Document mDwO39px8mpNMjwVoEwOL3E4

FILE NAME: Drywall Spackling Compounds (DWSC) DATE: 1977 Apr 28 DOC#: DWSC027 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: National Resources Defense Council, Inc. - Press Release Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. 9 1 7 I 5 T H S T R E E T , N. W. BOARD OF TRUSTEES Stephen P. Dug gan Chairman James Marshall Vice Chairman Dr. George M. Woodwell Vice Chairman Dr. Dean E. Abrahamson Mrs. Louis Auchincloss Boris I. Bittker Frederick A. Collins, Jr. Dr. Rene J. Dubos James B. Fra nke l Robert W. Gilmore Lady Jackson, D.B.E. Hamilton Kean FOR Dr. Joshua Lederberg Anthony Mazzocchi Paul N. McCloskey, Jr. Michael McIntosh Eleanor Holmes Norton Owen Olpin Franklin E. Parker Dr. GiiEord B. Pinchot Charles B. Rangel Robert Bedford John R. Robinson Laurance Rockefeller J. W il la r d Roosevelt Whitney North Seymour, Jr. David Sive WA S HI N G T O N , D.C. 2 OOO5 202 737- 50 0 0 April 28, 1977 New York Office 15 .VEST 4 4 T II ST R EE T NEW YORK, N.Y. IOO3G 212 8 69 -0 15 0 Western Office 664 HAMILTON AVENUE PALC ALTO, CALIF. 94301 415 327-1080 IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Ruby I. Compton 737-5000 Barry I. Castleman 387-7595 ENVIRONMENTALISTS WIN BAN ON WALL PATCHING COMPOUNDS CONTAINING ASBESTOS Today the Consumer Product Safety Commission Beatrice Abbott Duggan U.N. Representative (CPSC) acted to grant a petition filed last July by the John FI. Ada ms Executive Director Natural Resources Defense Council and Consumers Union. The petition requested the Commission to ban the sale of drywall spackle, joint, and taping compounds containing cancer-causing asbestos. In a letter yesterday to the CPSC NRDC requested that the CPSC declare that these patching compounds create an "imminent hazard" to the public health. This declaration would result in the immediate recall of these products while the Commission proceeds with the rulemaking on the final ban.. If the CPSC were to grant this request, consumers v/ho had purchased patching compounds containing asbestos could return them and get a refund from their hardware store or other retail outlet. Retailers would then return these products to the manufacturer for a refund. 73 100% Recycled Paper - 2- The NRDC letter and petition cited evidence that even very brief, low-level exposures to asbestos, such as from a single use of a asbestos-containing patching compound, will expose the consumer to an increased risk of cancer. Asbestos inhalation causes lung cancer and the always fatal mesothe lioma. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the linings of the lungs and stomach. "Asbestos is not an essential ingredient in wall patching compounds. These products should be recalled and removed from the retailers' shelves before more consumers are unnecessarily exposed to the cancer-causing asbestos," said Ruby Compton, Attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council* At the time the petition was filed, NRDC also asked the Commission to review other consumer products for asbestos content and ban those products which present a significant health risk. In its letter yesterday, NRDC repeated their request, citing specific ether asbestoscontaining products which should receive immediate action: children's modeling clay; paints; wallboards and panels; asbestos floor tile, backings, and adhesives; asbestos cement powders; pure asbestos dust; and brake linings and shoes. NRDC suggested that the Commission identify all corporations which use asbestos in their products, and request from them information on the name, quantity, amount of asbestos used, end use, and distribution of all such products. This information would be used to determine which additional consumer products containing asbestos should be banned.