The Work Environment of Insulating Workers

Abstract

With the cooperation of the asbestos workers' union and insulating contractors, a study is being made of the environmental exposures and the health of insulating workers in the western United States. Surveys have been made in a number of work situations, including small commercial building, major industrial construction and marine operations. Major emphasis has been on exposures to asbestos-containing materials, fiber glass, cork, plastics, and adhesives. Trends in product usage are presented, as well as illustrative dust counts, based on membrane filter and impinger samples, for various components of the insulator's job, e.g., prefabrication, application, finishing, mixing and tearing out of old insulation.