Insulators are employed in many fields and are responsible for installing and replacing insulation material to control and maintain the temperature. Exposure to asbestos insulation is a significant health hazard for insulation workers in older residential and industrial settings.
Written by Sean Marchese, MS, RN | Scientifically Reviewed by Arti Shukla | Edited by Walter Pacheco | Last Update:
Asbestos-Related Disease Risk:
Extremely High
States with Highest Employment:
Texas, California, New York, Florida, Illinois
Tradespeople known as insulators had constant exposure to asbestos-laden materials, putting them at risk of developing mesothelioma. Insulators worked directly with asbestos products, installing, repairing and removing insulation on pipes, boilers and ducts. They cut, sanded or tore asbestos materials to size. Pipe coverers and laggers were other common names for workers who did this job, and they worked in shipyards, refineries, power plants, factories and office buildings.
These actions created clouds of dust. Workers inhaled asbestos fibers as they became airborne. The materials appeared harmless, and many didn’t use any protective gear. As a result, according to one Swedish study, insulators developed pleural mesothelioma at more than 10 times the rate of the general population.
The height of asbestos use was before 1980, but legacy asbestos remains a threat today. Insulators may find themselves exposed while working in older buildings, often without proper testing and remediation of materials. Not only can insulators be in danger, but their family members may also be at risk of asbestos exposure. Asbestos fibers can cling to an insulator’s work attire and expose family members at home.
Insulators often handled asbestos products directly. These materials prevented heat loss and reduced fire risk but can be inhaled when disturbed. Inhaling asbestos fibers is the main cause of mesothelioma.
Asbestos Insulation Products
Blanket insulation: Flexible sheets that wrap around ducts, piping and mechanical systems.
Block insulation: Pre-formed blocks are used to insulate walls, tanks and large mechanical systems.
Cement and plaster mixtures: Used as coatings and fillers around joints, fittings and structural components.
Pipe and boiler insulation: Used to cover high-temperature pipes and boilers in industrial and commercial buildings.
Spray-on insulation: Applied to ceilings and walls to provide thermal insulation and fireproofing.
Zonolite insulation: Vermiculite loose-fill insulation poured into attics and walls, much of which was reportedly contaminated with asbestos.
Insulators used these materials across construction sites, industrial plants and shipyards. Even a small amount of airborne asbestos could cause long-term health problems. In addition to mesothelioma, asbestos can cause a number of asbestos-related diseases such as lung cancer, asbestosis, COPD and pleuritis.
Well-known companies manufactured many insulation products that included asbestos. These companies continued to sell them long after knowing the risk of mesothelioma that workers faced as a result of asbestos exposure.
Companies That Made Asbestos Insulation
The manufacturers of asbestos products put insulators and their families at risk. Some of these manufacturers faced lawsuits. As a result of mounting litigation, a number of them declared bankruptcy. In that process, manufacturers created asbestos trust funds to pay future claims to exposed workers.
When filing a mesothelioma claim, the right legal representation is everything. We’ll connect you to a top lawyer who will help you secure financial compensation.
Find an AttorneyInsulators worked in nearly every industry that used heat, steam or refrigeration. Many insulators encountered asbestos wherever they worked, including refineries, power plants, paper mills and office buildings.
People also knew these workers as insulators, pipe coverers, laggers, boiler coverers, refractory insulators, spray insulators, insulator helpers and asbestos workers. Those who handled insulation for only a short time could still encounter asbestos materials.
Chuck G., who took a summer job at an industrial furnace factory, later developed mesothelioma. He recalled, “For approximately six weeks, I worked in an industrial furnace factory. The furnace insulation was asbestos, so I was directly involved with it, getting it all over me.”
On many jobs, insulators worked beside plumbers, electricians and operating engineers who encountered the same pipe covering and boiler insulation. Insulation also appeared in the work of auto mechanics, farmers, firefighters and miners. Insulators worked with asbestos-containing materials across many industries.
| Industry | Insulation Work Performed |
| Asbestos product plants | Made the pipe covering, block and cement that insulators later installed |
| Cement plants | Worked around asbestos pipe coverings, furnace materials and other insulation products used around heat sources |
| Construction | Sprayed fireproofing and wrapped pipes and ducts in schools, hospitals and office buildings |
| Factories | Insulated furnaces, ovens and process lines |
| Merchant ships | Repaired pipe covering in engine rooms |
| Navy ships | Installed and patched pipe lagging below deck |
| Oil refineries | Insulated process piping, heaters, tanks and towers |
| Paper mills | Insulated steam lines and paper-machine dryers |
| Power plants | Covered turbines and high-pressure steam lines |
| Railroads | Insulated steam locomotives and railcar heating systems |
| Shipyards | Covered steam lines, boilers and turbines on ships under construction or repair |
| Steel mills and metal plants | Insulated furnaces and hot process equipment |
| Textile mills | Insulated steam lines and equipment used to heat and power mills |
Research shows insulators are among the highest-risk workers for mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases. Inhaling asbestos fibers over time can cause them to accumulate in tissue in your body. Irritation and inflammation can occur, and eventually, this can begin to change the DNA of cells to become cancerous.
