History of Asbestos

Asbestos has been mined and used commercially since the late 19th century, but before the risks associated with asbestos were publicly known. In the late 1800s, the Chief Inspector of Factories of the United Kingdom informed Parliament about possible health dangers to factory workers associated with asbestos dust. In 1906, a British Parliamentary Commission confirmed the first cases of asbestos deaths in factories in Britain and recommended better ventilation and safety measures.

However, it was not until 1918 that a United States insurance company first published a study showing a significant number of premature deaths among workers in the asbestos industry. Shortly thereafter, life insurance companies began to refuse to issue policies to asbestos workers, fearing detrimental health consequences. Then, in 1926, the Massachusetts Industrial Accidents Board processed the first successful compensation claim by a sick asbestos worker, which was eventually settled without a trial.

The first medical survey of asbestos workers was published in 1930 by researchers Merewether and Prince, publicizing that one in every four asbestos workers suffered from asbestosis. The researchers also revealed that asbestosis has a decades-long latency period and that asbestos dust could be controlled through proper ventilation and the use of respirators.

In 1942, Dr. Heuper, the first chief of the environmental cancer section of the National Cancer Institute, suggested that asbestos caused a cancer risk for those in all lines of production and installation of asbestos based products. The following year, the first case of an asbestos-linked mesothelial tumor was reported. Nevertheless, use of asbestos increased dramatically during World War II and many people who served as shipyard workers during the war have manifested signs of mesothelioma and asbestosis.

By 1949, over two hundred published references of asbestos-related disease were available to the public, including a warning by Dr. Heuper that asbestos causes a cancer risk to the general population. The 1949 edition of Encyclopedia Brittanica also made note that asbestos poses a risk of occupational and environmental cancer.

A major epidemiological study conducted in 1955 concluded that asbestos workers faced a risk of developing lung cancer tenfold that of the general population. A subsequent epidemiological study in 1960 confirmed that asbestos exposure causes malignant mesothelioma. The study also suggested that those who live with asbestos workers - namely their wives and children - are also at a higher risk of developing mesothelioma due to second-hand exposure to asbestos dust.

In the mid-1960s, a major researcher at New York's Mt. Sinai Hospital released a report on the occupational safety hazards of asbestos. Medical and trade literature continued to describe asbestos as a dangerous occupational and environmental hazard. Notwithstanding such public knowledge, asbestos was still commonly used as a building material well into the 1980s.

If you or a family member has been diagnosed with an illness caused by exposure to asbestos, such as mesothelioma, and you would like to discuss our rights with a professional, please fill out the free case evaluation and an experienced member of Seeger Weiss's staff will contact you. Initial consultations are free of charge and do not create an attorney-client relationship. Seeger Weiss LLP has offices located in New York and New Jersey and its attorneys are available to practice in courts throughout the country.