National Gypsum Company
National Gypsum Company was founded in 1925 to sell a new kind of wallboard that was lighter and easily incorporated into building structures. The company quickly became an American success story, absorbing its closest competitors in wallboard manufacturing, as well as diversifying into other aspects of the construction industry. National Gypsum was famous for a promotional tactic known as the Gold Bond Certificate. The Gold Bond Certificate vowed that if anyone could find a lighter or stronger wallboard, the company would pay them $5,000. The company's premier line of products subsequently became known as Gold Bond products.
National Gypsum and Use of Asbestos
After a series of acquisitions in the early 1950s, National Gypsum took over the Abestone Corporation in 1954, which also gave the company control of the Abestone asbestos cement plant located in Millington, New Jersey. The Abestone plant produced asbestos cement, a mixture that typically contained 10 to 15 percent asbestos fibers by weight.
Asbestos cement was widely used in the construction industry for everything from structural foundations to cement pipes. Asbestos is a naturally occurring, fibrous mineral with remarkable insulating properties and durability. The mineral was often added to National Gypsum Company construction materials such as wallboard, cement, roofing shingles, Permaboard, and other products, to add strength and thermal insulation without extra cost or weight.
From the 1950s through the 1970s, National Gypsum Company incorporated asbestos into its product line in many ways, making it an important component in at least 30 different building materials manufactured by the company. Some examples of National Gypsum Company products that once contained asbestos include:
- Gold Bond Asbestos Permaboard
- Gold Bond Asbestos Cement Board
- Gold Bond Cement
- Gold Bond Plaster
- Gold Bond Tar Paper
- Gold Bond Adhesives
- Gold Bond Abestone
- Gold Bond Siding
- Gold Bond Plasticrylic Panels
- Gold Bond Texture Paint
- Gold Bond Fire-Shield Plaster
- Gold Bond Exterior Stucco
Health Risks Associated with Asbestos
Diseases conclusively linked to asbestos exposure include asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma cancer. Mesothelioma symptoms typically have a long latency period, which means it can take between 20 and 50 years for symptoms of the cancer to appear after the exposure has occurred. As a result of this extended latency period, many individuals who were exposed to asbestos during the 1960s and 1970s by coming into contact with National Gypsum products are just now being diagnosed with asbestos-related respiratory diseases.
Occupational Exposure and National Gypsum
Occupations that commonly worked with asbestos-containing products produced by the National Gypsum Company include sheetrock workers, drywall tapers and plasterers, but the risk extends to anyone who worked at a building site in which National Gypsum products were used. Individuals who worked at National Gypsum plants may also have been exposed to asbestos while on the job.
The act of cutting, hacking, sawing, drilling or working with asbestos-containing products in any capacity can release dust and toxic asbestos fibers into the air. Harmful exposure occurs when these airborne fibers are inhaled. To find out if your occupation may have put you at risk for asbestos exposure, please see our Occupational Exposure page.
National Gypsum and Asbestos Litigation
In 1990, National Gypsum Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Though a slump in new home construction and a decline in the price of wallboard were partly responsible for the decision to file for bankruptcy, the main reason is believed to be the company's involvement in thousands of asbestos liability cases. By 1992, the company faced approximately 45,000 lawsuits over its use of asbestos in the construction materials the company had manufactured up until the 1970s.
As part of its reorganization plan for emerging from bankruptcy, the company transferred $5 million in cash and more than $600 million in insurance policies to the NGC Settlement Trust in order to settle asbestos-related suits and free the company from asbestos bodily injury claims. As of 2010, the NGC Settlement Trust – renamed the NGC Bodily Injury Trust in 2003 – had assets of $446 million and had paid out claims of more than $203 million.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease as a result of being exposed to asbestos through one of National Gypsum's products or National Gypsum manufacturing facilities, there are several options available to you. The NGC Bodily Injury Trust was set up to compensate patients with asbestos-related diseases contracted through exposure to National Gypsum products. Contact one of our Patient Advocates by calling (800) 615-2270 or filling out the form on this page to find out more information about treatment options and compensation packages that may be available to you.
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© 2012 The Mesothelioma Center |
Last Modified Thursday, February 23rd, 2012 | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy |
The information provided by The Mesothelioma Center is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Sponsored by a law firm concentrating in asbestos litigation, The Peterson Firm, LLP with offices at 1350 Connecticut Ave, NW, Fifth Floor, Washington DC 20036.
