Insulators Local 22

Heat & Frost Insulators Local 22
Houston & Texas Gulf Coast
Chartered	April 1912
Parent Union	International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers
Headquarters	2403 Jackson Street, Houston, TX
Office	2210 Wichita Street, Pasadena, TX 77502
Counties Covered	22 counties across Houston metro and the Golden Triangle
Apprenticeship	DOL-registered Mechanical Insulator program (founded August 29, 1968)
Training Facility	~15,000 sq ft classroom + Material Application Center, plus mobile learning unit
Industries Served	Refineries, petrochemical plants, power generation, commercial, institutional, marine
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Executive Summary

Heat & Frost Insulators & Allied Workers Local 22 is a chartered local of the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, representing mechanical insulators, asbestos abatement workers, and metal jacketing specialists across the Texas Gulf Coast. According to the union's official history, Local 22 was chartered in April 1912 and today serves 22 counties surrounding Houston and the Golden Triangle — a jurisdiction that runs from Beaumont and Port Arthur in the east, down the 50-mile Houston Ship Channel through Pasadena, Deer Park, Texas City, and Baytown, and south to the South Texas Nuclear Project.

Insulators are the trade that handled the asbestos-containing pipe covering, block insulation, refractory cement, and spray-applied fireproofing that protected boilers, columns, vessels, and miles of process piping at every Gulf Coast refinery, petrochemical plant, and power station built between the 1940s and the early 1980s. Decades of epidemiological research — beginning with Dr. Irving Selikoff's landmark 1964 JAMA cohort — have documented that insulators carry the highest mesothelioma standardized mortality ratio of any building trade.

Today, retired Local 22 insulators and their families are diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, and asbestosis at rates that reflect this history. Compensation may be available through asbestos bankruptcy trusts, personal injury claims against solvent product manufacturers, and (for veterans) VA benefits — without suing the union, the contractor, or the refinery operator. This page documents Local 22's history, jurisdiction, and training programs, and provides practical information for members and families navigating an asbestos-related diagnosis.

At-a-Glance

• Trade: Mechanical insulators, asbestos abatement, metal jacketing
• Local: Heat & Frost Insulators & Allied Workers Local 22
• Parent international: International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers
• Chartered: April 1912
• Years active: 110+ years
• Jurisdiction: 22 counties — Houston metro plus the Golden Triangle (Beaumont–Port Arthur–Orange) east through the Houston Ship Channel corridor and south to the South Texas Project
• Headquarters: 2403 Jackson Street, Houston, Texas
• Office: 2210 Wichita Street, Pasadena, Texas 77502
• Phone: (281) 479-2220
• Apprenticeship: DOL-registered, founded August 29, 1968
• Training facility: ~15,000 sq ft of classroom and a Material Application Center, plus a mobile learning unit for onsite training
• Asbestos exposure window: ~1940s–early 1980s for amphibole-containing products; abatement work continues today

Key Facts

• Charter: Local 22 was chartered in April 1912, making it one of the longest-tenured Heat & Frost Insulators locals in the United States.
• Geographic reach: 22 Texas counties surrounding Houston and the Golden Triangle, including the densest concentration of refineries and petrochemical plants in the country.
• Trade: Mechanical insulators install, repair, and remove thermal insulation on pipe, vessels, ducts, boilers, and tanks. From the 1940s through the early 1980s, that material was overwhelmingly asbestos-bearing.
• Mesothelioma risk: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Cancer Institute classify insulation work as one of the highest-risk occupations for mesothelioma; cohort studies place insulator standardized mortality ratios for mesothelioma at multiples of the general population.
• Latency: Mesothelioma typically appears 20–60 years after first asbestos exposure, which is why most diagnoses among Local 22 retirees today trace back to work performed decades earlier.

What is Insulators Local 22?

Local 22 is the Houston-area chartered local of the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, the international union that represents the mechanical insulation trade in the United States and Canada. The local's mission, in its own words, is "to create an environment that educates our members in their development as craftspersons, providing our contractors with the best qualified workforce, and understanding what it means to be Union."

