The Asbestos Industry Cover-ups

Although it may be unbeknownst to many, the dangers of using asbestos were documented well before the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulated its production and use. In fact, documents show that railroad companies knew as far back as the 1930s that asbestos was dangerous and could cause an array of medical issues, such as lung cancer and asbestosis.

Even further back in the 1800s, physicians were linking lung diseases to prolonged asbestos exposure in factories. Yet, when companies that relied on the hazardous mineral became aware of its dangers, many did nothing to prevent their workers from developing fatal diseases. In fact, an array of businesses carefully hid any information that would alert employees, contractors, and others to the risk they took each time they were exposed to asbestos.

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 The Great Cover-ups

In 1928, the medical term asbestosis was coined by physicians as a condition affecting the lungs after extensive asbestos exposure. Not long after, an aggregation of businesses that used asbestos and asbestos-containing products began talking internally about its use and its detrimental effects. Yet, even after consulting and having group meetings regarding the risks that asbestos exposure poses, they didn’t stop using the dangerous mineral. In addition, an overflow of companies were found to have altered the insurance documentations that warned of the pitfalls of asbestos exposure. Even those these companies hid the evidence and knew of the inherent risks, many didn’t even reduce the production and use of asbestos in the slightest bit.

However, by the 1930s, victims started filing lawsuits against their employers after being diagnosed with asbestosis. Companies began settling the lawsuits on a condition that no more lawsuits would come about regarding asbestos.

After the initial asbestos lawsuits, several employees underwent health screenings at the consent of their employers. Yet, it’s been documented that a plethora of employers once again covered up the evidence by altering the health study results. However, it didn’t go unnoticed by physicians, who then were discovering that not only did asbestos cause lung issues and difficulty with breathing, but also lung cancer. When these companies became aware of the findings, more extensive plans of hiding evidence followed. For example, supervisors and managers were told to never talk of the hidden dangers of asbestos to employees.

In 1943, after a six-year study and research on asbestos, Dr. LeRoy Gardner of the Saranac Laboratory in New York, provided the Johns-Manville Corporation the detailed results of his research. Asbestos was found likely to be carcinogenic, meaning that the mineral is extremely dangerous. At the Johns-Manville Corporation’s request, none of the findings were made public, nor available to any of the workers that were employed at Johns-Manville. In addition, the asbestos industry ensured that Dr. Gardner’s results were suppressed by altering and creating a false report.

More Warnings Issued

It wasn’t until 1964 that asbestos was pinned officially as one of the causes of lung cancer, asbestosis, and malignant mesothelioma. Although this information was backed by the American Medical Association, companies still continued to alter and hide the information. In other instances, company owners made blatant statements promoting asbestos. Records show that in 1966, the director of purchasing at Bendix, an asbestos manufacturing company, stated, “If you have enjoyed a good life while working with asbestos, why not die from it?”

Regulating Asbestos

By 1971, it had already been over 40 years since the first asbestos-related lawsuits. With mass coverups including companies persuading publications not to write about the dangers of asbestos, it took entirely too long for asbestos to be recognized as a dangerous product. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) finally took notice and regulated the use of asbestos. At first, OSHA mandated an emergency temporary standard (ETS) for exposure to asbestos dust in December of 1974. Shortly after, the temporary standard became a permanent standard. Finally, the details regarding the dangers of asbestos became widespread, and it became obvious that a plethora of businesses had been suppressing this information for decades.

The dangers of asbestos became so prevalent that in 1979, the EPA announced the consideration of regulating asbestos under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Yet, after a stampede of protests stating that too many people would be out of a job, the EPA decided not to pursue the regulations. Nonetheless, after a 10-year study on the dangers of asbestos and how it affects humans, the EPA finally banned the use of all asbestos in 1989. Members of the asbestos industry, however, appealed the ban, and unfortunately, they won. Consequently, although asbestos can still be used, there are a plethora of mandated rules regarding an employee’s exposure as well as several products, building, and items it can never be used on.

Reasons for Industry Cover-ups

Even though it was established that asbestos was dangerous decades before the EPA’s regulation, companies, as previously mentioned, continued to stifle any information regarding the hazards of the mineral. Even after physicians, scientists, and even asbestos companies provided details of the dangers after conducting studies, companies still wouldn’t scale back on asbestos usage or inform workers of the dangers.

The reason behind the great cover-ups simply comes down to money. If the production of and the use of asbestos was eliminated, many companies would lose the fortune they built. In fact, in another documented statement, when an executive of a corporation that used asbestos was asked if he would let his workers die if it meant continuing to use the mineral, he replied, “ Yes. We save a lot of money that way.” In other words, the profits of the businesses that used asbestos was more important than the lives of the people who helped these businesses survive.