Kaylo Insulation from Owens Illinois: Everything that you want to know in a small package

I have a historical sale brochure for Kaylo Insulation with no date, although we know that it has to be prior to 1958 as Owens Illinois then sold the Kaylo line to Owens Corning. This brochure is a good example of how the insulation industry was advertising their use of asbestos products.

Initially, we know that Kaylo had about 13% to 20% asbestos content including primarily chrysotile fibers along with amosite fibers to a lesser extent. How do we know this? Because the court system has spoken. See the last paragraph in the below court decision from 1995.

And yet, if you read the brochure, the word “asbestos” is only mentioned once and it is minimized by saying in the first paragraph on the left, “For mechanical effects, a small amount of asbestos fiber is included at the time of manufacturer”. I would like to note on the same brochure page at the bottom right that it approves cutting, scoring, and sawing with ordinary tools, and claims that Kaylo is “non-toxic.”

The applications for Kaylo were substantial. Just look at the top right hand corner for a listing of potential uses.

Finally:

My take-a-way is that Kaylo and similar products sold during the 1940s and into the 1960s or later were prevalent in many applications and today’s workers need to protect themself against accidental exposure.

I hope that this was useful or if you would like to borrow any of my library materials. Let me know if you have any questions of comments either by leaving a comment or emailing me at TheAsbestosBlog@gmail.com. Thanks. Marty