Marine Panel

Asbestos in Marine Panel and Other Building Materials

Marine board is made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic. Derived from petroleum, it is used as a substitute for wood in the construction of boats. Although it can be made to look like wood and can even be worked and painted like wood (though the material is usually colored), it is far more durable and able to stand up to the often extreme environmental conditions on the water. It also has the distinct advantage of being virtually maintenance-free, unlike wood which has to be continuously painted, varnished, and repaired.

In addition to boat construction, marine board can be used for almost any purpose normally assigned to wood, such as countertops, doors and window frames, and decks. Before most uses of asbestos were banned or abandoned in 1979, asbestos fibers of various types were often incorporated into HDPE and other polymers in order to strengthen the material, and those asbestos-contaminated plastics found their way into marine panel as well as many other commercial, industrial, and maritime products. The most common type of asbestos contamination was "white" asbestos, or chrysotile, which accounted for 97-98% of all commercial asbestos.

Marine Panel Products Containing Asbestos

The following partial list of marine panel products were known to contain asbestos:

Hazards Associated with Marine Panel Products

Bound up in a plastic polymer, the asbestos in HDPE materials such as marine board was not likely to pose a hazard to the end user. However, those who worked in the manufacture of these materials, as well as those working in the boat and building construction trades, were potentially exposed to a much greater degree. Although marine panel is very tough and resilient, it can break or wear out, and boatyard workers dealing with older, broken panels may have been exposed to airborne asbestos fibers as they replaced or repaired these panels.

Sources

Bowker, Michael. Fatal Deception: The Untold Story of Asbestos (New York: Touchstone, 2003)

N/A. "Marine Board." San Diego Plastics Inc. (http://www.sdplastics.com/marine_board.html). Accessed 09 January 2011.