12-01-2006, 08:57 AM
Gypsom hasn't been banned here yet. It is used in what you folk call "Dry Wall". The most common brand here is GYPROK so regardless of the brand delivered to a house site the workers who install it are called GYPROCKERS. Prior to that we had Fibrous Cement Sheeting which was referred to by one and all as Fibro. It was used on external and internal walls and was commonly seen in the poorer neighbourhoods so the residents of those suburbs became nicknamed "The Fibros" and wore the name with pride. A shipment of Fibro was sent over to Vietnam to build housing for the Australian troops serving in that war. When the ship was being unloaded by U.S. Troops someone said what is this fiber in the cement sheets. It was asbestos. Needless to say it was promptly dumped at sea. We lived in several Fibro clad houses and I don't think it was a coincidence both of my parents died of Mesotheloma the lung cancer caused by asbestos. It's probably in my system as well. The cement sheet is still being manufactured but these days they use wood fiber instead of asbestos. Legal claims against James Hardie (the manufacturer) for asbestos related diseases have yet to be settled after all these years. Their products are now being manufactured in the U.S. as well as here.
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