Textile workers were among the most heavily exposed of all asbestos trades. Raw asbestos fiber was carded, spun, twisted, and woven into cloth, tape, rope, yarn, and cord — and every one of those steps put dry fiber directly into the worker’s breathing zone. Both the mill hands who made asbestos textiles and the tradespeople who later cut and installed them were exposed to products allegedly made with asbestos.

How Textile Workers Were Exposed

In an asbestos-textile plant, bales of raw fiber were opened and fed into carding machines that combed the fiber into a web — a famously dusty operation. Spinning frames drew the carded fiber into yarn; looms wove the yarn into cloth and tape; and braiding machines twisted it into rope and packing. Sweeping, bagging, and hauling the finished goods stirred up still more dust. Workers spent full shifts in this haze, often for entire careers, with little or no respiratory protection. Downstream, the woven goods were shipped to shipyards, refineries, and power plants, where insulators and pipefitters cut asbestos cloth and tape to lag pipe and wrap joints — carrying the exposure well beyond the mill.

The Asbestos Materials — and the Products They Came In

Exposure tracked to woven and braided asbestos goods and the machines that made them. Each links to products documented in the AsbestosIndex as allegedly asbestos-containing:

Woven asbestos cloth & tape — carded, spun, and woven at the mill; cut and installed downstream:

Asbestos rope, yarn & cord — braided and twisted on the twisting frames:

Protective textiles & garments — worn by the workers themselves:

Textile-machinery components — asbestos-packed bearings and seals on the spinning and calendering equipment:

Browse the full Textiles and Gaskets & Packing categories for more.

Take-Home Risk to Families

Textile-mill dust settled deep into workers’ clothing and hair. Fibers rode home at the end of every shift, exposing spouses and children who never set foot in the plant — often through the laundry. See take-home asbestos exposure.

If you worked in an asbestos-textile mill or handled asbestos cloth, tape, rope, or yarn on the job, and you were diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease after that exposure, 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.