Research by an environmental advocacy group shows that Americans continue to die of asbestos-related disease even decades after the United States banned new uses of asbestos.

According to research by the Environmental Working Group Action Fund, at least 12,000 to 15,000 Americans die from asbestos exposure every year.

The researchers based their conclusions on a review of federal government records of asbestos-related deaths plus a calculated estimate of the number of lung cancer deaths attributable to asbestos.

The study estimates that asbestos lung cancer accounts for the majority of asbestos-related deaths. Smokers are particularly at risk for asbestos lung cancer. Studies show that smokers exposed to asbestos have higher rates of lung cancer than other smokers who were not exposed.

The next most frequent asbestos-related cause of death is mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the pleura, the thin membrane of mesothelial tissue that lines the outside of the lungs and the inside of the chest wall. Mesothelioma is always fatal, usually within nine to twelve months after diagnosis.

The third most common cause of asbestos death is asbestosis. When asbestos fibers are inhaled, they can lodge in the lung tissue and remain there. These fibers can cause scar tissue to develop inside the lungs that, while not necessarily cancerous, can cause shortness of breath and decreased exercise tolerance. Severe cases can lead to respiratory failure and sometimes death.

In addition to those three asbestos-related diseases, some other research shows a possible link between asbestos exposure and certain cancers of the ovaries, digestive system, and upper respiratory system.

The EWG Action Fund researchers qualified their conclusions as conservative, given variations in the way causes of death are recorded. They say that deaths by asbestosis are sometimes recorded as being caused by other conditions due to the similarity between asbestosis and other respiratory conditions. The group also say that many records of lung cancer deaths do not indicate whether or not the cancer was caused by asbestos.

The researchers did note, however, that they found no decrease in the number of asbestos-related deaths in the years studied (1999 to 2013), despite those years falling within a period of long-standing governmental restriction on the use of asbestos.

The Current U.S. Ban on Asbestos

In the United States, the commercial use of asbestos has declined since the increase of governmental regulatory restrictions beginning in the late 1970s. The EPA finally banned all new uses of asbestos in 1989.

The ban is not absolute, however, as uses that existed before 1989 were not affected by the ban, and some asbestos use continues today. About 2,400 metric tons of asbestos was employed in domestic use in 2005 (compared to approximately 803,000 metric tons in 1973, before restrictions began).

Even with restrictions on new uses for asbestos in place for decades, new cases of asbestos-related disease continue to be discovered. This is due to the long incubation period for asbestos-related disease.

Asbestos disease may not develop for 30 to 50 years after exposure. So persons who were exposed to asbestos back in the mid-20^th century are still at risk today of developing asbestosis, mesothelioma, or asbestos lung cancer.