Asbestos Cement Pipe

In the early 1900s, asbestos cement pipe was first developed by reinforcing concrete with asbestos. Composed of basic raw materials such as asbestos fiber, Portland cement and silica sand, asbestos cement pipe was highly resistant to corrosion, wear, chemical and biological reaction and extremes of temperature and moisture. The asbestos-cement combination also created a pipe relatively light in weight compared to metallic pipe materials.

Utility companies favored asbestos cement pipes because asbestos gave the pipes increased strength, so they could operate under higher pressures. Also, asbestos cement pipe was affordable, durable and easy to handle.

In the 1940s, asbestos cement pipes started to be used for drinking water distribution and wastewater collection systems, and it was estimated to be used in as much as 20 percent of all distribution piping at that time. Associated pipe fitting products (i.e. couplings and ring) were also manufactured from asbestos cement. The primary markets for asbestos cement pipe included the water distribution market, sewer market and irrigation market.

Asbestos can be inhaled once it is disturbed and the microscopic particles are released into the air. There is no safe level of asbestos exposure.

Workers who handled the following types of pipes could have been exposed to asbestos on a daily basis:

• Air duct – for heating and cooling systems
• Building sewer pipe – from house to sewer or septic tank
• Electrical conduit – electrical wire and cable service
• Gas vent pipe – venting gas appliances
• Irrigation pipe – for parks, golf courses, and permanent installation for sprinkler and waste-recovery systems
• Plumbing vent pipe – venting gas and waste lines
• Pressure pipe – water supply and distribution mains
• Sewer pipe – gravity and force mains
• Telephone ducts – telephone wire and cable service
• Vent pipe – ventilation of fumes, dust and gases
• Waste pipe – industrial waste lines

By 1980, it was estimated that more than 2 million miles of A/C pipe were in use worldwide – with more than 300,000 miles in the United States alone. Around this time, many utility companies finally stopped using asbestos cement pipes because of health concerns.

Johns Manville is one company that openly used asbestos for years. Its brand of asbestos boards and pipes, Transite, was created in 1929. The following corporations have been documented as using asbestos in their cement pipes.

• Capco
• CertainTeed
• Flintkote
• J-M Manufacturing Company
• Johns Manville
• Keasbey & Mattison Company
• Kubota Corporation