Ruberoid Air Cell Pipe Covering (1928–1981)

Manufacturer: GAF Corporation (formerly Ruberoid Company) Product Category: Pipe Covering / Thermal Insulation Years Produced: 1928–1981

Product Description

Ruberoid Air Cell pipe covering was a thermal insulation product manufactured and sold under the Ruberoid brand name for more than five decades. The product was designed to insulate pipes and piping systems in industrial, commercial, and institutional settings, reducing heat loss, controlling surface temperatures, and preventing condensation on cold-water lines. Its name referenced its cellular construction: the covering was engineered to trap air within its structure, enhancing its insulating properties.

The Ruberoid Company had established itself as a major manufacturer of roofing and building materials in the early twentieth century, and its product lines expanded to include pipe covering and other industrial insulation materials as demand grew across American manufacturing and construction sectors. In 1967, GAF Corporation acquired the Ruberoid Company, absorbing its product lines, trademarks, and manufacturing operations. Ruberoid Air Cell pipe covering continued to be produced and sold under GAF’s ownership until the product was phased out in 1981, coinciding with the period during which the asbestos industry faced increasing regulatory scrutiny and litigation pressure.

The product was sold into a wide variety of markets, including power generation facilities, refineries, chemical plants, shipyards, hospitals, schools, and industrial manufacturing sites. Because piping systems are fundamental to virtually every type of large building and industrial operation, Ruberoid Air Cell pipe covering was distributed broadly across the United States throughout its production run.

Asbestos Content

Ruberoid Air Cell pipe covering contained asbestos as a primary component of its insulating matrix. Asbestos was incorporated into pipe covering products of this type because of its well-documented resistance to heat, fire, and chemical degradation, as well as its fibrous structure, which could be processed into flexible, moldable insulating materials suitable for wrapping around pipes of various diameters.

Chrysotile asbestos was the most commonly used fiber type in Ruberoid and GAF insulation products, though other asbestos mineral varieties were also used in the building and insulation industries during this era. In pipe covering applications, asbestos fibers were typically bound together with other materials — including calcium silicate, magnesia, or similar compounds — to create a rigid or semi-rigid product that could be cut, shaped, and secured around pipe sections.

The GAF Corporation Asbestos Settlement Trust, established to resolve asbestos-related claims arising from GAF products including the Ruberoid line, has recognized Ruberoid Air Cell pipe covering as an asbestos-containing product eligible for claims. Trust documentation reflects the company’s manufacturing and distribution of asbestos-containing insulation products throughout the decades covered by this product’s production history.

Regulatory actions taken under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) and OSHA standards have long classified asbestos-containing pipe insulation as a category of material capable of releasing dangerous airborne fibers, particularly when the material is disturbed, cut, removed, or deteriorates with age.

How Workers Were Exposed

Industrial workers across a range of trades and job classifications encountered Ruberoid Air Cell pipe covering throughout its years of production and installation, and many continued to face exposure during later maintenance, repair, and removal operations.

Workers who installed Ruberoid Air Cell pipe covering were among those with the most direct exposure. Installation required cutting sections of the covering to fit specific pipe runs, beveling the ends of sections to create tight joints, and securing the material around pipes before applying a finishing jacket or cement. Each of these steps — particularly cutting and fitting — could generate airborne asbestos dust in the breathing zone of the installer and nearby workers.

Maintenance and repair workers, including pipefitters, boilermakers, and millwrights, frequently disturbed existing pipe covering during routine plant maintenance, equipment repairs, and system upgrades. Older pipe insulation, including Ruberoid Air Cell covering installed in earlier decades, became brittle and friable over time, meaning it could release asbestos fibers with minimal physical disturbance.

Insulation workers, also known as insulators or asbestos workers, were the trade most directly associated with the installation and removal of pipe covering products. However, industrial workers in general — including those who worked in proximity to insulated piping systems in power plants, refineries, shipyards, and manufacturing facilities — could be exposed to asbestos fibers released by deteriorating or disturbed pipe covering without directly handling the material themselves.

Bystander exposure was a consistent finding across litigation and public health research related to asbestos pipe insulation: workers in adjacent trades or working in the same areas as insulators often inhaled fibers released into shared workspaces. OSHA regulations governing asbestos exposure, established and revised beginning in the 1970s, recognized that asbestos insulation removal and disturbance required engineering controls and respiratory protection precisely because of the fiber release potential documented in occupational settings.

This article is provided for informational purposes. It does not constitute legal or medical advice. Individuals seeking compensation for asbestos-related illness should consult a qualified asbestos attorney.