Asbestos Brake Linings, Gaskets & Pads - Bendix, Raybestos, American Brakeblok (Abex),Wagner, EIS, Gatke, Maremont (Grizzly brakes), Johns Manville, Fomoco, Delco and Mopar

Until as late as the 1990s, asbestos was used in automotive brake linings and disc pads. Many brake shoe linings contained up to 70% asbestos. Asbestos helped withstand the heat of the friction created when, through the hydraulic pressure of the braking mechanism, brake shoes were pressed against the interior of the wheel drums to stop the wheels from turning.

Mechanics performing brake inspections and replacements can be exposed to asbestos in several ways. First, it has been common practice for brake mechanics to clean the braking mechanism, backing plate and the interior of the drums using compressed air.

Unfortunately, asbestos dust collects in the brake drum and on the brake assemblies as the brake linings wear down from friction. The use of compressed air releases this dust and exposes the mechanic to substantial levels of asbestos dust. Although the heat of the friction in braking converts most of the asbestos to fosterite, a relatively harmless particle, millions of fibers of asbestos will remain. Exposure to these fibers puts mechanics at increased risk for asbestos diseases such as mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis.

Mechanics were exposed to asbestos from brake shoe linings when they sanded, ground or abraded the linings before installation. Many mechanics would rough or scuff the surface of the linings with sandpaper before installing them to remove grease and glaze. Some mechanics would also bevel the edges of the linings with a file or electric grinder, which was thought to ensure that the brakes operated smoothly from the start.

It was also common to turn brake drums on a lathe when the interior surface became scored or uneven, to smooth out the metal interior of the drum. This resulted in the drum having a larger arc than new brake linings that were to be installed. In order to make the linings fit snugly in the drum, the mechanic would arc the asbestos lining of the brake shoe on an electric grinding machine. All of these operations exposed mechanics to substantial amounts of asbestos dust, again increasing the risk of diseases like mesothelioma.

Manufacturers of brake pads and shoe linings, such as Bendix, Raybestos, American Brakeblok (Abex),Wagner, EIS, Gatke, Maremont (Grizzly brakes), Johns Manville, Fomoco, Delco and Mopar, all used asbestos in almost all of their brakes. Since the 1930's, Johns Manville and Raybestos Manhattan had been members of the Asbestos Textile Institute, an industry group that had commissioned studies that implicated asbestos as a carcinogen as early as the 1940's. They, along with virtually all of the other brake manufacturers, were members of the Friction Materials Standards Institute, which was an industry group that met and discussed, among other things, the hazards of asbestos.

In 1973, Dr. I.M. Weaver of Raybestos Manhattan addressed the group, and informed them that the kind of asbestos found in brakes caused mesothelioma and other cancers at low exposure levels. He stated the group had a “moral imperative” to warn customers of the mesothelioma hazard. Yet the FMSI, as it was known, lobbied government agencies to try to stem the tide of regulations concerning asbestos, and later issued only inconspicuous and weakly worded “caution” labels advising mechanics to “avoid creating dust,” without explaining the gravity of the harm involved.

In 1986, the EPA published its “Guidance for Preventing Disease Among Auto Mechanics,” which it hoped would get the word out about the mesothelioma hazard from brake work. The book explained the ways mechanics were exposed to asbestos when performing brake work, and discussed ways mechanics could prevent asbestos exposures, thereby lowering their mesothelioma risk.

If you or someone you know has been exposed to asbestos as a result of handling or being involved with Asbestos Brake Linings, Gaskets & Pads, and if you think such exposure may have caused you or your loved one to become ill with mesothelioma or any other form of asbestos related disease, please contact the lawyers at Clapper, Patti Schweizer & Mason for more information.