Despite the building wave of asbestos removal and abatement that started in the 1980s, diseases that are known to be related to asbestos exposure like mesothelioma and asbestos lung cancer continue to be diagnosed.

Mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the lining of the lungs, heart, or stomach and digestive tract, is specifically linked to the dangerous inhalation of asbestos fibers while lung cancer is less so.

Lung cancer can and does occur because of such exposure, but comingling of risk factors such as smoking are also contributors.

What is Asbestos and the History of Its Use in the U.S.?

There are six naturally occurring type of asbestos. Two major groups of these minerals are the serpentine and the amphibole groups.

Of the two types, the serpentine group most became widely used in American industry. This group contains chrysotile asbestos fibers, which are curly, less brittle, and could be separated and woven.

They became excellent candidates for commercial uses because of their flexibility and resistance to both fire and excessive heat, as well as to chemical exposure.

Since late in the 1800s, asbestos was used in many things including making ships, strengthening concrete and plastics, insulating pipes and other duct work, manufacturing mechanical parts and soundproofing rooms.

Prior to the wave of asbestos removal that occurred in the last 20 years of the twentieth century, the product even made its way into every day commercial products such as hair dryers, paints, garden products and crayons used by children.

The peak of its consumption as an ingredient in products was between 1930 and 1970. According to cancer.gov, the U.S. consumed about 803,000 metric tons of asbestos in 1973.

Asbestos removal from the stream of commerce began with action on the part of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) banning the use of asbestos in wallboard patching compounds and gas fireplaces in 1979.

This action was taken because of the fear that the fibers could become airborne and lodge in the lungs or lung linings during use. Electric hairdryer manufacturers stopped using asbestos of their own volition shortly afterwards.

It was not until ten years later in 1989 that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took an official stand and banned all newly developed uses for asbestos introduced to the marketplace. This was not an asbestos removal action, but an action to prevent further market saturation of this dangerous product. This ban was partly overruled a few years later by a federal appeals court, allowing manufacturers to keep making asbestos products for uses that predated the EPA ban.

Other than additional asbestos removal decrees issued by the EPA for schools that might have damaged asbestos insulation, the reduction to our present-day level of consumption has largely been the result of the court of public opinion.

Despite asbestos consumption reductions, diseases such as mesothelioma and lung cancer are still being diagnosed because of the extremely lengthy latency period between exposure and diagnosis.

Asbestos fibers embed themselves and take an average of 30 years before full-blown symptoms of these cancers arise. The fibers cause continual irritation, inflammation and genetic mutation which can give rise to the illness many years later.

In many cases, diagnosis happens at such a late stage that there are limited treatment options. Thankfully, this is not always the case and combinations of chemotherapy, radiation as well as surgery may lengthen the life expectancy of a patient.