Fluid-Tite was a CertainTeed Corporation trade name for asbestos-cement sewer and non-pressure drainage pipe supplied to municipal sewer authorities, sanitary districts, industrial process operators, and site-development contractors across the United States. Plaintiffs have alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that workers who cut, tapped, and broke Fluid-Tite pipe during trench installation, service tie-ins, and repair operations were exposed to respirable chrysotile fibers released from the cement matrix.

Product Description

Fluid-Tite was allegedly the CertainTeed brand designation applied to a line of asbestos-cement non-pressure sewer and drainage pipe. The pipe was manufactured by combining Portland cement with chrysotile asbestos fiber and forming the composite under pressure to produce a dense, corrosion-resistant conduit suited to the aggressive chemistry of raw sewage and industrial effluent.

The product line was allegedly marketed for use in:

  • Sanitary sewer collection mains and trunk lines
  • Storm sewer and stormwater drainage systems
  • Industrial process drainage lines
  • Force mains between lift stations and treatment plants
  • Building sewer laterals from municipal main to structure

Fluid-Tite pipe was allegedly supplied in a range of nominal diameters with matching couplings, sleeves, and reducers. CertainTeed distributed the line through water-works supply houses and utility contractors serving municipal, industrial, and site-development markets.

Workers Exposed

Plaintiffs have alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that the following trades encountered respirable asbestos dust from Fluid-Tite sewer pipe:

  • Sewer pipefitters and plumbers who cut Fluid-Tite pipe to length using abrasive cut-off saws, snap cutters, and hand grinders to fit specific runs and elevations.
  • Utility laborers and trench crews who lowered pipe into open cut, bedded joints, and broke damaged sections with sledges when pipe cracked during handling or backfilling.
  • Water and sewer workers who tapped Fluid-Tite mains for service laterals, drilling into the pipe wall and releasing dry cement-and-fiber dust at the tap.
  • Municipal maintenance mechanics who repaired failed Fluid-Tite sewer mains — cutting out cracked sections, exposing weathered pipe ends, and machining replacement couplings.
  • Site-development and grading contractors’ laborers who installed storm-drainage lines on subdivisions and commercial sites where Fluid-Tite was specified.
  • Demolition and utility-replacement crews who removed abandoned Fluid-Tite sewer mains during infrastructure upgrades, fracturing pipe and generating airborne fiber during handling.

Plaintiffs have alleged that sewer pipe cutting in confined trench conditions concentrated the respirable dust in the workers’ immediate breathing zone, and that dry-cutting practices were common well into the 1970s despite the recognized hazard of asbestos-cement dust.