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How Can a Drywall Taper Get Mesothelioma by Occupational Exposure to Asbestos?
Drywall, otherwise known as gypsum board, sheetrock or gyprock is a popular building product that is mounted to a building’s framing to create walls. Drywall is used in homes, businesses and factories. Every year, millions of square feet of this product are hung, taped and finished.
Drywall workers were often divided into two main groups. Drywall hangers would help install drywall after all mechanical systems were installed, such as ducts, electrical wires and plumbing pipes. Drywall tapers are finishers who tape the seams of the drywall together. Then, these tapers would apply several coats of joint compound to further adhere the pieces, blend the tape and fill imperfections. They would also sand down these compounds to create an even surface.
The drywall boards, drywall tape and joint compound that these workers used contained asbestos for several decades. When drywall tapers worked directly with these products, they were exposed to deadly asbestos.
While asbestos is relatively safe when it is undisturbed, drywall workers would often work with asbestos after it had been disturbed. Manufacturers combined asbestos fibers with other materials to create joint compounds and other materials commonly used by drywall tapers. Additionally, these fibers would become airborne when drywall panels were cut down to size or installed to a building’s framing. Sanding down drywall tape and compound would also release asbestos into the air. This dust would often hang in the air for days afterward while drywall tapers and others breathed it in.
Drywall became a popular product after World War II because it was much simpler to use then the old lath and plaster process. A big post-war construction boom led to many drywall tapers being hired during this era because drywall was cheap and quick to install.
Drywall tapers often carried asbestos fibers and dust on their clothes home where other family members were at risk of breathing in these dangerous materials.
Common duties of drywall tapers include:
- Cover wallboard seams with drywall tape that is dampened in a plaster solution
- Fill nail holes with drywall joint compound
- Sand the wallboard smooth between coats and repeat the filling
- Blend the joints to create an even surface
- Create textures to ceilings and feature walls
- Inspect the area for flaws
Locations in the United States for the Highest Employment Rates for Drywall Tapers
Under the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics heading for “drywall and ceiling tile installers and tapers,” there are currently an estimated 144,000 workers. Tapers represent 18,320 of these workers. The BLS reports that states with the highest employment rates for drywall tapers are:
- California
- Washington
- Arizona
- Nevada
- Massachusetts
Similar Occupations as Drywall Tapers
Similar occupations as drywall tapers include:
- Carpenters
- Construction laborers
- Drywall hangers
- Flooring installers
- Insulation workers
- Maintenance workers
- Masonry workers
- Painters
- Roofers
- Tile and marble setters
Lawsuits and Settlements Involving Drywall Tapers and Mesothelioma
Due to the prevalence of asbestos in many drywall products, there have been several notable lawsuits filed by former drywall workers and about drywall products that contained asbestos.
A Missouri jury awarded the widow of a former ceiling tile worker $4.5 million after he died from mesothelioma, which was attributed to his work with Bondex drywall products and Simpson Timber Ceiling tiles that contained asbestos. As he worked, there was asbestos dust in his workplace which he breathed in and had attached to his clothing.
A Los Angeles jury returned a verdict of $2.1 million in 2011 against Union Carbide in favor of the family of a 68-year-old former drywall taper who died of pleural mesothelioma. He spent the majority of his career using joint compounds on and around the drywall.
The family of a drywall worker received a verdict of more than $868,000 by a San Francisco jury in 2007 after the jury concluded that the former manufacturer and supplier of asbestos-containing joint compound, spray texture and acoustical ceiling spray to which the worker was exposed defectively designed their asbestos-containing products and led to the man’s diagnosis of mesothelioma and eventual death in 2003. He worked as a drywall taper in the Bay Area for more than 47 years.
Studies Related to Drywall Tapers and Asbestos
Several studies have shown that drywall workers experience an elevated risk for being affected by asbestos-related diseases. An early study in 1979 found that when drywall workers sanded down drywall taping compounds that this caused concentrations of airborne asbestos to increase by several times above the permitted level. In 1979, approximately 75,000 American construction workers were employed as drywall tapers. One study sampled 10 drywall taping compounds and found that they all contained asbestos. 15 spackling compounds were also analyzed, with one-third of them testing positive for asbestos.
One study found elevated rates of lung cancer for carpenters, brick masons and painters. Another found elevated concentration of asbestos fibers in the air during masonry, carpentry and painting activities that registered at five times the permissible level. Additionally, higher concentrations were present when workers were using power tools or mixed drywall cement.
“Mortality among unionized construction plasterers and cement masons” evaluated 12,873 members of the Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association and found that plasterers and cement masons had elevated risks for certain serious diseases, including stomach and lung cancers.
A 2012 study published in the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health reviewed literature surrounding asbestos exposure and recommended that doctors get a thorough employment history from patients to determine if their mesothelioma may be attributable to these products.
Types of Asbestos Products Used by Drywall Tapers
Because asbestos was light, fireproof and a good insulator, it was used in many construction products. From the 1950s to the late 1980s, asbestos was added to drywall, drywall tape, millboard, plasters and joint compounds. It was the industry standard to add this dangerous additive to drywall products. This was particularly dangerous because the products’ fibers are highly friable and easily released into the air.
Manufacturers of Asbestos Products Used by Drywall Tapers
Manufacturers who produced products that contained asbestos that were commonly used by drywall tapers include:
- Bondex
- Georgia Pacific
- Kaiser Gypsum
- Kelly-Moore
- National Gypsum Company
- UGL
- Union Carbide
- United States Gypsum
