Asbestos Information

What is the relationship between asbestos and mesothelioma? Mesothelioma is rare form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure. An estimated 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year, and because the disease takes decades to develop, the rate of new diagnoses is still climbing.

Discover what asbestos is and why it was used. Find out what friable asbestos is and how much asbestos exposure is too much. Read about the history of asbestos use and learn more about environmental and occupational asbestos exposure.

Learn more about some of the trades that were particularly at risk for asbestos exposure. You can also find a partial list of job sites where asbestos exposures were known to be heavy. Also find out about unexpected sources of asbestos exposure and learn about some public figures who developed mesothelioma, often after brief, early exposures to asbestos.

Read what the asbestos industry knew about the health risk of asbestos, including specific profiles of some prominent asbestos manufacturers. Also, read how the asbestos tragedy could have been avoided by the asbestos industry, which knew about the health risks of asbestos but failed to warn the public for decades before the dangers finally came to light.

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a naturally occurring fiber that, when released into the air, can be inhaled or swallowed. Asbestos has no smell or taste, and asbestos fibers are so small that they are not visible to the naked eye. Once they are inhaled, asbestos fibers stay in the body and, over the course of decades, lead to the development of asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma.

Why Use Asbestos?

Asbestos is flexible and strong and extremely resistant to heat and corrosion. It is an excellent insulator. From an industrial perspective, it seemed to be the “magic mineral.” It is also a cheap binder material that has been used in many construction products over the years.

The History of Asbestos

Learn when and where asbestos was first used, and see how it gained wide popularity during the Industrial Revolution and the 20th Century. See where around the world asbestos is currently being used the most.

How Much Asbestos Exposure Is Too Much?

Scientists now believe that there is no safe level of asbestos exposure. Find out about previous regulations that were believed to protect against asbestos disease and why they failed.

What Is Friable Asbestos?

Asbestos is dangerous when it is friable—when it easily releases fibers that can be inhaled. Find out what makes asbestos friable and how different asbestos products can create a risk of dangerous exposures.

Occupational and Environmental Exposure to Asbestos

Millions of people in the U.S. have been exposed to asbestos, and it is estimated that approximately 3,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year. In these pages, you will read about asbestos and the common ways in which people have been exposed to asbestos.

Industries and Trades Associated with Asbestos Exposure

We have compiled a list of industries and related trades where workers have been exposed to high levels of asbestos exposure. These industries include aerospace and aviation, asbestos abatement, asbestos mining, asbestos products manufacturing, automotive/mechanical friction, chemical, construction, insulation, iron and steel, longshore, maritime, military, non-asbestos products manufacturing, general, petrochemical, railroad, shipyard construction and repair, textile, tire and rubber, and utilities. This list is not exclusive; it merely identifies some of the trades that most commonly experienced significant asbestos exposure.

Job Sites Associated with Asbestos Exposure

We have identified job sites, in all 50 states and in the District of Columbia, that have been recognized as places where workers have been exposed to significant amounts of asbestos. Search by state to determine whether or not you have worked at any of these facilities. But remember, this is only a partial list of jobsites where workers were exposed to asbestos.

Select by state:

Unexpected Sources of Asbestos Exposure

Occupational exposure has put millions of American workers at risk, but there have been other sources of asbestos exposure that often go unnoticed. Find out about unexpected sources of asbestos exposure.

Mesothelioma Can Strike Anyone

Read profiles of public figures who developed mesothelioma, some after very brief, early exposure to asbestos. Find out how this asbestos-related disease has attacked prominent figures from widely disparate backgrounds—from the worlds of entertainment, politics, sports, science and more.

Asbestos Industry Knowledge of the Risk

The asbestos industry knew the danger that their products created for generations of workers, decades before the risks were ever brought to light. Early scientific and medical literature was available to and known by the industry, long before these companies warned the public of the health hazards of asbestos. Records from industry trade organizations demonstrate asbestos industry knowledge of the risk, information that it provided to their members—the corporate executives who could have prevented the asbestos tragedy but chose to put profits over public health.

Corporate documents prepared by the companies themselves, including correspondence between industry heads and documents from cooperative asbestos industry projects, further show that the asbestos industry executives knew very well the hazards of asbestos exposure—but they didn’t want the government or the public to know. Read asbestos manufacturer profiles to learn more about how these companies hid the dangers of asbestos from the public at the expense of countless thousands of Americans who have been stricken with asbestos-related diseases.

Regulating Asbestos: Are We Safe Yet?

With all that is known about the health risks of asbestos, many people assume that things have changes and that asbestos is a problem of the past. Many believe that asbestos use is illegal in the United States today—but in most cases, it’s not.

Find out which countries around the world have banned the use of asbestos and where the use of asbestos is highest. Learn more about the asbestos situation in the United States today.