Historical insulation research
Unibestos Pipe Covering: Shape, Materials and Installation
Recognize rigid half-cylinder pipe insulation, its dimensions, materials and fitting work.
Three-foot pipe sections
In sworn interrogatory responses Pittsburgh Corning described the product as rigid half-cylinders three feet long, supplied ready to fasten around a pipe. Different pipe diameters meant different carton dimensions.
Composition in company records
The manufacturer listed amosite asbestos, diatomaceous earth and sodium silicate. Its interrogatory response gave approximate weight percentages and explained that the mix could vary with pipe diameter and wall thickness.
At the pipe rack
Company responses described fastening the sections with two wire or metal bands, with occasional trimming to fit. For memory reconstruction, note pipe diameter, overhead or floor-level location, nearby valves and whether the job was new installation or maintenance.
The fitting detail
A straight section may be remembered as two half-round shells. Elbows, tees and valves required additional shaping or other insulation work; record the specific operation a worker remembers rather than assuming every fitting used the same product.
Explore related Unibestos history
Return to the Unibestos historical library →
Unibestos Historical Insulation Library
Follow the Unibestos name across the UNARCO and Pittsburgh Corning years, with products, plants, packaging and workplaces.
Explore history →Unibestos: UNARCO to Pittsburgh Corning Timeline
A dated history of the Unibestos trade name, manufacturer transition and production years.
Explore history →Unibestos Pipe Covering: Shape, Materials and Installation
Recognize rigid half-cylinder pipe insulation, its dimensions, materials and fitting work.
Explore history →Unibestos Block and Custom-Cut Insulation History
Understand the documented block form and how it differed from standard pipe covering.
Explore history →Unibestos Cartons, Labels and Product Identification
Three-foot paperboard cartons, brand marks and the documented 1968 warning-label change.
Explore history →Unibestos Manufacturing: Tyler and Port Allegany
Two documented manufacturing plants and the dates Pittsburgh Corning reported for each.
Explore history →Unibestos: Navy and Shipyard History
Trace the early Navy testing history and later marine pipe-insulation uses.
Explore history →Unibestos in Power, Chemical and Industrial Workplaces
Industrial equipment and trade details that can help reconstruct insulation work.
Explore history →Pittcote, Pittseal and CS White Paint: Product History
Separate Pittsburgh Corning accessory coatings and mastics from Unibestos thermal pipe covering.
Explore history →Unibestos Historical Records and Primary Sources
Court decisions, manufacturer interrogatories and trust records for the Unibestos chronology.
Explore history →Historical source records
Federal court: Unarco to Pittsburgh Corning product-line history
Federal court: Pittsburgh Corning Unibestos manufacturing and insurance chronology
Federal bankruptcy appeal: Pittsburgh Corning corporate and asbestos history
Pittsburgh Corning Asbestos PI Trust
Start with what you remember
A product name, plant, pipe location, coworker or decade can be a starting point for investigating an asbestos exposure history.