Asbestos in Adhesives

What Types of Adhesives Contain Asbestos?

Until the late 1980s, adhesive manufacturers in the U.S. often mixed asbestos fibers into natural and synthetic glue products to add strength and heat resistance. This resulted in durable, nearly fireproof sealants, bonding agents, cements and joint compounds, but it also exposed thousands of workers to the toxic material. Builders used asbestos-containing adhesives extensively in homes, commercial buildings and industrial construction.

Mastic is a heavy-duty adhesive. Some mastic with asbestos had a paste-like consistency, and workers applied it using a caulking gun. Manufacturers sold other products in powder form, which contractors had to mix and apply like cement.

One of the most common asbestos adhesives was black mastic, a thick, resinous flooring adhesive. Other examples of asbestos in adhesives include asphalt compounds, rubber-based adhesives, conventional lime-type cements and synthetic plastic cements.

Many U.S. manufacturers phased out asbestos in adhesives in the early 1990s, but companies could still import and use many kinds of asbestos adhesives. In 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency definitively banned manufacturing asbestos adhesives in its April 2019 final rule, including flooring products. In 2024, the EPA expanded the Toxic Substances Control Act to ban chrysotile asbestos, a type of asbestos often used to strengthen products.

Other Asbestos Products Used With Adhesives

Workers who used asbestos adhesives could also encounter the hazardous fibers in other construction materials. For example, asbestos black mastic was one of the most common flooring adhesives, and contractors used it to install wood floors, vinyl tiles and linoleum flooring.

Products That Used Asbestos Adhesives for Installation

• Flooring: Vinyl floor tiles and backing materials contained a high level of asbestos fibers, up to 30% of the product’s weight.
• Gaskets: Manufacturers added asbestos to seals and gaskets for stoves, heaters and other home appliances. Countless industries used asbestos gaskets and adhesives for heavy machinery, from petrochemical companies to automakers.
• Insulation: Insulation for boilers and furnaces contained asbestos. Asbestos spray coatings were especially dangerous to contractors during application and removal.
• Pipes and air ducts: Contractors used adhesives to apply asbestos insulating tape or asbestos blankets.
• Roofing and siding materials: Manufacturers like Johns Manville produced asbestos-cement shingles and asphalt shingles containing asbestos until the late 1970s. Roofing felt and flashing also contained asbestos.
• Wallboards and wallpaper: Gypsum boards, decorative wall panels and vinyl wallpaper in older homes often contained asbestos and used asbestos adhesives for installation. These fire-resistant products were especially common near fireplaces.

Roofing contractors used asbestos adhesives to install shingles, seal edges and repair leaks. Many asphalt roof coatings used asbestos for improved resistance to heat and extreme weather.

Companies That Made Asbestos Adhesives

Until the 1990s, asbestos adhesives were popular for fire-resistant applications, and manufacturers promoted their asbestos product lines extensively. For example, Armstrong World Industries made asbestos adhesives and flooring products, generating more than $450 million in 1967 alone.

Known Asbestos Adhesives Manufacturers

• A.P. Green Industries
• Amchem Products, Inc. (Benjamin Foster Company)
• Armstrong World Industries
• Celotex Corporation
• Combustion Engineering, Inc.
• Empire-Ace
• Fibreboard Corporation
• Georgia-Pacific Corporation
• Harbison-Walker Refractories Company
• Insul-Mastic Corporation of America
• Johns Manville Corporation
• Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company 
• Mobil Oil Corporation
• National Gypsum Company
• North American Refractories Company 
• Pecora

Celotex used asbestos in many adhesives and roofing materials, and Pecora made sealants for fireplaces and furnaces. One of the most well-known asbestos product manufacturers, Johns Manville, created construction materials containing toxic asbestos and recommended its asbestos adhesives for installation.

Asbestos Adhesives Brands

Mesothelioma patients exposed to asbestos in the workplace often struggle to identify which product was responsible. Many manufacturers produced several different brands of asbestos-containing adhesives, coatings and sealants.

Brand and Product Names of Asbestos Adhesives

• 3M Adhesive, 3M Caulk and 3M Cement: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
• Armorcote and Dum Dum Adhesive: Mobil Oil Corporation
• Asbestoguard: Johns Manville
• Black Cat Roof Coating: Amchem
• Bondex Roof Cement, Bondex Black Mastic, Handy Patch, Penncraft Water Putty and Reardon’s 500-C All-Purpose Joint Cement: Bondex International
• Carey Fibrous Adhesive and Careytemp Adhesive: Celotex
• Gold Bond All-Purpose Joint Compound and Gold Bond Adhesive: National Gypsum
• Hydroseal: Fibreboard Corporation
• Mundet Mineral Wool Finishing Cement: Crown Cork & Seal
• Narcocast, Narcocrete and Narcolite: North American Refractories Company
• One Cote Cement and Type II Mastic: Owens-Corning
• S-89 Adhesive and S-90 Adhesive: Armstrong
• Triple Duty Joint Compound: Georgia-Pacific

Some companies in the 1960s and 1970s sold mastic as a secondary product. Uniroyal and BFGoodrich were mainly known for automobile and aircraft parts, but they also made, marketed and sold asbestos adhesive for those parts.

