Asbestos, a material once considered a God-send to American industry, has ravaged the American workforce, decimating the ranks of miners, millers, factory workers, insulators and shipyard workers.

Hundreds of former mechanics developed mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the chest and abdominal cavities caused almost exclusively by prolonged asbestos exposure, after working on brakes, clutches and gaskets, which contained the most common form of asbestos, chrysotile, and have subsequently sued auto and parts manufacturers. Worker compensation claims having to do with asbestos exposure date back to the 1930’s, yet the modern era of asbestos lawsuits didn’t begin until the 1970s.

Strong and inexpensive, resistant to fire and to heat, asbestos was used widely in construction, insulation and ship building, but by the 1960’s its health effects were widely known, as internal corporate documents regarding its carcinogenic properties surfaced. By 1981, more than 200 companies and insurers had been sued, and just one year later, Johns Manville Corp., the country’s largest producer of asbestos products, filed for bankruptcy to hold off the tide of litigation.

The 730,000 asbestos claims filed in the U.S. between the 1970’s and 2002 have cost the industry $70 billion.

The use of asbestos fell from 885,000 tons in 1973 to 1,609 tons in 2008, yet the asbestos exposure epidemic is far from over. As many as 10,000 Americans still die of asbestos-related diseases, including asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, each year. Between 1999 and 2005, 18,068 Americans died of mesothelioma. Despite the surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy typical of aggressive mesothelioma treatment, the disease is almost always fatal. There is no cure for this illness.

Another 270,000 to 330,000 asbestos related deaths are expected over the next 30 years.

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