The Heights: Building Stock and Renovation Exposure

Houston Heights was developed primarily between 1890 and 1940, with additional construction through the postwar era. Buildings of this age contain asbestos in multiple locations:

  • Pre-1940 homes: asbestos insulation on pipe and boiler systems, asbestos siding (“transite” board), asbestos shingle roofing
  • 1940s–1960s buildings: asbestos floor tiles, ceiling tiles, pipe wrap insulation
  • 1960s–early 1970s commercial buildings: spray-applied fireproofing on structural steel, joint compound, acoustic ceiling tiles

Plumbers, electricians, carpenters, HVAC technicians, and general contractors who worked on Heights properties throughout the 1950s–1990s disturbed these materials routinely. Most did not use protective equipment because the health hazards were not communicated to them.

Railroad Corridor and Utility Workers

The Heights is bisected by the Houston Belt & Terminal Railroad corridor, and several rail spur lines connected the neighborhood to industrial facilities downtown and toward the Ship Channel. Railroad carmen and maintenance workers who worked this corridor had exposure to locomotive boiler insulation, brake materials, and shop building asbestos insulation.

Houston Lighting & Power (later Reliant/CenterPoint) maintained electrical infrastructure throughout the Heights, and HL&P workers who performed transformer work, switchgear maintenance, and substation construction were exposed to asbestos insulation materials in electrical equipment manufactured by General Electric, Westinghouse, and other companies that have been significant defendants in asbestos litigation.

Understanding Who Is Liable

For construction and renovation workers in the Heights, asbestos claims are filed against the manufacturers of specific products — not against property owners, building owners, or general contractors (with some exceptions). The major product categories and their defendants include:

  • Joint compound: Georgia-Pacific, U.S. Gypsum, National Gypsum, Kaiser Gypsum
  • Floor tiles: Armstrong, Congoleum, Kentile Floors, Flintkote
  • Pipe insulation: Owens Corning (Kaylo), Pittsburgh Corning (Unibestos), Manville
  • Ceiling tiles: Armstrong, National Gypsum
  • Electrical equipment: General Electric, Westinghouse, Square D