Drywall is the first-choice material for interior wall finishing in most American buildings. That includes residential, commercial and industrial applications. <\/span><\/p>\n Also called gypsum wallboard or sheetrock, American builders have used drywall products for over seven decades. It\u2019s fast to install, finishes smoothly and is economical to work with.<\/span><\/p>\n Today\u2019s drywall sheets, tape, and joint compounds are also safe to work with. That wasn\u2019t the case with earlier drywall products. <\/span><\/p>\n Until the early 1970s, practically all drywall building components contained asbestos. Originally, manufacturers added asbestos fibers into drywall materials to make them lighter, stronger and more fire-resistant.<\/span><\/p>\n That turned into a national disaster that compounded the entire asbestos exposure<\/a> problem. <\/span><\/p>\n Working with asbestos-containing drywall products exposed thousands of American construction workers to deadly airborne asbestos fibers. Sadly, many of those workers developed asbestos-caused diseases like mesothelioma.<\/span><\/p>\n