Asbestos Products

Duplex Block

Preformed asbestos block insulation was used as insulation on boiler pipes and hot water tanks well into the 1970s. The blocks are commonly chalky, and are often held in place with chicken wire or metal lath. Often, a plaster soaked cloth was applied as a final seal. These thermal duplex blocks deteriorate easily and can become friable when moved.

Duplex block was only one type of asbestos containing insulation material commonly used in building and insulation until the early 1980s. It is still found in homes and public buildings throughout the US. Removing it or handling it can expose you to dangerous asbestos fibers and heighten your risk of developing a rare cancer, mesothelioma.

Many workers in the heating, insulation and construction trades were regularly exposed to high levels of asbestos in the course of their work. At the time, many of them had no idea that they were breathing in a deadly carcinogen. The companies that supplied the asbestos to them did know, however, and chose to conceal the dangerous facts about asbestos rather than risk their profits. Because of their disregard for the health of their workers and the public, many of these companies are now being held financially responsible for the damages that their decision caused.

Who Is At Risk

Millions of employees who worked in construction, shipbuilding, power plants, insulation, heating and air conditioning, auto repair and other occupations are at greatly increased risk of developing mesothelioma, a cancer that affects the tissues lining the lungs. Anyone who worked in a factory that made duplex block, packaged it or shipped it is at risk of developing mesothelioma because of exposure to asbestos.

Insulation Workers at High Risk

Insulation workers from the 1930s to the 1980s worked with so many different types of asbestos containing products that they were commonly known as "asbestos workers". Their jobs involved activities that exposed them to high levels of asbestos dust - mixing asbestos containing plasters for insulation, working with dried powders that contained asbestos, cutting and shaping asbestos sheets and blocks to size, packing boilers and insulating them with roping, cladding and lading, all impregnated with asbestos. There was so much asbestos in the air on some construction projects that workers literally were caked with asbestos dust.

In addition, since there was no warning that there was any danger to inhaling the asbestos dust, these workers often went home covered with asbestos dust, and exposed their families to the same deadly carcinogen that they breathed all day long. For many, their job was a death sentence.

Years After Exposure, Asbestos Rears Its Head

Asbestos takes its time in killing. It may be up to forty years between the initial exposure to asbestos and a diagnosis of mesothelioma. It was the length of time till illness became obvious that allowed the asbestos companies to conceal the connection between asbestos and the deadly cancer for so long. It also sometimes makes it difficult to pinpoint the manufacturers responsible for the asbestos exposure that causes mesothelioma.

If you were exposed to asbestos in duplex blocks

If you were exposed to asbestos in duplex asbestos blocks or any other asbestos containing material and later developed mesothelioma, you may be due compensation for your illness. Experienced lawyers in the field of mesothelioma litigation and settlement have taken the asbestos industry to task and forced the courts to hold those companies responsible for the damage inflicted by their careless disregard for the health of their workers. If you have a diagnosis of mesothelioma, contact a mesothelioma lawyer to find out about your right to compensation for your illness.

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