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FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
What Did the Asbestos Companies
Know And When Did They Know It?
 The
companies that manufactured, sold and installed asbestos
products had extensive knowledge of the deadly hazards of
asbestos as early as 1920. Yet, these corporations waited
decades to provide warnings to workers and to the general
public. In some cases, warnings were never provided.
In addition to this actual knowledge on the part of asbestos
corporations, the evidence available in medical books and
journals revealed the dangers of asbestos exposure long before
millions of American workers were exposed.
Here's a brief timeline
of the known dangers:
Late 1800's: The
first reports of lung disease in people working in asbestos
factories.
1918: US
government report stating that it was the practice of American
and Canadian life insurance companies not to sell coverage to
asbestos workers due to the assumed injurious health
consequences. A reference reports that the Chief Inspector in
England is aware of deaths and lung disease in workers at
asbestos plants.
1924: British
medical journal publishes first widely available article
describing death of a 33-year old woman who worked in an
asbestos textile plant.
1927: A
pathologist issues a report describing asbestosis as a disease
that involves the scarring of the lungs and shortness of
breath. The report indicates that asbestosis could be fatal.
1928: Journal of
the American Medical Association publishes editorial called
"Pulmonary Asbestosis." Articles and case reports
describing incidence of asbestosis are published in the United
States and worldwide.
 1930:
Dr. Merewether, a famous researcher, publishes first clinical
examination of hundreds of workers in the asbestos industry.
He found that one out of four workers was suffering from
asbestosis. Dr. Merewether further concluded:
- That
asbestosis was a disease of latency, i.e. that workers
exposed to asbestos wouldn't show signs of injury for many
years;
- That
asbestos dust had to be controlled through ventilation and
the use of respirators.
- That
workers exposed to asbestos should be informed and warned
in order to assure a "sane appreciation of the
risk."
- That
the finished products created dust that should be
controlled and minimized.
Dr.
Merewether's medical description of asbestos disease mirrors
exactly the description of the disease today. His
recommendations, if implemented by the asbestos industry,
would have saved tens of thousands of lives and injuries to
American workers.
1930s: Reports
demonstrated that asbestosis was occurring in workers with as
little as nine months of exposure.
1933: First
American case report of asbestosis in an insulation worker.
1934: Researchers
report cases of asbestosis and lung cancer in an asbestos
factory. Many of the workers had less than six months of
exposure to asbestos. Reports were also published of
asbestosis from workplace exposure to products, including
boiler workers, custodians and insulators.
1942: Researchers
report that lung cancer in building trades workers is likely
caused by asbestos. Dr. Heuper, a noted occupational physician
and the first chief of the environmental cancer section of the
National Cancer Institute, suggests that asbestos causes
Asbestosis as well as cancer in the manufacturing process as
well as through finished building products such as insulation
and packing materials. In 1949, Dr. Heuper warns that asbestos
was a cancer risk to the general population. By this time
there were over 200 references in the widely available
literature regarding asbestos and disease.
 1943:
First case of a mesothelioma-like tumor reported.
1947: Dr.
Merewether finds that 13% of asbestosis cases also had cancer
of the lungs or pleura.
1949:
Encyclopedia Brittanica lists asbestos as a recognized cause
of occupational and environmental cancer. The Journal of the
American Medical Association concludes that asbestos is
probably linked to occupational cancer.
1953:
Mesothelioma is reported in an asbestos insulator.
1955: A major
epidemiological study demonstrates that asbestos workers have
a tenfold risk above the general population of contracting
lung cancer.
1960: Another
epidemiological study confirms reports that exposure to
asbestos causes mesothelioma. This study also included the
children and wives of asbestos workers who contracted
mesothelioma.
1964: Dr.
Selikoff, a major researcher at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New
York, confirms widespread disease among asbestos workers and
from family members living with asbestos workers. A large
number of job titles were implicated in the report, including
construction workers, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, etc.
Selikoff pointed out that asbestos did not "respect"
job titles and could harm any person who breathed in asbestos.
After 1964, the medical literature continued to identify
asbestos as a major carcinogen and environmental hazard. Over
200 publications described the hazards of asbestos by the end
of the 1960's.
Notwithstanding this knowledge, and the death that resulted
from breathing in the dust from these products, the
manufacturers and installers of these materials continued to
sell and install asbestos products without warning workers,
reducing the dust or substituting equally effective materials
in place of the asbestos. Tragically, many companies had
secured additional knowledge regarding the connection between
asbestos and cancer as early as the 1930's. However, these
companies altered research reports to hide these findings from
the public.
If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you have a legal
right to seek compensation from the companies that placed you
and your family at risk. Medical treatment is your
primary concern, however, knowing your legal rights can help
protect you and your family. Click
here to learn more about your legal options.
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