Asbestos Found in Cement Wallboard

Portland cement wallboard was a popular product in the building industry because of its fire resistant, good insulation and anti-corrosive properties. Moreover, it was available in smooth sheets large enough to cover entire interior walls and these sheets could be cut, drilled, and shaped with great ease. No wonder it was so popular!

Asbestos Exposure from Cement Wallboard

As it turned out, this very popularity served to be the undoing of those who were engaged in the trade, such as drywall tapers and drywall installers. They were inadvertently handling a material that contained asbestos. When drywall installers cut, drilled, and shaped the sheets during the installation process, asbestos dust was released into the air they breathed. When drywall tapers used joint compound and drywall tape to fill joints and cracks and screw heads and nail heads with putty, they were using an asbestos-containing compound. So was the case with other products used in the trade, such as asbestos cement panels, plaster, and wall patching compounds.

Cement Wallboard Containing Asbestos Fibers

Cement wallboard replaced plaster walls around 1916 when Sheetrock was invented by the US Gypsum Company. Making walls of plaster was a time-consuming task and using cement wallboard made the process both faster and cost-effective. Most homes built in and around the 1950s used this material. Besides the hazard to the installers, people living in homes using this material faced no grave danger owing to the presence of asbestos. The point at which the cement wallboard starts deteriorating and releasing asbestos fibers into the air is when the trouble begins.

Generally, homes built after 1980 did not contain asbestos wallboard. But for those living in homes constructed before that date, the chances of being infected with asbestos dust is very high. It is important to be armed with the right information and look out for the first signs of the disease called mesothelioma that is conclusively linked with asbestos exposure. Since the malignancy usually has a gestation period of 20 to 50 years, those living in homes built in the 1950s will become aware of the infection only now. There is much that can be done if the symptoms are detected at the earliest.