EXHIBIT-B
 Contact:                          William K. Hamilton
                                   Media Relations
                                   (212) 765-8800
                                   (419) 248-6190

Owens Corning Initiates Lawsuit Against Testing Laboratories

NEW YORK, New York. June 20,1996 -- Owens Corning today
announced that it has filed a lawsuit charging a massive
scheme to defraud the company in connection with asbestos
litigation cases.

The lawsuit, filed on June 19, 1996 in the U. S. District
Court for the Eastern district of Louisiana, New Orleans,
claims that the scheme was carried out by operators of three 
testing laboratories doing business throughout the Southeastern
United States.

Named as defendants were Glenn E. Pitts, of Brandon, Mississippi,
and his cousin Jewel D. "Jerry" Pitts, of Grand Bay, Alabama, 
at various times owners, officers or consultants of Pulmonary
Advisory Services, Inc., Pulmonary Advisory Services of 
Louisiana, Inc., and Pulmonary Testing Services, Inc.

Also named were Larry M. Mitchell, M.D., of Franklin, Tennessee, 
who was employed from 1990 through early 1995 to oversee the 
administration of the labs, and Leon Hammonds, of Grand Bay,
Alabama, who was the chief test operator for the labs from 
1990 through January, 1994.

According to the lawsuit, these laboratories generated false
medical test results involving tens of thousands of claims.
The lawsuit is part of a larger investigation, which may
impact a total of  40,000 cases.  The complaint, filed under
the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act
(RICO), states that the operators of these testing
laboratories engaged  in a deliberate scheme to solicit
potential claimants for testing and then manipulated and
falsified test results to support claims against Owens
Corning.

                              
The complaint charges that the defendants have engaged in
this unlawful scheme for the purpose of creating fraudulent
medical documentation to (a) make individuals appear to
suffer from asbestos-related pulmonary impairment or (b)
make individuals falsely appear to suffer from a more severe
pulmonary impairment.

The complaint goes on to state that the fraudulent scheme
took place over several years and was intended to defraud
Owens Corning out of tens of millions of dollars.

Owens Corning is represented in the lawsuit by Dan Webb and
former Illinois Governor James R. Thompson of the law firm of
Winston & Strawn in Chicago.  Webb is the former United
States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

Owens Corning also announced that approximately 15,000
maritime claims, in which it was named in federal district
court in Philadelphia, were dismissed last month by Judge
Charles R. Weiner.  "This development, coupled with the 40,000 cases
under investigation, reflects a positive impact on the
existing backlog," stated Glen H. Hiner, chairman and chief
executive officer.

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