What Was Known
Medical and scientific evidence suggested that asbestos was causing lung diseases like mesothelioma during the early 1800s. There were studies done all over the world on the subject but much of the evidence was brushed under the rug or dismissed.
Because of the lengthy latency period of mesothelioma, there were few cases of that particular disease, but there were a host of others caused or aggravated by the presence of asbestos fibers in the air and on the bodies of miners and workers.
Even as far back as 4000 BC medical scholars noted the correlation between the people who worked with asbestos and lung troubles. Philosophers and scholars alike studied the disease, its effects and researched the causes. This information was stored but little was done to protect those affected by the dust and fibers then or in the 19th century.
What Was Hidden
The evidence of the ill effects of mesothelioma was hidden from the very people who could have made the choice to put themselves at risk. The people who worked in factories and mines that produced asbestos and people who worked to make asbestos based products are at the highest risk. There was often no ventilation, no masks to protect the lungs and no protective clothing to block the fibers from settling on the skin. Many people who never entered a factory but worked with people who did are at risk for developing mesothelioma without even knowing it.
Instead of providing protective measures, the companies hid the information and in some cases covered it up with false claims about the safety of asbestos. There were several asbestos company funded research programs done to prove the safety of asbestos and anything written to the contrary was rebuffed, rebuked or simply hidden. Many scientists had their reputations ruined by asbestos companies looking to hide the dangers of asbestos. |
