Roofing Felt & Asphalt Plant Workers — Asbestos Exposure from Industrial Talc
Roofing felt and asphalt-shingle manufacturers used industrial-grade talc as a release agent in asphalt operations — talc prevented finished asphalt products from sticking to processing equipment and to each other in shipment. Talc was applied as a dusting on the surface of newly-cured roofing felt and shingles.
The talc supplied to U.S. roofing manufacturers came from Vanderbilt, Imerys/Luzenac, and other industrial talc producers. Publicly filed litigation has documented asbestos contamination of this material.
Worker exposure at roofing manufacturers
Workers at roofing felt and asphalt-shingle plants handled bulk industrial talc daily in roles including:
- Asphalt operators — running asphalt-saturation lines
- Shingle line workers — operating shingle-cutting and packaging machinery
- Talc applicators — manually or automatically applying talc dust to finished products
- Maintenance workers — cleaning talc accumulations from equipment and floors
- Packaging workers — handling talc-dusted finished products
Major roofing employers
Workers at roofing plants operated by GAF, CertainTeed, Owens Corning, Johns Manville, Tamko, IKO, Atlas Roofing, Malarkey Roofing, and numerous regional roofing manufacturers across the U.S. handled industrial talc as part of their daily work.
Worker rights
If you or a family member worked in this category and has been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease, contact O’Brien Law Firm for a free, confidential case review. The industrial-talc supply-chain mesothelioma case profile is strong — the workers handled bulk asbestos-contaminated talc daily over years, with documented breathing-zone exposure and clear supply-chain back to the talc producer.
Free case evaluation — (314) 936-2956
See also
References reflect what has been alleged or documented in publicly filed asbestos litigation. This information does not constitute a finding of fact or liability.