Reaming-Out Dr

The drain in her bathroom sink was clogged, and Mrs. Frances Moore of Oak Lawn, Ill., decided to clean it out with Drano. But before she could unscrew the cap, the can exploded at the seam and her face was splattered with the product, which is more than half lye. In less than two minutes, she was blinded for life. That was nearly eight years ago. Last week, after listening to her story, a Cook County Circuit Court jury decided that the Drackett Products Co., manufacturers of Drano, should pay her $930,000.

The size of the award was largely due to the jury's finding of "willful and wanton" misconduct by Drackett. One of the most chemically active products made for the home, Drano produces hydrogen gas and generates heat of 212DEG to melt or otherwise destroy materials clogging a drain; all it takes to start it sizzling is contact with water. Mrs. Moore's lawyer contended that moisture had somehow got into the can, and that the company was aware that this could happen. Its quality-control department, he said, had noted "that the material itself was lumpy, indicating the presence of moisture."

But the company did not follow corrective recommendations. Compounding the trouble was the fact that at the time of the tragedy, Drano lids had been changed from the press-on to the screw-on variety. The threaded lid was capable of withstanding far more pressure than the can itself. At least three cans, in addition to the one that blinded Mrs. Moore, exploded and caused injuries before the company changed the cap. Now a flip-top lid is used, so that even if moisture should get in and cause a pressure-building reaction, the top would probably pop off gently long before an explosive force could develop and blow the can apart.

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