Mechanical insulators are the craft that wraps and protects the heated and cooled surfaces of industrial process equipment. Their work makes it possible for refineries, chemical plants, and power stations to operate safely and efficiently — and through the mid-20th century, the industry standard material for that work was asbestos. Local 22 members today still install thermal insulation across the Gulf Coast, but they also perform asbestos abatement — the controlled removal and disposal of legacy asbestos materials still present in older industrial facilities.

When was Local 22 chartered and how has it grown?

Local 22 was chartered in April 1912, a period when Houston was emerging as a regional industrial hub on the strength of cotton, lumber, and a young petroleum sector. Over the following century, the local's growth tracked the build-out of the Texas Gulf Coast refining and petrochemical corridor: Spindletop and the Beaumont–Port Arthur fields to the east, the deepening of the Houston Ship Channel after 1914, and the post-World War II expansion of refineries and chemical plants from the Houston ship channel to Texas City, Baytown, Pasadena, Deer Park, Freeport, and the Golden Triangle.

Local 22 describes its craft as "instrumental in building Houston to the 4th largest city in the nation" by "providing mechanical insulation that helps cool our city for our comfort and grow the petrochemical economy." That same growth period — roughly the late 1940s through the early 1980s — was also the era in which asbestos-containing thermal insulation was the industry standard for the heated and cooled surfaces Local 22 members worked on every day.

What is Local 22's jurisdiction?

Local 22's territorial jurisdiction covers 22 counties across Southeast Texas, anchored on Houston and extending east to the Golden Triangle (Beaumont, Port Arthur, Orange) and south along the Gulf coast to the South Texas Nuclear Project. That jurisdiction includes:

• The full Houston Ship Channel corridor — a roughly 50-mile stretch from downtown Houston east to Galveston Bay, lined with refineries and chemical plants
• Pasadena, Deer Park, Baytown, and La Porte — heavy concentration of refineries, ethylene crackers, and chemical processing
• Texas City and Galveston County — refineries and storage terminals
• The Golden Triangle (Beaumont–Port Arthur–Orange, Jefferson and Orange counties) — historic petroleum refining region dating to Spindletop
• Freeport / Brazoria County — petrochemical and chemical manufacturing
• Bay City, Matagorda County — South Texas Project nuclear plant

This is one of the densest industrial corridors in the United States, and through the mid-20th century it was an asbestos-saturated work environment for the trades that maintained the equipment.

Why are Local 22 members at elevated risk for mesothelioma?

Insulation workers as a trade carry the highest documented mesothelioma standardized mortality ratio of any building trade. The reason is mechanical: insulators worked directly with raw asbestos in the form most likely to release respirable fibers into the breathing zone.

Dr. Irving Selikoff's foundational 1964 JAMA cohort study of New York–area asbestos insulation workers established the link between insulation work and mesothelioma at the population level; later cohorts confirmed the pattern across multiple geographies and decades. The exposure pathways relevant to Local 22 members include:

• Pipe covering and removal: Cutting, fitting, and especially removing (or "delagging") asbestos-bearing pipe insulation generated the highest peak fiber concentrations recorded in industrial hygiene literature.
• Block and cement insulation on vessels and boilers: Calcium silicate block (Kaylo, Eagle-Picher), magnesia block, and refractory cements were applied to columns, drums, exchangers, and boilers throughout Gulf Coast refineries and chemical plants.
• Spray-applied fireproofing: Fluffy, friable spray fireproofing on structural steel released fibers during application and any subsequent disturbance.
• Refinery turnarounds: Periodic plant-wide maintenance shutdowns concentrated insulation work into intense, fiber-heavy windows during which large crews stripped and replaced insulation across an entire unit.
• Bystander exposure: Other trades working alongside insulators — pipefitters, boilermakers, millwrights, electricians, laborers — were also exposed to the airborne fibers insulators generated.

Mesothelioma's typical latency of 20 to 60 years from first exposure means that Local 22 members who worked the Gulf Coast refining build-out of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s are presenting with mesothelioma diagnoses today — sometimes decades into retirement.

Which Texas Gulf Coast facilities exposed Local 22 members?

