Asbestos Containing Caulking and Glazing Can Cause Mesothelioma
Several caulking and glazing products contained asbestos between approximately the 1950s and late 1970s. Asbestos was a fibrous mineral added to many products used in construction because it was affordable, available, and had excellent thermal and insulating properties. However, asbestos is also carcinogenic, and now known to cause mesothelioma and other serious diseases.
Caulking is a product used to fill or close seams between two surfaces in order to make them water tight or air tight. Caulking is commonly used in the new construction, remodel or repair of houses, apartments and commercial buildings. Typical applications include sealing bathroom fixtures such as sinks, bath tubs and showers.
Caulking is generally packaged in tubes and cans. The tubes are usually placed in a caulking gun, which is used to apply the product to the surfaces being sealed. Caulking in a can is usually applied with a trowel, putty knife or similar tool.
Glazing is a product similar to caulking, but is used to install, fit and seal panes or sheets of glass in window and door frames. Glazing is packaged in tubes and cans, and is applied with the same methods and tools used for caulking.
Manufacturers of asbestos containing caulking included DAP and Flintkote. Manufacturers of glazing included DAP, Tremco, Glastick Putty, and Butler Putty.
Although moist when applied, caulking and glazing products leave a dry residue on the hands, rags, tools and clothes of the worker. Workers typically clean the dry residue from their hands by brushing them together, and /or wiping their hands on their work clothes. In addition, workers usually clean the dry residue from their tools with sand paper, screwdrivers or similar means.
These clean-up activities generate and release hazardous levels of respirable asbestos fiber and dust from the dry caulking and glazing residue into the breathing zone of the worker. Once inhaled or ingested, asbestos fibers lodge in the mesothelium, or protective sac lining the heart, lungs, and abdomen. Decades later, this develops into mesothelioma or other asbestos cancers and diseases.
If you have been exposed to asbestos and are experiencing symptoms of mesothelioma or have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, our asbestos law firm specializes in mesothelioma lawsuits and can help you recover financial damages to offset medical costs from illness. Please call 1-888-855-9052 to find out more information and get the support you need.
