Tile Setters

In past centuries, tile setters created the stunning, intricate mosaics that can still be seen adorning churches and other buildings created by older civilizations. Tile setters were highly-trained workers who created highly-detailed scenes, with apprentices to the craft undertaking many years of training and instruction before working independently.

Tile Setting is generally a much less detailed craft these days. While there are still specialized tile setters who create those intricate designs on walls, floors and ceilings in homes and public buildings such as churches, another type of tile setter works with less intricately-designed materials, laying floor, wall and ceiling tiles that are much larger and less-detailed in design. The craft of tile setting is no less specialized even if the materials used are different, and the tile setter of the modern era is as much a craftsman as the tile setter of eras long past.

Asbestos Exposure

Asbestos is a naturally-occurring substance that is highly heat and fire resistant and is also an excellent insulator, making it ideal for many construction-related purposes. Throughout the twentieth century, asbestos was widely-used in a vast array of construction products, including in tiles used on floors, walls and ceilings.

Asbestos-containing tiles were first manufactured in the 1920s, and the manufacture of these tiles continued until the 1970s. Even though the dangers of asbestos were known for much of the twentieth century, it was not until 1977 that the Consumer Product Safety Commission banned the use of asbestos in most construction materials, such as tile.

While asbestos-containing tiles were most often used in locations where heat protection or insulation was required, asbestos tile was also commonly used in other areas. Asbestos tile was made from a composite of asbestos and vinyl, and usually contained around 20% asbestos. The acoustical form of these tiles was also used in performance halls, schools and other public locations where acoustical issues needed to be addressed.

Up until the mid-1980s, tile setters may have been exposed to asbestos not only when handling and working with asbestos-containing tiles, but also simply by being present on a construction site, due to the extensive use of asbestos in construction materials. In addition, due to the nature of the work, tile setters were often at great risk of being directly exposed to inhalable asbestos fibers. Tiles must often be cut, sanded or otherwise altered so that they fit properly into their assigned spaces and the act of cutting and sanding releases asbestos fibers into the air.

Tile setters and people working in the surrounding area were at great risk of inhalation of fibers if they were not using appropriate safety equipment such as masks and protective clothing. Those who were exposed to asbestos in this way did not know the true risks of working with asbestos until decades after their exposure. It is now widely known that repeated inhalation of asbestos fibers causes deadly diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma, a rare and very aggressive form of cancer that develops in the lining of the lungs. Tragically, few tile setters were made aware of the dangers present on the job and were rarely provided with safety equipment to protect them from asbestos fiber inhalation while working.

Tile setters may still be exposed to the hazards of asbestos exposure today, especially if they work in residential or commercial buildings that were constructed in or before the mid-1980s. Tile setters working in such buildings should always be aware that asbestos may be present, and take appropriate precautions in working with and disposing of these asbestos-containing materials.

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