Ultraflor Esteem / Ultraflor Imperial Floor Tile (1978–1980)

Manufacturer: Congoleum Corporation Product Category: Resilient Floor Tile Years Produced: 1978–1980

Product Description

Ultraflor Esteem and Ultraflor Imperial were resilient vinyl floor tiles manufactured by Congoleum Corporation during the late 1970s. Congoleum was one of the largest flooring manufacturers in the United States throughout much of the twentieth century, producing a wide range of residential and commercial flooring products under multiple brand names. The Ultraflor line represented a segment of the company’s product offerings aimed at both institutional and general commercial markets, where durable, low-maintenance floor coverings were in high demand.

Both the Esteem and Imperial variants were sold as part of Congoleum’s broader Ultraflor series, which offered various grades and aesthetics suited to high-traffic environments such as offices, schools, hospitals, and industrial facilities. These tiles were installed in buildings across the country during the late 1970s, a period when asbestos-containing resilient flooring remained widely available despite growing scientific and regulatory awareness of asbestos hazards. The products were distributed through flooring wholesalers, building supply retailers, and commercial flooring contractors operating throughout the United States.

Congoleum Corporation later underwent bankruptcy proceedings related to its asbestos liability, resulting in the establishment of the Congoleum Asbestos PI Trust to compensate individuals harmed by the company’s asbestos-containing products.

Asbestos Content

Ultraflor Esteem and Ultraflor Imperial floor tiles were asbestos-containing products manufactured by Congoleum Corporation. Like many resilient vinyl floor tiles produced during this era, these products incorporated asbestos fibers into their composition as a functional additive. Asbestos was widely used by flooring manufacturers during this period because it provided thermal stability, structural reinforcement, and dimensional consistency in finished tile products.

Asbestos fibers in resilient floor tile were typically bound within the vinyl matrix during the manufacturing process. In an undisturbed and intact state, the fibers remain largely immobilized within that matrix. However, the bound nature of asbestos in floor tile does not eliminate exposure risk. When tiles are cut, sanded, scraped, broken, or subjected to abrasive disturbance — conditions common during installation, renovation, and demolition — the binding matrix is compromised and asbestos fibers can be released into the air as respirable dust.

Under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) and related federal regulations, asbestos-containing floor tile is classified as a regulated asbestos-containing material subject to specific handling, abatement, and disposal requirements. OSHA standards governing occupational asbestos exposure establish permissible exposure limits and mandate protective measures whenever asbestos-containing materials are disturbed in ways likely to release fibers.

How Workers Were Exposed

Workers in a range of trades and industrial settings encountered Ultraflor Esteem and Ultraflor Imperial tiles in conditions that created potential for asbestos fiber release. Industrial workers generally, along with flooring installers, maintenance personnel, construction workers, and demolition laborers, represent the occupational groups most likely to have worked with or around these products under hazardous conditions.

Installation workers were among those with direct and repeated exposure. Cutting vinyl floor tile to fit around corners, fixtures, and irregular surfaces was a routine part of installation. Scoring and snapping or saw-cutting tiles released dust from the tile body, and in asbestos-containing products that dust could carry respirable asbestos fibers. Workers fitting tiles in enclosed spaces — common in commercial and institutional construction — faced concentrated dust conditions with limited ventilation.

Maintenance and janitorial workers in facilities where these tiles were installed faced a different but significant exposure pathway. Buffing, stripping, sanding, and refinishing resilient floor tile surfaces were standard maintenance procedures that abraded the tile surface and could disturb asbestos-containing material. The use of mechanical floor buffers and stripping machines without adequate dust controls created conditions in which asbestos fibers could become airborne.

Renovation and demolition workers encountered Ultraflor tiles in buildings undergoing remodeling or teardown. Removing old floor tile, particularly when tiles were adhered firmly to subfloors and required chipping, scraping, or mechanical removal, generated significant quantities of dust. Workers demolishing structures without prior asbestos abatement — a common occurrence during the period when these tiles were in active use — faced potentially prolonged and unprotected exposure.

Industrial workers generally may have encountered Ultraflor Esteem or Imperial tiles in factory floors, plant facilities, and industrial buildings where Congoleum products were installed. Industrial environments often combined the physical disturbance of flooring materials with other sources of dust and fiber, creating complex exposure scenarios that compounded individual risk.

In many workplaces during this period, neither the hazardous nature of the products nor the need for respiratory protection was communicated to workers. OSHA’s asbestos standards, which were progressively tightened during the late 1970s and 1980s, were not uniformly followed across industries, and workers frequently performed tile work without respirators, protective clothing, or engineering controls sufficient to reduce fiber inhalation.