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The Asbestos Cover-up

Despite extensive historical documentation that asbestos exposure causes severe health conditions, the hazardous mineral was heavily mined and processed into thousands of industrial and domestic products for its many advantageous chemical properties. Starting in the late-1800s, commercial asbestos mines began to open across the world. The flourishing Industrial Revolution promoted vast innovation in the application of asbestos, and the companies involved in the production of these products began to see ever-increasing profits. Soon the asbestos business developed into a major industry, boasting unbelievable profit margins and employing thousands of workers.

Though the industry would like to contest otherwise, asbestos companies were not in the dark about the health implications of asbestos exposure. All it takes is the reading of a few important internal documents to recognize the asbestos industry was fully aware of the dangers of asbestos.

Early Twentieth Century Proof of Asbestos Hazards

Within the first decade of the 20th century, a London physician found asbestos fibers in the lungs of a young man employed by a textile factory who died at age 33 from the first diagnosed case of asbestosis. In 1917, the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Medicine found lung scarring in asbestos factory workers. A year later, a report issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics claimed that, due to the early deaths of young asbestos workers, insurers were denying coverage based on the "assumed health-injurious conditions." Several years later, the British Medical Journal began publishing numerous medical papers on asbestosis, reporting indisputable links between asbestos, cancer, and death.

The Cover-Up Begins

Countless documents such as the following have provided clear evidence that the asbestos industry was completely aware that asbestos exposure causes serious health problems-and it is these documents that have helped to prove the negligence of such companies in the court room.

By the 1930s, asbestos manufacturers undoubtedly knew asbestos exposure bears fatal implications. In 1934, Aetna Insurance noted asbestos exposure led to "permanent disability followed by death." By the late-1940s, it was medically accepted that exposure to asbestos could cause lung cancer, asbestosis, and mesothelioma. Yet, instead of offering protection or adopting safety standards, asbestos companies concealed the truth from the public and press, as well as their employees. There were incidents of employees' health being monitored without their agreement or awareness, and asbestos companies even rewrote study results to keep the dangers secret. Asbestos companies even incorrectly labeled their products with full intention of concealing hazards, and some didn't bother to label at all. In 1949, a document from Exxon declared a causal relationship between asbestos exposure and lung cancer, among other diseases as well.

A revealing National Gypsum Co. internal document from 1958 states, "...just as certain as death and taxes is the fact that if you inhale asbestos dust you get asbestosis." Despite this knowledge, companies still placed countless workers at risk, and even terminated relationships with those who stood in their way. For example, a doctor who was hired to report asbestos hazards to Philip Carey Manufacturing was fired in 1964 after establishing association between asbestos and cancer. In a 1966 memo from the purchasing director of Bendix Corporation addressed to Canadian Johns Manville, the director states, "...if you have enjoyed a good life while working with asbestos products why not die from it."

In 1972, a W.R. Grace executive expressed his company's position in an internal memo, stating "our present policy is to tell no one anything." The following year, Union Carbide instructed its personnel to inform customers that "asbestos is not a carcinogen." In the same year, the company's medical department advised them to stop downplaying asbestos dangers in marketing campaigns, but the company ignored the warnings. During a 1973 meeting of the Asbestos Textile Institute, industry representatives acknowledged that thousands would face fatal consequences in the future, but "the good news" was that "few people have been paying attention." Even as late as 1980, DuPont requested that physicians remove the word "asbestos" from x-ray stamps and replace it with term "irritant." By this point, many companies ceased performing studies since they were all too aware of the results, and focused on suppressing public knowledge.

Clearly, attempts to deny pre-existing knowledge of the hazards of asbestos exposure are contrived and unfounded. For more information on the asbestos cover-up and other important issues surrounding asbestos disease and litigation, please fill out the form on the right to receive an informative packet or give us a call at 1-800-ASBESTOS (1-800-272-3786).

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