United States Gypsum Corporation (USG), headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, was the dominant manufacturer of gypsum wallboard and related construction products in the United States throughout the twentieth century. USG’s joint compound products — used to finish seams in gypsum board installations in walls and ceilings — contained asbestos in their formulations through the mid-1970s. USG joint compounds were used extensively in the construction of barracks, administrative buildings, and facilities at naval shore installations, schools, and training centers built during the postwar era.

Asbestos-Containing Joint Compound

USG’s joint compound formulations used asbestos as a reinforcing and bonding agent in the standard “topping” and “taping” compounds applied to wallboard seams and corners. Workers who sanded dried joint compound in newly constructed or renovated buildings were exposed to airborne asbestos fibers released during sanding operations — an exposure pathway documented extensively in asbestos litigation involving construction and building trades workers.

At Navy shore installations, the same pattern applied: buildings constructed or renovated using USG joint compound between approximately the 1950s and mid-1970s were finished with asbestos-containing materials. Shore duty personnel who worked in buildings during renovation or who were present when wallboard work was performed were exposed to joint compound asbestos dust.

Naval barracks, training facilities, administrative buildings, and shore support structures built during the Cold War era used USG and similar manufacturers’ joint compound as part of standard commercial and government construction practice. Renovation cycles at naval installations — updating facilities to meet changing occupancy requirements, repairing damage, and modernizing building systems — regularly disturbed previously installed asbestos-containing joint compound.

Asbestos-Containing Construction Products

Beyond joint compound, USG manufactured other asbestos-containing products used in the construction era:

  • USG Structo-Base and related plaster products used asbestos fiber reinforcement in gypsum plaster systems
  • Acoustical tile and ceiling systems from this era manufactured by USG and competitors contained asbestos in the tile substrate
  • Finish plaster formulations may have included asbestos for crack resistance and workability

Claims and VA Documentation

Veterans who performed construction, renovation, or maintenance work at naval shore installations during the period when USG asbestos-containing products were in use — generally through the late 1970s — were potentially exposed to asbestos from wallboard and plaster finishing operations. VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers shore-duty asbestos exposure. USG has participated in asbestos trust fund arrangements through its corporate history.