Product Description
Kaiser Gypsum Kal-Tex was a spray-applied texture compound marketed by Kaiser Gypsum Company for the finishing of interior ceilings and walls in residential, commercial, and light-institutional construction. Sold in dry-powder form for hopper-gun and pole-gun spray application, Kal-Tex allowed drywall finishers, painters, and specialty texture applicators to produce a range of decorative textures — from popcorn and orange-peel ceilings to knockdown and spatter finishes — over new drywall and plaster substrates.
Plaintiffs have alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that Kal-Tex was formulated with chrysotile asbestos incorporated as a fibrous reinforcement throughout portions of its production run in the 1960s and 1970s. According to publicly filed asbestos litigation records, the product was distributed through Kaiser Gypsum’s dealer and distributor network and applied on new-construction, tract-housing, and renovation jobsites nationwide.
Workers Exposed
Plaintiffs allege the following trades were exposed to airborne chrysotile fibers from Kal-Tex:
- Drywall finishers and specialty texture applicators who opened Kal-Tex bags, dumped powder into hopper guns and mixing buckets, and sprayed the wet texture onto ceilings and walls — allegedly generating overspray, mist, and dry-side dust that filled entire rooms.
- Painters who prepared, primed, and finish-painted Kal-Tex-textured surfaces, and who occasionally patched and re-textured damaged areas.
- Plasterers and laborers who tended texture applicators, swept up dry spatter, and hauled empty bags — allegedly inhaling fibers from spatter cleanup and floor sweeping.
- Renovation and remodel workers who scraped popcorn ceilings and knockdown textures decades after original application, allegedly disturbing bound chrysotile fibers and generating respirable dust.