Local 22's jurisdiction overlaps with the Texas Gulf Coast facilities most often identified in asbestos exposure histories. Members worked at, among many others:

• Houston Ship Channel refineries: Shell Deer Park, ExxonMobil Baytown, LyondellBasell Houston, Valero Houston, Pasadena Refining
• Texas City: Marathon Texas City (formerly BP Texas City and Amoco), Valero Texas City
• Golden Triangle: Motiva Port Arthur, Valero Port Arthur, ExxonMobil Beaumont, Total Port Arthur (formerly Atlantic Refining), Premcor Port Arthur
• Petrochemical complexes: Dow Freeport, BASF Freeport, Chevron Phillips Cedar Bayou, INEOS Chocolate Bayou, Olin Freeport
• Power generation: Cedar Bayou, W.A. Parish, South Texas Project (Bay City)

Local 22 members handled both new construction (during the post-war refinery and petrochemical build-out) and the routine, periodic maintenance turnarounds that defined Gulf Coast plant operations through the 1980s. Many of the asbestos-containing products used at these facilities were manufactured by companies that later filed for bankruptcy and now pay claims through asbestos personal injury trusts — including Johns-Manville, Owens-Corning Fiberglas, Pittsburgh Corning (Unibestos), Eagle-Picher, and Combustion Engineering.

What training programs does Local 22 operate?

Local 22 operates a U.S. Department of Labor–registered apprenticeship program that has been running continuously since August 29, 1968 — over fifty years of trade training. Apprentices earn while they learn, combining "classroom lessons, online resources, and hands-on practice" with field experience under journeymen.

The local's training facility includes approximately 15,000 square feet of classroom space, a Material Application Center for hands-on insulation practice, and a mobile learning unit that delivers instruction at member jobsites. Curriculum spans:

• Mechanical insulation installation (pipe, duct, vessel, boiler, tank)
• Metal jacketing and weatherproofing
• Energy efficiency and thermal performance
• Asbestos abatement — Local 22's training records include OSHA-compliant 40-hour Supervisor / Contractor Asbestos coursework, reflecting the trade's continued role in legacy-material removal at older Gulf Coast facilities
• Multi-Craft Core Curriculum (MC3), a pre-apprenticeship program that prepares new entrants for registered apprenticeship

The local emphasizes that journeymen are also expected to take continuing education and journeyman upgrade courses throughout their careers, keeping pace with new materials, codes, and safety standards.

What compensation options are available?

Local 22 members and surviving family members diagnosed with mesothelioma or other asbestos-related disease typically have several compensation paths available — without suing the union, the contractor, or the refinery operator.

• Asbestos bankruptcy trust claims. Roughly 60 asbestos-product manufacturers have filed for bankruptcy and established personal injury trusts that now pay claims to people who can document exposure to their products. Common Gulf Coast trusts relevant to insulators include the Johns-Manville, Owens-Corning Fiberglas, Pittsburgh Corning (Unibestos), Eagle-Picher, and Combustion Engineering trusts.
• Personal injury and wrongful-death lawsuits. Solvent (non-bankrupt) manufacturers and product distributors can be sued in state court, including in Texas. Defendants are typically the companies that made or sold the asbestos-containing products, not the employer or the union.
• VA benefits. Veterans whose asbestos exposure occurred during military service — including Navy and Coast Guard service before the 1980s — may qualify for VA disability compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC), and VA health care, in addition to civilian trust and lawsuit claims.
• Statute-of-limitations awareness. Texas, like most states, sets a deadline for filing personal injury and wrongful-death claims. The clock typically begins at diagnosis (not at exposure), but it does begin — so a prompt review by counsel is important to preserve all options.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Local 22 cause its members' asbestos exposure?

No. Asbestos exposure was caused by the product manufacturers who made and sold asbestos-containing pipe insulation, block, cement, and spray fireproofing — not by the union and not by the contractors or refinery operators. Internal manufacturer documents from as early as the 1930s show that companies like Johns-Manville knew about asbestos disease risk but did not warn workers. Local 22 trains its members to handle legacy materials safely and operates ongoing asbestos-abatement coursework precisely so today's insulators are protected.

I'm a retired Local 22 insulator with a mesothelioma diagnosis. What should I do first?

