Document 2q3O1M0RzEz8X2d7XG6e79V4g

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINaSEP 1 6 1Qq ORAATLPEITGrHil PDVITVITISTPIOTANM IJJOO No. 84-278-CIV-5 'J.R1CH LEONARD, CLERK M.S.DISTRICT COURT t DJST. NO. CAR. JAMES S. PRICE Plaintiff, vs. UNITED STATES GYPSUM CO., et al. UNITED STATES GYPSUM COMPANY'S RESPONSES TO PLAINTIFFS' STANDARD FIRST SET OF INTERROGATORIES Defendants, 1. (a) C. L. Murphy has reviewed these responses for purposes of meeting the verification requirements. (b) Manager, Financial Accounting. (c) 101 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, II 60606. (d) Objection. This Interrogatory is not relevant and is not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. (e) June 15, 1972 to the present. .2 (a) United States Gypsum Company. (b) Chicago, IL. (c) Delaware. ^ ^ ,it (d) July 1, 1966, United States Gypsum Company^ # (e-g) This defendant is not contesting persona^ - ?g o ~f5 jurisdiction for purposes of this a....c...t..i.o...n..... g ^ jr 3. Yes, United States Gypsum Company. 4. (a) Yes. (b) Yes. (c) This defendant does not understand what is meant by the term "processed such a product", and accordingly cannot form a response to this inquiry 'he * ' With respect to the products identified in the Prefatory Statement and which were manufactured and sold at any time during Plaintiffs' alleged exposure periods: Generic Name Product Name Years of Color, Manufacture Texture and with Asbestos Packaqinq Maximum Percentac of Chrysotile Asbestos Basecoat Plasters and Patching Plaster* Structolite Plaster for Machine Application 1955-1972 Red Top Wood Fiber Plaster Regular and Machine Application 1945-1972 Red Top Gypsum Plaster for Machine Application Red Top Patching Plaster 1961-1966 1929-1951 All basecoat. All basecoat, ' finish and finish and patching patching plasters plasters were contained 1.0% oi white to less of asbestos. off-white powders (with the exception of ' Oriental Interior Finish Plaster which was manu factured in many different colors) All basecoat, 'finish and patching plasters were packaged in Kraft Paper Bags. - Finish Plasters* Oriental 1942-1972 Interior Finish Plaster Red Top 1948-1972 Cover Coat Finish Plaster Red Top . Trowel Finish 1944-1968 - Stucco Oriental Exterior Finish Stucco 1930-1972 White and 1.0 or less pastel powder Kraft Paper Bags EXHIBIT "A" Page 1 of 3 . Generic Name Product Name Acoustical Audicote Plasters Acoustical Plaster Hi-Lite Acoustical Plaster Sabinite Acoustical Plaster Years of Manufacture with Asbestos Color, Texture and Packaging Maximum Percenta of Chrysotile Asbestos 1954-1972 All acoustical 1.0-26.0% plasters were white to off- white powder. Kraft Paper Bags 1954-1972 ' . 1930-1964 Joint Comoounds Siding Roofing Shingles PERF-A-TAPE 1944-1976 USG 1937-1976 DURABOND 1962-1976 TEXOLITE 1963-1976 KEMIDOL 1971-1976 USG Cover Coat 1964-1976 DURABOND 90, 1970-1976 902, All Purpose 6 XL TEXOLITE 1952-1976 PASTE SPACKLING PUTTY DURABOND 1952-1976 PASTE SPACKLING PUTTY USG Glatex Concord USG 1937-1975 1937-1975 1937-1975 1937-1946 & 1967-1975 All joint 3.0-5.0% compounds were white to off-white powders or white to greyish ready- mix formulations. Bags, buckets, and cartons Approximately 12-1! o.6-i;o% Block X-FAC Insulation K-FAC 19 1943-i950 18 mos. during 1970-1971 Greyishwhite brittle, rigid, light weight block. Cartons. 10.0-21.0% EXHIBIT "A" Page 2 of 3 t Generic Name Product Name Years of Color, Manufacture Texture and ivith Asbestos Packaging Maximum Percental of Chrysotile Asbestos Pipe covering Ceiling Tiles Asbestos Air 1936-1938 Cell; Wool Felt Air Cell? Laminated Asbestos and Sponge Pipe ' Covering; Hair and Wool Felt Pipecovering; Anti-Sweat Pipecovering; Range Boiler Jackets; Pyrobestos Pipe Covering. Acoustone 120 1967-1975 Acoustone 180 1966-1976 Fireproof Firecode D Plasters Firecode V Spray Mineral Fiber SprayDon 1962-1964 1964-1970 1965-1971 White to offwhite papers. Cartons. 30.0-91.0% White, corrugated boxes. Greyishwhite bags Greyishwhite bags Approximately 12 Approximately 13 Approximately 17 7.0%-30.0% 6 (c) (vi) . The following are known to have been approved suppliers of asbestos: Canadian Johns-Manville, Lake Asbestos of Quebec, Nicolet Industries, Carey-Canadian, and Asbestos Corporation. It is unknown which source of supply was used in any particular product, which iftines the raw asbestos was mined from and which locations the raw asbestos was shipped from. This defendant has located no documentation to ascertain from whom asbestos was specifically purchased prior to 1973. For the years 1973 through 1976, additional asbestos suppliers to this defendant may have been Atlas Asbestos, Union Carbide, and Pacific Asbestos; Atlas Asbestos and Pacific Asbestos shipped only to California. C EXHIBIT "A" Page 3 of 3 The decision to commence a project to attempt to reformulate joint compound products without asbestos was made in 1972 for the purpose of manufacturing said products within OSHA guidelines. The decision was not made by a single individual and cannot even be traced to a specific group of individuals. Decisions relating to product retention and profitability are made with input from many groups within the Company. Asbestos-free joint compounds began to be commercially produced at some plants in 1975.'