Much of what doctors know about asbestos and mesothelioma comes from research involving insulators. In 1967, researchers enrolled 17,800 members of the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers in the U.S. and Canada and followed them for years. By 1984, 356 of those workers had died of pleural or peritoneal mesothelioma.
A study published in February 2025 in Occupational & Environmental Medicine reports asbestos insulation workers were at a particularly high risk of asbestos-related cancers. The study authors concluded, “The meta-analyses support a causal link between occupational asbestos exposure and the risk of oesophageal, stomach and colorectal cancer.”
A 2023 study of Italy’s national mesothelioma registry found that 80 of 84 insulators diagnosed with mesothelioma, or about 95%, had definite occupational asbestos exposure. Some insulation workers can still encounter asbestos today when they work on older buildings that no one ever tested.
Many people diagnosed with mesothelioma are retired insulators who worked decades ago. Because the disease can take decades to appear, even short-term occupational exposure long ago may lead to illness today.
If you worked as an insulator and have mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease, you may be able to seek compensation. Mesothelioma claims can help cover treatment, travel costs and other expenses.
Rhoda Evans developed mesothelioma after secondary asbestos exposure while washing her husband’s work clothes, which carried asbestos dust from CertainTeed products. A Los Angeles jury awarded her and her husband $208.8 million in April 2010. Every case is different, and past results don’t guarantee similar outcomes for future cases.
Some companies that manufactured insulation set up asbestos trust funds. An attorney can explain which claims may apply based on the companies and products involved in your exposure.
Types of Mesothelioma Compensation
Claim amounts vary based on the individual’s diagnosis, work history and asbestos product use history. Some insulators have received settlements after proving they worked around known manufacturers’ asbestos materials. Filing a claim typically doesn’t affect your medical care. A mesothelioma lawyer can help determine which options apply to your case.
Lung cancer is a major asbestos-related cause of death among insulators, and studies of insulation workers have played a large part in the health care sector’s understanding of the ties between asbestos and lung cancer. In 1964, Dr. Irving Selikoff and colleagues at Mount Sinai studied members of the insulators’ union in New York and New Jersey and found far more lung and pleural cancer deaths than expected. The research became an important early study connecting asbestos exposure with lung cancer.
Later research followed the trade for decades. One study of 2,377 North American insulators, tracked from 1981 to 2008, found that lung cancer caused nearly 1 in 5 of their deaths.
The pipe covering, block insulation and insulating cement that insulators cut, mixed and applied could release toxic asbestos fibers into the air. Helpers who mixed cement and workers who removed old pipe covering handled the same hazardous materials. Former insulators diagnosed with asbestos-related lung cancer may also have legal options, including asbestos lung cancer lawsuits tied to the companies and products involved in their exposure.
A heat and frost insulator installs and repairs insulation on pipes, boilers, tanks, ducts and other hot and cold equipment. People in the trade were also called pipe coverers, laggers and asbestos workers. In the U.S. and Canada, the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers represents these unionized workers.
Manufacturers included asbestos in many older insulation products. Pipe covering, block insulation, insulating cement, spray-on fireproofing and some loose-fill attic insulation contained asbestos for decades because it resisted heat and fire. Not all insulation contains asbestos, and modern products generally don’t. Older materials can release fibers when workers cut, sand or remove them.
Mesothelioma usually appears many years after the exposure that caused it. For insulators, the disease may develop in retirement, decades after their insulation work ended. Even a short period of asbestos exposure long ago can be relevant when reviewing a person’s work history.
Asbestos fibers could travel home on an insulator’s work clothes, hair or skin. Family members could inhale fibers while handling or washing contaminated clothing or through other household contact. This secondary asbestos exposure can cause mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases decades later.
Yes. Insulators who weren’t smokers can develop lung cancer from asbestos exposure. One study found that nonsmoking insulators had about 3.6 times the lung cancer death rate of nonsmoking blue-collar workers without asbestos exposure. The same research found an even higher risk among nonsmokers who had asbestosis, which is lung scarring caused by asbestos exposure.
Yes, in some cases. Some asbestos trusts accept lung cancer claims. An attorney can explain which options may apply based on the companies and asbestos products involved in the person’s exposure.
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Marchese, S. (2026, October 14). Insulators and Asbestos Exposure. Asbestos.com. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://www.asbestos.com/occupations/insulators/
Marchese, Sean. "Insulators and Asbestos Exposure." Asbestos.com, 14 Oct 2026, https://www.asbestos.com/occupations/insulators/.
Marchese, Sean. "Insulators and Asbestos Exposure." Asbestos.com. Last modified October 14, 2026. https://www.asbestos.com/occupations/insulators/.
An occupational scientist or another expert who specializes in occupational hazards reviewed the content on this page to ensure it meets current scientific standards and accuracy.
Arti Shukla, Ph.D., is an internationally renowned asbestos researcher known for her achievements in identifying biomarkers that cause mesothelioma. She is the director of the Shukla Research Lab, as well as a professor of pathology at The University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine.
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