Product Description

Johns-Manville Transite was through the mid-20th century the dominant U.S. asbestos-cement pipe product line, marketed under the “Transite” trademark and manufactured at Johns-Manville asbestos-cement plants across the United States. Transite was supplied in two principal product families and was specified by U.S. water utilities, municipal sewer authorities, HVAC contractors, and building owners across every U.S. region during the documented production era:

  • Transite Pressure Pipe — asbestos-cement pressure pipe for potable-water distribution mains, industrial process water, and low-pressure fluid transmission; supplied in Class 100, Class 150, and Class 200 pressure ratings with rubber-ring or Ring-Tite bell-and-spigot joints
  • Transite Non-Pressure Pipe — asbestos-cement pipe for sanitary and storm sewer, HVAC flue and combustion-air venting, Class-1 gas venting, and industrial drain service

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that Johns-Manville Transite asbestos-cement pipe was manufactured with chrysotile asbestos fiber at approximately 15-20% by weight compounded into a Portland-cement matrix, and that Transite released respirable chrysotile fibers during multiple documented worker-exposure pathways:

  • Field cutting with abrasive saws and metal files during trench installation when pipefitters cut Transite pipe to length to fit municipal water and sewer runs
  • Machining and finishing of Transite spigot ends and bell interiors to seat rubber-ring joints
  • Grinding, drilling, and tapping of Transite pipe for service saddles, air-vac connections, and hydrant tees
  • Demolition and replacement decades later when aging Transite pipe was excavated, broken up, and hauled out of trench during municipal water and sewer-main replacement programs

Johns-Manville Corporation has been named as a Manufacturer Defendant in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation on an extremely large scale, and Manville’s asbestos liability is channeled through the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust established under Manville’s 1982 Chapter 11 reorganization.

Workers Exposed

  • Water-utility pipefitters installing Transite pressure pipe in municipal water distribution mains
  • Sewer-and-drain installers cutting Transite non-pressure pipe for sanitary and storm sewer runs
  • HVAC installers fitting Transite pipe for flue and combustion-air venting on commercial and institutional buildings
  • Construction workers installing Transite pipe on new-build water, sewer, and drainage systems across the documented era
  • Municipal utility workers at U.S. water and sewer authorities during Transite installation, service, and later replacement programs
  • Demolition workers excavating and breaking up aging Transite pipe during municipal water-main and sewer replacement decades after original installation