Asbestos Spray
Asbestos in Spray-on Insulation and Other Building Materials
Spray-on insulation became very popular starting in the mid-20th century. The most widely known spray-on product was manufactured by the W.R. Grace Corporation, and was known as Monokote®. While this product is still on the market today, gypsum serves as the primary flame retardant. As recently as 2007, however, W.R. Grace was still legally able to include up to 1% asbestos fiber in its products.
Before the early 1980s, Monokote and similar products could contain anywhere between 5% and 50% asbestos fiber, depending on the product. In the late 1960s as the World Trade Center in New York City was being constructed, large amounts of white asbestos spray-on insulation was applied to the structure.
The use of asbestos in the construction of those towers affected first responders and rescue workers when they (along with Building No. 7 some distance away, several hours later) collapsed as a result of a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. Many of these workers continue to have serious respiratory conditions as a result of their exposure that day.
The most common asbestos disease resulting from exposure to the main ingredient in Monokote is asbestosis. However, all forms of asbestos have at least some connection to the even more serious disease mesothelioma, as well as other dangerous or even lethal conditions like pleural plaques and lung cancer. In 2004, medical researchers found strong evidence that exposure to asbestos fibers can also cause auto-immune diseases such as multiple sclerosis.
Asbestos Spray Products Containing Asbestos
The following partial list of asbestos spray products were known to contain asbestos:
| Product Name | Start Year | End Year |
|---|---|---|
| AC & S Armaspray | 1966 | 1969 |
| AC & S Limpet Spray | 1958 | 1974 |
| Armstrong Armaspray | ||
| Kaiser Gypsum K-Spray Ceiling Texture | 1961 | 1975 |
| Keene Mono-Spray | 1963 | 1970 |
| Keene Pyrospray | 1963 | 1971 |
| Keene Pyrospray “S” | 1963 | 1971 |
| National Gypsum Gold Bond Spray Quick | ||
| National Gypsum Gold Bond Spray Quick A | ||
| National Gypsum Gold Bond Sprayolite | ||
| National Gypsum Gold Bond Velvet White Super Spray | ||
| National Gypsum Perfect Spray | ||
| National Gypsum Sprayed “Limpet” Asbestos | ||
| Turner & Newall Limpet Spray | 1930 | 1963 |
| United States Gypsum Super Hard Spray | ||
| United States Mineral Cafco Spray | ||
| United States Mineral J Spray | ||
| W.R. Grace Gun Coat Spray Surfacer | ||
| W.R. Grace Perltex Super 40 Perlite | 1968 | 1974 |
| W.R. Grace Perltex Super-40 Fog | 1968 | |
| W.R. Grace Perltex Super-40 Polycoarse | 1968 | 1973 |
| W.R. Grace Perltex Super-40 SAV | 1968 | 1974 |
| W.R. Grace Spra-Wyt | ||
| W.R. Grace Zonolite Mono-Kote | 1958 | 1962 |
| W.R. Grace Zonolite Spra-Insulation | 1959 | 1973 |
| W.R. Grace Zonolite Spra-Tex | 1955 | 1972 |
| W.R. Grace Zonolite Super 40 | 1968 | 1974 |
Hazards Associated with Asbestos Spray Products
Workers who installed spray-on asbestos products, often without any effective safety equipment, are at high risk today of developing asbestos-related conditions. Even more at risk are the men and women who worked in asbestos mines, and the workers who worked directly with asbestos fibers in the processing plants that produced products like Monokote. Among workers who did not work directly with asbestos spray insulation, maintenance workers, sheetrock workers, framers, and other construction trades are at high risk of asbestos exposure, as are demolition workers and anyone entering an asbestos-contaminated building that is being torn down. When buildings with this form of asbestos contamination burn or are torn down, the asbestos fibers can easily become damaged, enter the atmosphere and be breathed in by workers in the area.
Sources
Bowker, Michael. Fatal Deception: The Untold Story of Asbestos (New York: Touchstone, 2003)
N/A. "Asbestos Linked to Autoimmune Diseases." Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 113 (2004)
