Early Warning Signs

The first cases of asbestosis and lung cancer linked to asbestos exposure weren't diagnosed in the United States until 1935. However, evidence of the hazards of asbestos has been around since the 1st century AD, when the Roman historian Pliny the Elder noted that asbestos miners had poorer health than other slaves. Cases similar to mesothelioma were described as early as 1767, but its existence as a distinct illness was debated until the early 19th century.

Industry Knew of Asbestos Risks Early On

Following the first documented asbestos-related death in 1906, insurance companies began to raise premiums or refuse coverage to asbestos workers. Reports of a mystery tumor identified as mesothelioma appeared in medical literature for the first time in 1931. Under pressure from the asbestos industry, however, authorities resisted confirming the connection between mesothelioma and asbestos until 1960. That year, an article titled "Primary Malignant Mesothelioma of the Pleura" was published in the medical journal Lancet.

In the meantime, according to a report by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG), internal documents written by asbestos companies from 1948 to 1988 revealed that they were well aware of asbestos hazards. In a 1958 memo, for example, the National Gypsum company wrote: "...perhaps the greatest hazard in your plant is with men handling asbestos. Because just as certain as death and taxes is the fact that if you inhale asbestos dust you get asbestosis." And an excerpt from a 1966 letter written by the Director of Purchasing for the Bendix Corporation is a prime example of the industry's disregard for worker safety: "...if you have enjoyed a good life while working with asbestos products, why not die from it?"

In spite of such examples of long-standing knowledge of the hazards of asbestos for workers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) didn't begin to regulate the substance until the 1970s. In 1979, an Asbestos Textile Institute memo warned of the ultimate tragedy of the industry's failure to address the problem as it came to light: ...approximately 25,000 past and present employees in the asbestos industry have died or will eventually die of asbestos-related disease."

For more information on this topic:

• Timeline of asbestos history
• Historical and modern uses of asbestos