Terrazzo and ceramic-tile setters laid and finished hard floors and walls in schools, hospitals, stores, and public buildings. Their exposure came from the asbestos-containing mastics and adhesives used to set tile and from the dust raised cutting, grinding, and polishing floors — and from working alongside the resilient-flooring and building trades using asbestos materials nearby.
(For workers who laid vinyl-asbestos floor tile and sheet flooring, see floor layers — that trade’s exposure came directly from the asbestos in the tile itself.)
How Terrazzo & Tile Setters Were Exposed
Tile setters spread asbestos-containing mastics and adhesives to bond tile to floors and walls, mixed and troweled setting materials, and cut and ground tile and terrazzo to fit and finish — all dust-generating tasks. Terrazzo workers ground and polished poured floors, and the grinding of aggregate, setting beds, and adjacent asbestos materials produced fine airborne dust in the work area.
The Asbestos Materials — and the Products They Came In
Exposure tracked mainly to setting mastics and adhesives. Each links to products documented in the AsbestosIndex as allegedly asbestos-containing:
Setting mastics & adhesives (troweled to bond tile):
Asbestos floor tile (cut and set alongside terrazzo and ceramic work):
Take-Home Risk to Families
Like other dusty trades, terrazzo and tile setters carried asbestos fibers home on their clothing, skin, and tools — exposing spouses and children who never worked with asbestos. See take-home asbestos exposure.
If you worked as a terrazzo worker or tile setter and were diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease after exposure to asbestos on the job, you may have a legal claim.
Product references reflect allegations documented in publicly filed asbestos litigation. This information is published by an independent media organization — not a law firm — and is educational only. It does not constitute legal advice or provide legal services.