Bondex Black Plastic Roof Cement / Bondex Black Mastic Roof Cement / Stays White Mobile Home Roof Coating

Product Description

Bondex International manufactured a line of roofing and coating products sold under several related brand names from approximately 1968 through 1981. These products — marketed as Bondex Black Plastic Roof Cement, Bondex Black Mastic Roof Cement, and Stays White Mobile Home Roof Coating — were commercial-grade sealants and protective coatings designed for application on flat or low-slope roofing systems, as well as on the distinctive metal roofs common to manufactured and mobile homes throughout that era.

Roof cement and mastic products of this type served as all-purpose waterproofing compounds. Installers used them to seal seams and joints, patch deteriorating roofing membranes, flash around roof penetrations such as vents and chimneys, and coat entire roof surfaces to extend service life. The Stays White variant was marketed specifically to owners of mobile homes, a rapidly growing segment of the housing market during the 1960s and 1970s. These units often featured thin aluminum or galvanized steel roofs prone to leaking and thermal stress, making a durable roof coating a practical maintenance product with broad consumer appeal.

Bondex International was a subsidiary of Reardon Company and later came under the ownership of RPM, Inc., the specialty coatings conglomerate. The Bondex product line was distributed nationally through hardware stores, roofing supply distributors, and building material retailers, giving these products wide circulation among professional roofers, general contractors, maintenance workers, and do-it-yourself homeowners.

Asbestos Content

Litigation records document that Bondex Black Plastic Roof Cement, Bondex Black Mastic Roof Cement, and Stays White Mobile Home Roof Coating contained chrysotile asbestos as a functional ingredient during the period of approximately 1968 through 1981. Chrysotile, a serpentine-form asbestos mineral, was widely used in roofing mastics and cements during this era because of its fiber reinforcement properties, its resistance to heat and weathering, and its ability to improve the structural cohesion of bituminous compounds.

In roofing mastics, chrysotile fibers were blended into an asphalt or bitumen base along with solvents and mineral fillers. The asbestos fibers prevented the compound from sagging or flowing on vertical surfaces and seams, extended product durability under thermal cycling, and enhanced resistance to cracking. These same physical properties that made chrysotile desirable as an additive made it hazardous to the workers who handled and applied these products.

Plaintiffs alleged that Bondex and related corporate parties were aware of the health hazards associated with asbestos exposure during the years these products were manufactured, yet continued to incorporate chrysotile into their roofing compounds and failed to provide adequate warnings to users.

How Workers Were Exposed

Workers who applied, mixed, or handled Bondex roofing cements and coatings during the products’ years of manufacture and use faced potential exposure to airborne chrysotile asbestos fibers. Although roof cement and mastic products are semi-solid or paste-like in their packaged form, the application process created meaningful exposure risks.

Litigation records document that fiber release occurred during several stages of work. Opening and stirring cans of roof cement disturbed the product and could release fibers into the breathing zone of the worker performing the task. Application by trowel, brush, or mop — particularly vigorous spreading or working of the compound into seams and penetrations — created additional disturbance. Workers applying the Stays White coating to mobile home roofs often worked in close proximity to the product surface in conditions with limited ventilation, which could concentrate airborne fibers near the breathing zone.

Dry or partially cured material presented a different but equally significant hazard. Old applications of asbestos-containing roof cement that had weathered, cracked, or aged became friable over time. Roofers performing maintenance, repair, or reroofing work on surfaces previously coated with Bondex products were exposed to asbestos fibers released during scraping, cutting, grinding, or pressure-washing of the old material. These so-called secondary or disturbance exposures could be intense, particularly when work was performed without respiratory protection.

Plaintiffs alleged that exposure categories included professional roofers applying these products as part of their regular trade work, general laborers and construction workers assisting in roofing operations, maintenance personnel responsible for upkeep of commercial or industrial facilities with flat roofing systems, mobile home owners and service workers who applied or disturbed the Stays White coating, and industrial workers in facilities where these products were stocked and used for facility maintenance.

OSHA’s permissible exposure limit for asbestos has been progressively tightened since the 1970s as scientific understanding of asbestos-related disease developed. Current OSHA standards classify chrysotile as a confirmed human carcinogen with no safe level of occupational exposure established. Asbestos-related diseases attributable to chrysotile exposure include malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, and other pleural conditions. These diseases characteristically have latency periods of twenty to fifty years between initial exposure and clinical diagnosis, meaning workers exposed to Bondex products during the 1968–1981 production window may be receiving diagnoses today.

Documented Product Identification

The following details are drawn from public asbestos litigation records, manufacturer catalog pages, technical manuals, and corporate history materials. Each item reflects the product as documented in those sources.

Documented asbestos-use period: 1961-1981

Corporate context: Also known as Reardon, RPM, and Republic Powdered Metals. Warning labels were added to packaging in 1972 or 1973.

Brand identification: Products sold under multiple brand names including Bondex, Reardon’s, Trax, Montgomery Ward, Penncraft, Hi & Dri, NPD, Cook’s Lifeline, Brod Dirgan, F.O. Pierce, and Metro

Documented asbestos components: chrysotile.

Industries served: residential construction, commercial construction, mobile home manufacturing, drywall installation.

Documented product lines:

  • Dramex Interior Finish (1961-1977). Interior texture paint containing 7.3% chrysotile asbestos. — asbestos components: chrysotile.
  • Dramax Exterior Finish (1961-1977). Exterior paint containing 7.2% chrysotile asbestos. — asbestos components: chrysotile.
  • Water Putty (1961-1977). Interior patching compound containing 6.5% chrysotile asbestos. — asbestos components: chrysotile.
  • Handy Patch All Purpose Patcher (1961-1977). Interior patching compound containing 7.5% chrysotile asbestos. — asbestos components: chrysotile.
  • SX Joint Cement (1961-1977). Drywall joint treatment material containing 14.8% chrysotile asbestos. — asbestos components: chrysotile.
  • All Purpose Joint Cement (1961-1977). Drywall joint treatment material containing 5% chrysotile asbestos. — asbestos components: chrysotile.
  • Ready-Mixed Joint Cement (1961-1977). Drywall joint treatment material containing 3.8% chrysotile asbestos. — asbestos components: chrysotile.
  • Block Filler & Primer (1961-1977). Cite block filler and primer containing 9.1% chrysotile asbestos. — asbestos components: chrysotile.

All Bondex asbestos-containing products used chrysotile asbestos. Products were sold under numerous private label and store brand names through retailers including Montgomery Ward. Sanding of dried joint compounds was a documented application method.