Aerogun Spray Refractory by NARCO (National Refractories & Minerals / North American Refractories Company)
Aerogun spray refractory was a high-temperature industrial lining material manufactured by North American Refractories Company (NARCO) and distributed for use in furnaces, kilns, boilers, and other high-heat industrial equipment during the 1970s. Workers who applied, maintained, or worked near this product during its production years may have sustained occupational asbestos exposure. The North American Refractories Company Asbestos PI Trust was established to compensate eligible claimants, and direct filing against that trust remains an available legal remedy.
Product Description
Aerogun spray refractory was produced by NARCO — North American Refractories Company — between approximately 1971 and 1979. The product was engineered as a spray-applied castable refractory material, meaning it could be pneumatically projected or gun-applied onto surfaces requiring thermal protection. Spray refractories of this class were widely adopted in heavy industrial environments where lining replacement or repair of high-temperature equipment needed to be accomplished quickly and without the labor-intensive forming required by brick installation.
NARCO was one of the leading refractory manufacturers in the United States during the mid-twentieth century, supplying products to steel mills, glass plants, petrochemical refineries, cement kilns, and other industries that depended on equipment capable of sustaining continuous operation at extreme temperatures. The Aerogun product line was specifically designed for gun application, allowing crews to coat large surface areas of furnace walls, roofs, and floors with a single material that would bond in place and cure under heat.
Like many spray-applied refractory products of its era, Aerogun refractory was formulated to meet demanding performance requirements — including resistance to thermal shock, chemical attack, and mechanical abrasion — during a period when asbestos was a commonly incorporated additive in industrial materials.
Asbestos Content
Refractory products manufactured during the 1960s and 1970s frequently incorporated asbestos fibers as a functional component. Asbestos was added to castable and gunnable refractories because it improved tensile strength, reduced cracking during thermal cycling, and enhanced the overall structural integrity of applied linings. These properties made asbestos-containing formulations commercially attractive to manufacturers competing in the heavy-industry refractory market.
NARCO’s Aerogun spray refractory is documented in trust fund records as an asbestos-containing product. The inclusion of asbestos in spray-applied refractories was consistent with industry-wide practice during the years Aerogun was produced, and NARCO’s product lines from this period have been the subject of asbestos-related claims filed with the North American Refractories Company Asbestos PI Trust. Trust documentation identifies Aerogun refractory as an eligible product for compensation claims.
How Workers Were Exposed
Spray-applied refractory products created exposure conditions that were particularly hazardous because the application process itself generated significant airborne dust. Workers involved in the gunning or spray application of Aerogun refractory mixed dry materials with water and projected the resulting slurry pneumatically onto target surfaces. Dry mixing, loading of hoppers, and the spray process all released fine particulate matter into the air, and in the confined spaces typical of furnace interiors, dust concentrations could become substantial.
Industrial workers in a range of roles encountered Aerogun refractory across its lifecycle:
Application crews who operated gunning equipment and directly handled the dry refractory mix prior to and during spray application faced the highest levels of exposure. The mechanical agitation of dry material, combined with the pressurized spray process, produced dust clouds in enclosed furnace chambers.
Maintenance and repair workers who removed deteriorated or damaged refractory linings during furnace rebuilds and outages disturbed previously applied material, releasing asbestos fibers that had been locked into the hardened lining. Chipping, grinding, and demolition of refractory increased fiber release significantly.
Ironworkers, boilermakers, furnace operators, and other trades personnel working in proximity to refractory installation or repair operations could sustain bystander exposure when dust migrated through shared work areas. Industrial facilities of the 1970s commonly had multiple trades operating simultaneously within the same building or equipment enclosure.
Quality control and inspection personnel who entered furnaces and kilns after lining work was completed may have encountered settled dust and residual airborne fibers before adequate ventilation was established.
OSHA standards governing occupational asbestos exposure were not fully implemented until the mid-1970s, and enforcement and compliance in heavy industrial settings were inconsistent throughout the period when Aerogun refractory was in production. Workers who handled or worked near this product during the 1971–1979 production window were generally not provided with adequate respiratory protection or warned of the hazards associated with asbestos-containing refractory materials.
Asbestos-related diseases including mesothelioma, asbestosis, and asbestos-related lung cancer have long latency periods, typically appearing twenty to fifty years after initial exposure. Industrial workers exposed to Aerogun refractory during the 1970s may only now be receiving diagnoses connected to that occupational exposure.
This article is provided for informational and reference purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Individuals with potential asbestos exposure claims should seek qualified legal counsel.
Documented Product Identification
The following details are drawn from public asbestos litigation records, manufacturer catalog pages, technical manuals, and corporate history materials. Each item reflects the product as documented in those sources.
Corporate context: Formed in 1929 through the merger of several refractory companies including Queen’s Run, Crescent, and Eltra, among others. Owned by Eltra until 1979, then by Allied Signal (Allied) from 1979 to 1986, after which ownership transferred to banks and investors. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.
Brand identification: Narco
Industries served: steel, iron.
North American Refractories Company (Narco) manufactured refractory materials used primarily in high-temperature industrial applications such as steel and iron processing. The company operated approximately eleven manufacturing facilities and a research center in Curwensville, Pennsylvania.