Product Description
Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that National Gypsum Company’s Audicote was a sprayed acoustical plaster product allegedly formulated with asbestos fiber blended into a plaster matrix. According to publicly filed asbestos litigation records, Audicote was allegedly spray-applied by hopper gun to ceiling deck undersides and acoustical surfaces in commercial, institutional, and educational buildings — providing both fire-resistance and sound-absorption performance.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned spray-applied asbestos fireproofing in 1973 under 40 CFR Part 61, and plaintiffs alleged that sprayed asbestos acoustical plaster fell within the scope of the ban. Plaintiffs alleged that Audicote with asbestos content was manufactured and sold through the 1973 EPA cutoff, with sprayed acoustical material remaining in place inside schools, hospitals, offices, and public buildings for decades.
Workers Exposed
Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that the following trades were exposed to Audicote sprayed acoustical plaster:
- Sprayed acoustical plaster applicators and hopper-fillers — mixing and spraying asbestos-containing Audicote onto ceilings and decks
- Plasterers — troweling, patching, and finishing sprayed acoustical surfaces
- Drywall finishers and carpenters — installing ceilings and partitions in Audicote-treated spaces
- Insulators — patching and rework of sprayed acoustical plaster around penetrations
- HVAC technicians and building maintenance workers — working above ceilings in plenums where Audicote was applied to deck undersides
- Electricians — running conduit through ceiling voids with sprayed Audicote
- Demolition workers — encountering friable Audicote during renovation and tear-down of schools, hospitals, and commercial buildings
- Post-1973 abatement contractors and workers — removing legacy Audicote from occupied institutional spaces