The mineral is attractive for industrial uses because it acts as an insulator, is a fire retardant, strengthens concrete, and resists chemical breakdown. Despite its usefulness in industrial applications, asbestos has also long been known to be harmful to human health. The first report that indicated the health hazards of asbestos was published in the British Medical Journal in 1924. In addition, internal communications of Johns-Manville, the largest producer of asbestos, reported the dangers of the mineral as early as 1930.
The Health Hazards of Asbestos
The fibrous nature of asbestos makes it difficult for the body to rid itself of the mineral. Inhaled asbestos fibers become lodged in the lungs. The most common diseases caused by asbestos are asbestosis and mesothelioma, a kind of lung cancer. These diseases affect the lungs or the abdominal cavity. It may take 10 to 40 years for these diseases to manifest themselves. In hearings before a congressional committee in the late 1970s, it was estimated that 20 to 25 percent of both factory workers exposed to asbestos dust and persons installing asbestos products die of lung cancer (as cited in Calhoun and Hiller 1988). An estimated 11 million workers in the United States have been exposed to asbestos dust at work. Since asbestos-related diseases have a long latency period, however, the symptoms of these diseases are very slow to be recognized. Ten thousand Americans die of asbestos disease each year.
The Johns-Manville Corporation
The Johns-Manville Corporation began manufacturing asbestos products in 1901. It became the largest asbestos manufacturing company in the world. As of the early 1980s, asbestos had thousands of commercial applications. As research began to find health hazards related to asbestos early in the twentieth century, Johns-Manville executives had initiated a twofold program to discredit and contain these findings by the 1930s. One element of this program was to limit the distribution of information regarding the potential health problems related to asbestos. The other element was to sponsor the company's own research to counter the unfavorable findings of other researchers. By the mid-1960s Johns-Manville could no longer cover up the dangers of asbestos. Several factors contributed to the changes in awareness at this time. First, many persons exposed to asbestos in the past began to manifest related diseases. Second, new research published in 1964 clearly established the long-term health hazards of exposure to asbestos. Third, union concern for worker health and safety increased. Finally, unions and medical researchers joined forces to lobby for federal asbestos dust regulations. In 1972, such regulations were enacted under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
As these developments unfolded, numerous lawsuits were filed on behalf of injured persons. The court's decision in Borel v. Fibreboard Paper Products (1973) held that asbestosmanufacturers could be held liable for failure to warn of the dangers of their products. This ruling established the legal precedent for the thousands of lawsuits that followed it. As the lawsuits continued, and jury awards were made, the awards became a financial threat to the corporation.
Another important event in this series of civil lawsuits against Johns-Manville resulted from a plaintiff's attorney obtaining correspondence among company executives dating from the 1930s regarding the actions of the corporation to limit information about the health hazards of asbestos products and the asbestos production processes. These communications were used to challenge the company's claims that there was insufficient medical research on the dangers of asbestos until 1964 and that, as a result, Johns-Manville was not liable prior to that time. In the late 1970s Johns-Manville launched an effort to have the federal government create a victim relief fund. This fund would have protected the corporation's assets by diverting some of the financial responsibility for health problems related to asbestos from Johns-Manville resources to federal resources. This effort failed.
The next damage-control strategy utilized by Johns-Manville was to file for bankruptcy in 1982. This move was highly unusual, since the corporation had $2.3 billion in assets at the time. Although declaring bankruptcy was a drastic move for Johns-Manville, this tactic did result in some financial protection for the corporation.
Civil Lawsuits
The lawsuits concerning the health damages caused by asbestos continue to mount. In 1995 a Texas court found asbestos manufacturers Owens-Corning, Pittsburgh Corning, and Fuller-Austin Insulation liable for causing the disease or death of 11 former workers. The judgment was for $42.6 million. In 1998 a jury in Texas found Carborundum Company liable and awarded $115 million to 21 steelworkers because they had contracted asbestosis while working at a steel mill.
A Criminal Indictment
Recently asbestos-related health problems in Libby, Montana, have come to national attention. Libby was the site of a vermiculite mine. Vermiculite is a mineral used in insulation and potting soil, but the vermiculite from Libby is contaminated with a virulent form of asbestos, which is released into the air when disturbed. In a criminal indictment filed in 2005 against W. R. Grace, the owner of the mine, it is charged that in the 30 years of the operation of the plant, 200 people have died from asbestos diseases in Libby (population 2600) and that another 1200 are suffering from asbestos-related illnesses; including many persons who did not work in the mine. In addition, the rate of death by cancer is 30 percent higher in Libby than in the general population. A U.S. Senate bill to compensate the victims of the Libby mine failed to pass in February 2006.
Since national attention has been brought to the victims of the Libby mine pollutants, it has come to light that vermiculite ore from this mine was shipped to 236 different sites in 39 states for processing between 1948 and 1993. Thus, thousands of workers and their communities have been exposed to the health hazards from the processing of the contaminated ore from the Libby mine.
President George W. Bush's Position
In early 2005 President George W. Bush called for limiting asbestos lawsuits. He said, “These asbestos suits have bankrupted a lot of companies. . . . those with no major [medical] impairment now make up the vast majority of claims, while those who are truly sick are denied their day in court”.
