Home > U.S. Government Position on Asbestos > Failure to Warn
Even though the dangers of asbestos were well-known and documented in the medical and scientific communities by the 1930's, asbestos-containing products were still manufactured and used in construction and in a variety of industries up until the late 1970's. The joint compound industry was no different. Manufacturers of asbestos-containing joint compound understood that their products had the potential to cause mesothelioma and lung cancer by mixing, sanding and clean-up of their product.
Because of the potential to collect enormous profits by manufacturing and distributing asbestos-containing joint compound, numerous manufacturers continued to incorporate asbestos into their products even though they were well aware of the health dangers these products posed. These same companies failed to place appropriate warning labels on their joint compound products, because they were confident that the illnesses caused by exposure to asbestos would develop long after workers were exposed, and that in turn caused them to believe they would never be held responsible.