An Ohio jury awarded $8 million this week to two Akron carpet installers who were seriously injured in an adhesive explosion. In September 1998, Gregory Roach and Gordon Falkner were installing carpet in the basement of a home when the hot water tank clicked on, igniting the 3.5-gallon container of M280 adhesive the men were using. Roach and Falkner each suffered severe burns on over 35 percent of their bodies in the accident.

The men filed suit against Para-Chem, a South Carolina company that manufactures the adhesive. Jurors determined the warning labels on the bonding agent did not go far enough into detail to explain the product's fire and explosion hazards.