Product Description
Georgia-Pacific Corporation marketed a family of asbestos-containing drywall and plaster products following its 1965 acquisition of the Bestwall Gypsum Company. Among the Bestwall-lineage products carried forward under the Georgia-Pacific brand was a dry-powder patching plaster designed for filling holes, dents, and surface imperfections in gypsum-board and plaster walls prior to finish coating. Sold in paper bags at building-supply outlets, hardware stores, and paint stores, the product was formulated for hand-mixing with water and application by trowel or putty knife.
Plaintiffs have alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that Georgia-Pacific’s dry-powder patching plaster was formulated with chrysotile asbestos incorporated as a functional fibrous additive that improved crack resistance, workability, and adhesion. According to publicly filed asbestos litigation records, the asbestos-containing formulation remained in production through approximately 1977, when Georgia-Pacific reformulated joint-compound and patching products in response to regulatory and public-health pressure on asbestos in building materials.
Workers Exposed
Plaintiffs allege the following trades were exposed to airborne chrysotile fibers from Georgia-Pacific patching plaster:
- Drywall finishers and tapers who mixed the dry powder in buckets, applied it with knives and trowels, and — most importantly — sanded the dried patch with hand sanders or pole sanders, allegedly releasing dense clouds of respirable dust into enclosed rooms.
- Painters who patched nail holes, seams, and drywall damage as preparation work before applying primer and finish paints.
- Plasterers who used the powdered patch as a fast-set touch-up material on set plaster substrates.
- Carpenters and general trades who repaired drywall and plaster damage on renovation, remodel, and punch-list work.