Gold Bond Tar Paper
Myriad products are used in the construction of a home or commercial building. For decades, many of those products contained asbestos. These products were manufactured by a number of different companies but one of the most prolific manufacturers of asbestos-containing building items was the National Gypsum Company. Their products, such as wallboard, adhesive, plaster, and tar paper, were considered to be among the finest one could buy, assuring homeowners and builders that they were using quality products during the building process.
National Gypsum manufactured an elite line of products that they dubbed “Gold Bond”, purportedly because of their durability and strength. The Gold Bond line included many different housing products, including Gold Bond Tar Paper, which was used in the construction of roofs. Tar paper can be used as an underlayment for wood or asphalt or also as a waterproofing material to prevent the absorption of moisture, which could ruin the roof and the ceilings underneath.
While it’s true that National Gypsum’s Gold Bond Tar Paper was a strong and durable product, it also hid a nasty secret – just like many of the other Gold Bond products manufactured by National Gypsum. It contained asbestos. This dangerous mineral, which is naturally mined, was included in many building products because it made them stronger and more heat- and fire-resistant. Unfortunately, however, asbestos also made people sick.
Not everyone who was exposed to asbestos via Gold Bond products became sick, but many did. Asbestos-related pulmonary diseases are caused when the asbestos materials are cut, damaged, or become old. At that point, the asbestos-containing products can release dangerous airborne fibers, which can be inhaled by roofers or others using the Gold Bond Tar Paper and other products. Once inhaled, the fibers can not be expelled and often become lodged in the lungs and cause serious inflammation. In some cases, the inflammation becomes a tumor, resulting in a disease known as mesothelioma. This type of cancer is extremely aggressive and little can be done to ease its symptoms or fight the disease. Most people diagnosed with mesothelioma die within one year of diagnosis. Their lives and the lives or their family members are devastated.
So why did National Gypsum continue to use asbestos in their Gold Bond products, even when experts were trying to stress its dangers? Most people believe that asbestos continued to be used in the interest of profits, especially given the fact that the mineral was readily available and inexpensive. When the U.S. government finally released information about the dangers of asbestos in the late 1970s, it is estimated that many companies already had that information at their disposal for more than 20 years yet continued to use it in their products. The result of this negligence and cover-up was the development of hundreds of cases of asbestos cancer.
Do you have mesothelioma due to exposure to Gold Bond Tar Paper or other Gold Bond products? If so, you may have been a victim of the asbestos cover-up. If that’s the case, you may also be entitled to compensation for your medical expenses and other costs associated with the disease. For more information, order our free mesothelioma information packet.
Last modified: October 15 2008.
