Product Description
Presstite Engineering Company of St. Louis, Missouri manufactured industrial sealants, mastics, caulking compounds, and preformed strip-sealant tapes — including the Permagum sealant-tape line — for construction, glazing, automotive, and appliance assembly applications. Following its acquisition, the operation continued as the Presstite Division of Inmont Corporation, which manufactured sealant and tape products at the St. Louis plant into the 1970s.
According to records produced in publicly filed asbestos litigation, raw asbestos fiber was allegedly sold to Presstite Engineering as a compounding ingredient across the 1950s, with supplier ledgers documenting repeated shipments of milled chrysotile fiber grades to the St. Louis operation. Sealant and mastic compounding of that era commonly used asbestos fiber as a reinforcing and bodying filler.
Where Exposure Allegedly Occurred
- Compounding and mixing floors — workers allegedly charged mixers with powdered raw materials, generating visible dust in the compounding areas of the St. Louis plant.
- Production and packing lines — production workers, including a substantially female packing workforce, allegedly handled finished tape and sealant products packed by the coil and carton.
- End users — glaziers, sealant applicators, and assembly workers who extruded, cut, or smoothed asbestos-containing sealant products.
These entries are allegations drawn from litigation records, not adjudicated findings.