- Additionally, market demand for some products did not support the investment required for this defendant to reformulate the product without asbestos. This decision was not made by a single individual and cannot even definitely be traced to a specific group of individuals. Decisions relating to profitability and product retention are made with input from many groups within the Company. Some individuals who may have participated in the decision bo discontinue some asbestoscontaining products, as given in testimony by J. N. Walker in Lexington Co. School District Five vs. USG, on July 26, 1983, are: Earl Maynard, Dr. Zabor (then Vice President, Research). Of the products identified in Exhibit A, the following were dropped from this defendant's product line due to low profitability, unrelated to the fact that these products contained some asbestos: ** SABINITE FIRECODE D FIRECODE V PAC TEX A - B TEX Special Texture Paint Sanded Colored Texture Paint USG Multipurpose Texture Paint <LCTP176) USG Texture Paint Special Texture Paint (LCTP - 197D) Spray Texture A - B TEX (LCTP 248B) EXHIBIT "B" Page 1 of 3 USG Texture (LCTP - 2490 Spray Texture Paint (LCTP -245A) Spray Texture Paint (LCTP - 253) Simulated Acoustical Spray (46A, SA85) Aggregated Spray Texture (LCTP - 272) Aggregated Spray Texture (LSTP - 302B) Simulated Acoustical Spray (1480 Aggregated Spray (LCTP - 3850 Imperial QT Regular Vermiculate (SA-298C) Spray Texture (LCTP 445B) Smooth Hard Finish (HC 38C) Imperial QT Texture (SA 323) USG Super Hard Spray USG Spray Texture (LCTP 421) Spray Texture Finish (LCTP 447) Simulated Acoustical Spray Texture (SA65A) Simulated Acoustical Spray Texture (SA71) Imperial QT Texture (SA185B) Simulated Acoustical Spray (SA62A, 94C, 112A, 119D, 147# 150) Simulated Acoustical Spray (SA151A) ,, Imperial QT (SA71, 233B) Multi-Purpose Texture (LCTP 384D). R/M Simulated Acoustical Spray Imperial QT Texture Polystyrene (SA331) SHEETROCK Simulated Acoustical Spray (149) SHEETROCK Simulated Acoustical Spray (x-7) Aggregated Spray Texture (421-C) EXHIBIT "B" Page 2 of 3 Imperial QT Regular (SA292C) Aggregated Spray Texture (LCTP 437F) Imperial QT Coarse Vermiculite EXHIBIT "B" Page 3 of 3 STATE OF ILLINOIS )T ) SS COUNTY OF COOK )- VERIFICATION I, C. L. Murphy, declare: I am the Manager, Financial Accounting, of United States Gypsum Company, one of the above named defendants, and am authorized to make this verification for and on behalf of said corporation; I have read the foregoing Answers, Objections, and other Responses to Plaintiff's First Sfet of Supplemental Interrogatories and am informed and believe that the same is true and on that ground allege that the matters therein stated are true. I declare, under penalty of perjury, that the foregoing is true and correct, and that this declaration was executed on September ll, 1985 in Chicago, Illinois. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 11th day of September , 1985. ^------ Notary Public f -S' * c. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE The undersigned counsel for the defendant. United States Gypsum Company, do hereby certify that a copy of the following document: UNITED STATES GYPSUM COMPANY'S RESPONSES TO PLAINTIFFS'' STANDARD FIRST SET OF INTERROGATORIES, was served upon the below-mentioned attorneys by depositing a copy of same in the United States Mail, with sufficient postage to assure delivery, addressed to said attorneys, as stated below. This the /^^day of. 1985. C ' -adz7 Hj/ skass Darryl G. Lowe, Attorney for Defendant, United States Gypsum Company Lowe & Shirley Suite 500 Hamilton Building 531 South Gay Street Knoxville, Tennessee 37902 *t it i i i ! C t 4 SERVED Michael W. Patrick, Esquire P. O. Box 1020 Chapel Hill, N.C. 27514 .. . . .* Armistead J. Maupin, Esquire P. O. Box 19764 Raleigh, N.C 27618 . ' Thomas El. Harris, Esquire P. O. Box 867 New Bern, N.C. 28560* Charles H. Mercer, Jr., Esquire P. O. Box 17884 Raleigh, N.C. 27619 * " Marvin D..Musselwhite, Jr., Esquire P. O. Box 10096 Raleigh, N.C. 27605 " ' * James G. Billings, Esquire P. O. Box 12807 Raleigh, N.C. *27605 Victor S. Bryant, Jr., Esquire P. O. Box 341 ...................... Durham, N.C. 27702 ' John E. Aldridge, Jr., Esquire P. O. Box 31627 Raleigh, N.C. *27622 * * William K. Davis, Esquire P. O. Box 49 Winston-Salem, N.C. 27102 Gerald H. Davidson, Jr., Esquire P. 0. Box 21927 Greensboro, N.C. 274*20 ' F. Blackwell Stith, Esquire P. O. Drawer 1427 New Bern, N.C. 28560 James N. Golding, Esquire P. 0. -Box 7316 Asheville, N.C. 28807 H. Hugh Stevens, Jr., Esquire P. 0. Box 389 Raleigh, N.C. 27602 I certify the foregoing to be a true and correct copy of page 1, pages 1 through 3 of Exhibit A, pages 1 through 3 of Exhibit B, verification page and the certificate of service from "United States Gypsum Company's Responses to Plaintiffs' Standard First Set of Interrogatories.". j J. Rich Leonard, Clerk United States District Court Eastern District of North Carolina Deputy Clerk