Spackle
The dictionary defines spackling compound as a powder containing gypsum plaster and glue which, when mixed with water, hardens into a plastic paste used to fill holes in plaster. Spackling plaster is a mixture of lime and gypsum with sand and water that hardens into a smooth solid used to cover walls and ceilings. Until the late 1970s, spackle nearly always also contained asbestos, touted for its fire retardant and insulating properties. From 1930 on, spackle was often applied to walls and ceilings with a trowel to create decorative plaster patterns that are characteristic of architecture of that period.
The problem, of course, is that spackle containing asbestos can become deadly when it begins to deteriorate, or when it is sanded or taken down. At that point, the asbestos bound into the plaster is released into the air as dust which, when inhaled, can lodge as tiny fibers in the lungs and other linings around the organs. The body doesn't deal well with the intrusion. Though there are often no symptoms for decades, the end result is mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that thickens the thin lining of tissue around the lungs, or in rarer cases the abdomen or the heart. Because the early symptoms are so often misdiagnosed, mesothelioma is always fatal, often within months of diagnosis.
If you live in a home that was built before 1980, chances are good that you are surrounded by asbestos. Asbestos was mixed into floor adhesives and linoleum tiles (especially the 9x9 tiles that are a popular do it yourself floor covering). It was bound into wallboard and drywall, plasterboard and other wall and ceiling sheathing materials. It was applied to walls and ceilings with a trowel when mixed into plaster, wrapped around heating pipes and boilers, mixed into paints, combined with cement and formed into ceiling tiles - and that's just a few of the uses for asbestos in the building and construction trade.
While those in the construction and demolition industries are at highest risk of developing mesothelioma than the general population, the exposure to asbestos doesn't end there. Because of its widespread use in home construction, there are few people who totally escape exposure to airborne asbestos. It is when that exposure becomes more concentrated that it becomes a serious problem. Some of the ways that might happen include things as commonplace as sanding down a plaster wall to apply paint or wallpaper, or tearing up an old floor to expose the natural wood floor beneath it.
These days, there are safety guidelines from the EPA and OSHA to ensure safer handling of asbestos related repairs. Before the 1980s however, the information about mesothelioma and its relationship to asbestos was far less widespread. It was common then for people who worked in remodeling and renovation to tear down walls and ceilings without any safety precautions being taken. Common do-it-yourself projects may have exposed millions to high concentrations of asbestos dust from products used in building their homes.
Even more at risk are those who worked in construction, remodeling and renovating older homes. If you or someone you know worked in those fields, especially if they did home construction or remodeling prior to 1980, they may have been exposed to dangerously high levels of asbestos and be at risk for developing mesothelioma. Unfortunately, there is no known way to prevent mesothelioma from developing after asbestos fibers have lodged in the lungs, and mesothelioma has no known cure. There is, however, legal recourse for those who developed mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos from products like spackle. Because the asbestos companies did their best to hide the dangers of asbestos from the public - and even their own workers - the courts have often awarded high settlements to those who became ill after being exposed to asbestos in many products. If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, contact an experienced mesothelioma attorney for information about your right to compensation.
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