Owens-Illinois, Inc.
Between 1947 and 1958, Owens-Illinois manufactured a line of pipe and boiler insulation under the brand name Kaylo, which it sold to Owens Corning in 1958. Owens-Illinois improved the fire-proofing properties of Kaylo insulation by adding asbestos fibers to the product, which placed thousands of Owens-Illinois workers at risk of asbestos exposure and serious asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma and asbestosis.
Early History of Owens-Illinois
Owens-Illinois was formed in 1929 as a result of a merger between the Owens Bottle Company and the Illinois Glass Company, two competing glass container manufacturers at the time. In its early days, the company was called the Owens-Illinois Glass Company and was one of the first companies to mass-produce glass bottles and jars for commercial use.
During the Great Depression, the company's experiments with glass filaments led to the invention of fiberglass, which the company marketed by joining forces with competitor Corning Glass to create Owens Corning Fiberglass in 1938. Owens-Illinois continued to own a large share of the new enterprise until a 1949 antitrust ruling forced them to take Owens Corning public.
Owens-Illinois and the Kaylo Asbestos Controversy
While Owens-Illinois was well-known for its glass production, the company also established itself in 1948 as a producer of high temperature calcium silicate insulation material for use on pipes and boilers. The material, known as Kaylo, soon became the most popular insulation material used during the post-World War II housing boom. Unfortunately, asbestos was added to Kaylo to give the material added tensile strength and resistance to fire and corrosion. Kaylo was known to contain about 15 percent asbestos. The addition of asbestos to Kaylo insulation created a serious safety hazard to workers in Owens-Illinois factories and also to Kaylo insulation installers, pipefitters, plumbers and boiler workers.
Shockingly, the health risks associated with asbestos were not a mystery to Owens-Illinois and were largely ignored. In November 1948, the director of research for Owens-Illinois, A. J. Vorwald of Saranac Laboratories, conducted tests on guinea pigs using Kaylo dust. After the guinea pigs were exposed to the asbestos-containing dust for more than 30 months, he found "unmistakable evidence of asbestosis…showing that Kaylo on inhalation is capable of producing asbestosis and must be regarded as a potentially-hazardous material."
Despite Vorwald's warning to the company about the serious health risks associated with Kaylo insulation, Owens-Illinois largely ignored the research. In December 1952, a company memo about Kaylo insulation stated, "There is no danger of developing asbestosis with normal handling of Kaylo products." The memo went on to say that, "Experience in the factories…and research findings have proven that normal handling of Kaylo products is safe from a health standpoint."
Asbestos continued to be used in Kaylo products until 1972, when the product line was controlled by Owens Corning Fiberglas Company. Workers in Kaylo factories often did not wear protective equipment and were exposed to airborne asbestos fibers daily in the workplace, which increases the risk of serious asbestos-related diseases which can develop 20 to 50 years after exposure. Many homes and structures today may still contain Kaylo insulation, as the material was widely used from the late 1940s through the mid-1970s in home construction.
Owens-Illinois and Asbestos Litigation
The first lawsuits against Owens-Corning were filed in 1981, and by 1997, Owens-Illinois had been forced to settle with an estimated 210,000 asbestos plaintiffs.
Owens-Illinois continues to be a defendant in asbestos-related litigation. On March 11, 2011, an Illinois jury awarded mesothelioma patient Charles Gillenwater a total of $90 million in damages against Owens-Illinois, Honeywell International Inc., Pneumo Abex and John Crane Inc. In the 1970s, Gillenwater had been employed on a variety of construction sites as a pipefitter. Gillenwater alleged that the named companies used asbestos in their product lines despite evidence of its health risks, conspiring to conceal information about those health risks from employees and customers.
Many workers who were exposed to asbestos insulation labored in tightly-enclosed settings, which increased their likelihood of inhaling microscopic asbestos fibers. Actions such as cutting pipes or sanding the insulation increased this health risk even further.
Finding Help
If you or a loved one had contact with Kaylo insulation or other asbestos-containing products, you may wish to find out more information about potential asbestos exposure and other health concerns. Please call a Patient Advocate at (800) 615-2270 or fill out the form on this page. Symptoms of asbestos-related diseases may not appear until 20 to 50 after exposure to asbestos has already occurred, and individuals who are experiencing any symptoms of respiratory problems should contact their doctor immediately to determine the cause.
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© 2012 The Mesothelioma Center |
Last Modified Thursday, February 9th, 2012 | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy |
The information provided by The Mesothelioma Center is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Sponsored by a law firm concentrating in asbestos litigation, The Peterson Firm, LLP with offices at 1350 Connecticut Ave, NW, Fifth Floor, Washington DC 20036.
