust fund from which claimants may seek compensation through a formal administrative process. As a result, legal claims related to asbestos exposure from G-I Holdings roofing felts have proceeded primarily through civil litigation in state and federal courts.

Litigation records document that plaintiffs have brought personal injury and wrongful death claims against G-I Holdings and related corporate entities alleging asbestos-related illness caused by exposure to their roofing and building materials products. Plaintiffs alleged that G-I Holdings knew or should have known of the health hazards associated with chrysotile asbestos in its products, and that the company failed to provide adequate warnings to workers who handled or were otherwise exposed to those materials.

Plaintiffs alleged injuries including mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, and other asbestos-caused conditions. Litigation records document that cases have been filed in multiple jurisdictions across the United States, with outcomes varying by venue, individual exposure history, and the specific claims asserted.

Individuals who may have legal options include:

  • Industrial workers employed in the manufacture of G-I Holdings roofing felts between 1928 and 1981
  • Workers who installed, handled, or removed asbestos roofing felts in commercial or industrial settings
  • Workers who experienced occupational exposure in facilities where these products were stored or processed in bulk
  • Family members of exposed workers who may have experienced secondary or take-home exposure

Because no asbestos trust fund exists for G-I Holdings claims, individuals must pursue compensation through direct civil litigation against the company or, where applicable, through claims against other responsible parties’ trusts if secondary exposures to other asbestos-containing products are documented.

Statute of limitations rules vary significantly by state and typically begin running from the date of diagnosis rather than the date of exposure. Given that asbestos-related diseases frequently have latency periods of 20 to 50 years, individuals diagnosed today may still have actionable claims arising from workplace exposures that occurred decades in the past.

Anyone who developed mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease after occupational contact with G-I Holdings roofing felts or similar asbestos-containing roofing products should consult with an attorney experienced in asbestos litigation to evaluate their legal options and applicable deadlines.