See an oncologist with mesothelioma experience for a treatment plan, then consult an asbestos attorney about preserving your claims. Most asbestos-injury law firms work on contingency (no fee unless you recover), and a free case review will identify which trusts and which solvent defendants you have potential claims against. Don't wait — the statute of limitations begins at diagnosis.

My father was a Local 22 insulator and I have mesothelioma — could that be from his work clothes?

Yes. Secondary (take-home) asbestos exposure is a recognized pathway: family members were exposed to fibers brought home on insulators' clothing, hair, vehicle seats, and tools, particularly before the introduction of mandatory shower-and-change facilities at jobsites. Take-home exposure cases are well-established in mesothelioma litigation.

How long after exposure does mesothelioma typically appear?

Mesothelioma latency is typically 20 to 60 years from first exposure, with most diagnoses occurring 30–50 years after the relevant work history. This is why retirees who haven't worked an industrial jobsite in decades are still being diagnosed today.

Will filing a claim affect my Local 22 pension or my Heat & Frost Insulators benefits?

No. Asbestos personal-injury claims and bankruptcy trust claims are made against the product manufacturers that caused the exposure, not against the union or the union's pension or health & welfare funds. Filing a claim does not put your union benefits at risk.

Quick Statistics

• Local 22 chartered: April 1912
• Counties in jurisdiction: 22 (Houston metro + Golden Triangle + South Texas coast)
• Apprenticeship founded: August 29, 1968
• Training facility: ~15,000 sq ft + Material Application Center + mobile learning unit
• Asbestos era for the trade: ~1940s through early 1980s (amphibole-containing products)
• Mesothelioma latency: 20–60 years from first exposure
• Mesothelioma SMR for insulation workers: Documented as the highest of any building trade in cohort studies

Get Help

If you or a family member spent time as a Heat & Frost Insulators Local 22 member — or worked alongside Local 22 insulators on a Texas Gulf Coast refinery, petrochemical plant, or power station — and has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, or asbestosis, you may have multiple compensation options.

Danziger & De Llano represents mesothelioma clients across Texas, including former Houston, Pasadena, Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Texas City refinery workers and the trades — insulators, pipefitters, boilermakers, millwrights, electricians, laborers — who worked alongside them. There is no fee unless we recover for you.

Call (855) 699-5441 for a free, confidential case review, or visit dandell.com/contact-us. We can also be reached at +1 (855) 699-5441.

Additional reading from D&D's network:

• Insulation Workers and Asbestos Exposure — Mesothelioma Lawyer Center
• Insulation Workers and Asbestos Exposure — Mesothelioma.net
• Asbestos Exposure Overview — MesotheliomaAttorney.com

Related Pages

Trade and occupational profiles:

• Insulation Workers — full trade profile, exposure mechanics, and epidemiology
• Pipefitters Local Union 211 — UA Local 211, sister trade serving the same Texas Gulf Coast corridor
• Pipefitters — pipefitter occupational quick reference
• Boilermakers — boilermaker occupational profile
• Boilermakers Local 74 — IBB Local 74, third Texas Gulf Coast partner local in the series
• Oil Refinery Workers — exposure profile for refinery workers
• Chemical Plant Workers — exposure profile for petrochemical plant workers
• Occupational Exposure Index — full index of asbestos-exposure occupations

Compensation and legal:

• Asbestos Trust Funds — overview of the bankruptcy trust system
• Veterans Asbestos Exposure — VA benefits for asbestos-exposed veterans

Manufacturers and products:

• Johns-Manville — primary manufacturer of asbestos pipe insulation used at Gulf Coast refineries
• Johns-Manville Thermobestos — dominant asbestos pipe insulation brand at Gulf Coast facilities
• Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust — Johns-Manville's personal injury trust
• Pittsburgh Corning Trust — administers Unibestos block insulation claims

Exposure pathways:

• Secondary Asbestos Exposure — take-home and family exposure pathways

⚠ Statute of Limitations Warning: Filing deadlines vary by state from 1-6 years from diagnosis. Texas allows 2 years from diagnosis or discovery. Contact an attorney immediately to preserve your rights.