"I Was Fired Because We Used Asbestos"

April 1, 2011

Detroit, MI John worked with gasket material that contained asbestos for a decade; fortunately he doesn't have any asbestos-related illness. But he does have an asbestos complaint: John believes he lost his job because he knew about asbestos and the company was concerned about asbestos lawsuits…



John (not his real named) was hired as a materials engineer in1985, when the company was purchasing materials for gaskets from Quin-T company in Erie, Pennsylvania (that subsequently went bankrupt and was targeted in many asbestos lawsuits).



"The VP of purchasing told me that the material from Quin-T contained asbestos and I was instructed to try and replace this material—the asbestos—that we had been using for at least 30 years," says John. "He sat me down and told me not to say one word about this asbestos situation. I didn't know about the asbestos until he told me, but I was the one who was supposed to continuously improve gasket materials.



"I needed to find a material that could operate in harsh environments—we were supplying gaskets to the federal government for military use—without sacrificing performance. I was told to find an alternative material for these gaskets that could still operate in military environments—desert conditions. That's why asbestos was such a good product."



(As an aside, when you are supplying gaskets to the federal government and they don't know about the asbestos, isn't that a qui tam whistleblower case?)



"I was testing and bringing in samples of various materials. Besides me, senior management and probably a few in the upper echelon knew about asbestos in the gaskets. I was just told to forge ahead, get it re-tested and approved by the customer. But a program like that can easily take a few years.



"This is how the asbestos is used in the gasket material. Think of a big mixing tank with a blade; all these ingredients and the filler system that includes asbestos, carrying agents, extenders, etc. are all introduced into this homogenous mix. This mix is then put onto a conveyor system, heated, dried and cured. Asbestos was used because it worked well at high temperatures. On the other hand, under higher temperature the asbestos could be liberated and become airborne if the gasket material is disturbed, such as scraping an old gasket off a fixture. The worst thing you can do is disturb asbestos...



"As time went on I saw comparable results with ceramic-based materials, but it never got to the point where I was able to introduce it, to replace the asbestos with another material, because the company let me go, and the reason they gave for firing me was that the company was being restructured. I know that I was wrongfully terminated because I was working on this asbestos situation and Quin-T was in trouble. They were probably next.



"Losing my job was financially devastating, all because I was working with asbestos. During the 10 years I worked for this company, they made $7 million in gasket sales. I figure it cost me $2 million in lost opportunities, salary increases, promotions, etc. I made $80,000 a year and I've never been able to get back into the industry. Now I run a coffee shop and make bagels and have a house in foreclosure.



"When I think about all the nights my wife cried when they let me go—is there a price tag for pain and suffering? After 10 years of outstanding and commendable reviews, I was called into the office for what I thought was another review. Instead, 10 minutes later, I packed up my belongings and escorted out of the building. "



According to the EPA's report (January 1989), Quin-T company manufactured asbestos millboard, a heavy cardboard product that can be used for gasketing and more. Thin millboard is inserted between metal to produce gaskets.



The primary constituent of millboard is asbestos fiber, with the balance consisting of binders and fillers. The asbestos content ranges from 60 to 95 percent, but 70 to 80 percent is considered typical.



There were five primary processors of asbestos millboard in 1981, including Quin-T Corporation. (The others were Celotex, GAF, Johns-Manville, and Nicolet.) At the time of the EPA's report, the companies had stopped producing asbestos with the exception of Nicolet and Quin-T.





Nicolet, Inc. continued to sell the product out of inventory and GAF Corporation sold their plant to Quin-T Corporation, and that plant was still producing asbestos millboard in 1989. The report stated that "The other Quin-T Corporation plant in Tilton, New Hampshire, still produces an asbestos product, but they have decided to reclassify it as electrical paper. Therefore, there is currently only one domestic primary processor of asbestos millboard. That plant consumed 436 tons of asbestos fiber in producing 581 tons of asbestos millboard in 1985."



It's amazing that John is still alive.