Other brands connected to asbestos adhesives include A.W. Chesterton, Amtico Floors, Congoleum Corporation, Crown Cork & Seal, Foster Wheeler, GAF Corporation, Garlock Sealing Technologies and Owens Corning Fiberglas.

Health Risks of Asbestos in Adhesives

Anyone exposed to asbestos fibers can develop life-threatening illnesses over time, including lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis. People who worked directly with asbestos adhesives and other construction products containing asbestos have a higher risk of illness.

Asbestos exposure is the main cause of mesothelioma, and symptoms can take decades to appear. Lung cancer has other contributing factors, but exposure to asbestos fibers increases the risk.

People who mixed powdered adhesives containing asbestos likely breathed in the toxic fibers. Exposure also happened when scraping, sanding and grinding dried adhesives or sweeping up the contaminated work dust.

Who’s at Risk of Exposure to Asbestos Adhesives?

Most exposure to asbestos adhesives happened on the job. Plumbers, electricians, drywall installers, flooring contractors and roofers frequently used asbestos-containing patch compounds, cements and mastics. Workers who built, renovated or demolished buildings faced exposure to asbestos adhesives even after the 1980s, and some old homes still contain hidden asbestos flooring and adhesives.

People at Risk of Asbestos Exposure

• Carpenters
• Construction workers
• Engineers
• HVAC workers
• Power plant employees
• Shipyard workers
• Steel mill workers
• U.S. Navy veterans

Asbestos products don’t become less dangerous with time. In fact, deteriorating tile and adhesives can crumble and release asbestos fibers more easily. Exposure can also happen when homeowners renovating older homes remove vinyl floor tiles, replace wallpaper or dispose of roofing materials made before the 1980s.

Compensation for Exposure to Asbestos in Adhesives

If you were exposed to asbestos adhesive on the job, you may be able to file a mesothelioma personal injury lawsuit or product liability claim. Mesothelioma lawsuits and settlements can provide compensation for health care costs, pain, suffering and other damages.

A skilled mesothelioma attorney can help you understand your legal options for mesothelioma compensation and asbestos adhesive claims. National mesothelioma law firms often maintain evidence libraries related to asbestos product manufacturers, which can help when filing your case.

Notable Asbestos Adhesives Lawsuits

• $34.2 million: In 2025, a jury in Portland, Oregon, held John Crane responsible for asbestos exposure that led former shipyard worker Richard Long to develop mesothelioma. John Crane sold asbestos-containing gaskets for decades without adequate warnings.
• $11.5 million: A jury in San Francisco awarded Navy veteran Joseph Garza and his wife more than $11.5 million after finding Asbestos Corporation Ltd. acted with malice in not revealing the health risks associated with asbestos exposure.
• $7 million: A jury found NARCO liable in a lawsuit 3 engineers filed over asbestos in the company’s gunning mix, awarding the plaintiffs $7 million.

Many companies in the asbestos industry have established bankruptcy trust funds for personal injury and wrongful death claims related to asbestos exposure. When NARCO emerged from bankruptcy in 2008, it created the North American Refractories Company Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust with $6.32 billion.

Similarly, the National Gypsum Company Bodily Injury Trust has paid more than $429 million in claims since 2004, some related to Gold Bond adhesive products. Other forms of asbestos compensation include mesothelioma lawsuits, VA claims and Social Security disability benefits. 

$30B+ IN TRUST FUNDS AVAILABLE

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Abatement of Asbestos Adhesives

Only licensed asbestos abatement professionals should remove asbestos adhesives. These professionals wear protective gear and use high-efficiency particulate respirator masks to prevent inhalation of asbestos fibers. They also create special seals around the work area and take measures to prevent fibers from entering HVAC systems.

The adhesives often contain between 1% and 25% asbestos, depending on their purpose. As these products age, they can become brittle and break down, releasing tiny fibers into the air. Asbestos-containing seals may wear down, flake or peel away.

Black mastics in buildings constructed before the 1990s should always be professionally tested for asbestos. Sanding, scraping or grinding asbestos black mastic can release toxic dust into the air, endangering everyone in the building.

Chemical solvents can remove some asbestos adhesives, but these chemicals are not compatible with all types of adhesives, and they can damage or stain the subfloor. Check with the manufacturer about using chemical solvents.

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