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Asbestos History Timeline

From WikiMesothelioma — Mesothelioma Knowledge Base


Asbestos History Timeline
Chronology from ancient use to modern regulation
Timeline Span 4700 BCE – 2024 CE
Key Eras 7 major periods
Major Events 30+ milestone dates
First Health Doc 1898 (Lucy Deane)
EPA Ban March 18, 2024[1]
Global Ban Status 72 countries banned[2]
    • Asbestos use spans nearly seven millennia**, from ancient pottery dated to approximately **4700 BCE** through the United States Environmental Protection Agency's **March 18, 2024** final rule banning all ongoing uses of chrysotile asbestos—the only form currently imported and used in America. The historical arc reveals a stark pattern: industrial societies benefited from asbestos's remarkable physical properties while **systematically suppressing knowledge of its lethal health effects**. Corporate knowledge of asbestos dangers emerged in the 1930s—documented in the **Sumner Simpson Papers**—yet manufacturers concealed findings from workers and regulators for four decades. The Selikoff Era (1964 onward) brought asbestos hazards into scientific consensus; OSHA and EPA regulations followed in the 1970s. Corporate bankruptcy filings (Johns-Manville 1982, Raymark 1989) consolidated **over $30 billion in trust funds** to compensate victims. The EPA's 2024 chrysotile ban represents the first comprehensive federal prohibition after three decades without a national ban—a regulatory gap created when the Fifth Circuit vacated the EPA's 1989 ban in November 1991.

Asbestos history at a glance:

  • Earliest documented use — asbestos-tempered pottery in eastern Finland dated to approximately 4700 BCE, the oldest confirmed use globally[3]
  • Ancient knowledge — Pliny the Elder described asbestos fire-resistance around 77 CE; Karystos quarries in Greece supplied Mediterranean markets by 500 BCE[4]
  • First health warning — Lucy Deane published respiratory disease observations in British asbestos textile workers in 1898[5]
  • Corporate suppression documented — Sumner Simpson's 1935 letter to Johns-Manville: "the less said about asbestos, the better off we are"[6]
  • WWII mass exposure — 4.5 million shipyard workers exposed; classified 1944 survey found asbestos at 10x safe levels[7]
  • Scientific proof — Dr. J.C. Wagner's 1960 study of 33 South African mesothelioma cases established the causal link to asbestos[8]
  • Landmark liability verdict — Borel v. Fibreboard (1973) established strict liability for asbestos manufacturers[9]
  • Largest asbestos bankruptcy — Johns-Manville filed Chapter 11 in August 1982 with 16,500 pending claims and $1.2 billion in equity[10]
  • 33-year regulatory gap — Fifth Circuit vacated the EPA's 1989 ban in November 1991; no federal prohibition until 2024[11]
  • EPA chrysotile ban — March 18, 2024 final rule banned all ongoing chrysotile uses; 72 countries have now imposed national bans[1]

At-a-Glance

  • Nearly 7,000 years of use — Asbestos has been deliberately used longer than any other industrial mineral, from 4700 BCE Finnish pottery to 21st-century chlor-alkali manufacturing
  • Four decades of corporate concealment — Industry documents from 1935 prove manufacturers knew of lethal health risks at least 35 years before the first federal workplace standard in 1970
  • 33-year regulatory gap — The EPA's 1989 ban was overturned by the Fifth Circuit in 1991, leaving the U.S. without a comprehensive federal prohibition until the 2024 chrysotile ban
  • Over $30 billion in trust funds — More than 60 active bankruptcy trusts compensate victims, yet average payouts cover only a fraction of medical costs and lost life expectancy
  • OSHA exposure limits dropped 98% — The permissible exposure limit fell from 5 fibers/cc (1971) to 0.1 fibers/cc (1994), reflecting evolving understanding of safe thresholds
  • 72 countries have banned asbestos — While much of the developed world prohibited asbestos decades ago, the U.S. achieved its first comprehensive ban only in 2024
  • Russia still produces 60% of global supply — Approximately 2 million metric tons are mined annually, overwhelmingly consumed in Asia and the developing world
  • 8 failed Congressional ban bills — From the Murray Bill (2002) to the ARBAN Act (2023), every legislative attempt stalled before reaching the president's desk
  • Mesothelioma still kills over 2,100 Americans yearly — Despite declining exposure, the 20-50 year latency period means deaths from past exposure will continue for decades
  • First landmark verdict was $79,436 — Borel v. Fibreboard (1973) established manufacturer strict liability, eventually generating thousands of lawsuits and billions in settlements

Key Facts

Metric Finding
Earliest documented use ~4700 BCE — asbestos-tempered pottery in eastern Finland[3]
First health documentation 1898 — Lucy Deane's report on respiratory disease in British textile workers[5]
Corporate concealment evidence October 1, 1935 — Sumner Simpson Papers: "the less said about asbestos, the better off we are"[6]
Peak WWII shipyard exposure 4.5 million workers exposed; classified 1944 survey found levels 10x safe limits[7]
Causal link established 1960 — Dr. J.C. Wagner documented 33 mesothelioma cases in South African crocidolite miners[8]
First federal workplace standard 1971 — OSHA PEL set at 5 fibers/cc; reduced to 0.1 fibers/cc by 1994[12]
Largest asbestos bankruptcy August 26, 1982 — Johns-Manville ($1.2B equity, 16,500 pending claims)[10]
EPA ban overturned November 15, 1991 — Corrosion Proof Fittings v. EPA vacated the 1989 ban[11]
EPA chrysotile ban enacted March 18, 2024 — first comprehensive federal prohibition after 33-year gap[1]
Global ban status 72 countries have imposed national asbestos bans as of September 2025[2]

Ancient Era: 4700 BCE – 394 CE

When did ancient civilizations first discover and use asbestos?

Asbestos use predates written history by millennia. The earliest confirmed evidence comes from the Kierikkisaari archaeological site in Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland, where Neolithic peoples mixed anthophyllite asbestos fibers into clay to produce a distinctive pottery tradition known as Kierikki Ware, dated by radiocarbon analysis to approximately 3800–2700 cal BCE.[13] The broader tradition of asbestos-tempered pottery in eastern Finland extends back to approximately 4700 BCE, making it the longest-running deliberate use of asbestos in human history.[3] Scanning electron microscopy of pottery fragments confirmed the mineral was anthophyllite sourced from metamorphic rocks near Lake Saimaa in eastern Finland, and remarkably, nearer chrysotile deposits were deliberately bypassed in favor of more distant anthophyllite sources—suggesting intentional material preference.[14] Standard asbestos pottery contained roughly 50–60% asbestos and 40–50% clay, while more extreme variants reached up to 90% asbestos with clay serving merely as a binder.[14] The asbestos-ceramic tradition spread across Fennoscandia, Russian Karelia, Sweden, and Norway between approximately 4700 BCE and 500 CE, indicating the practice served both functional and socio-cultural purposes across Nordic prehistoric societies.[13]

The Erechtheion, an ancient Greek temple completed in 394 BCE, utilized asbestos in oil lamps, where the material's incombustibility provided obvious practical advantages.[15] By 500 BCE, the quarries of Karystos in southern Euboea (modern-day Greece) had become the Mediterranean's primary source of asbestos, supplying fibers for decorative cloths and temple insulation in wealthy Greek city-states.[16] The geographer Strabo (c. 64 BCE–24 CE) described Carystian stone that could be "combed and woven" into towels cleaned by fire rather than water—one of the earliest specific identifications of an asbestos quarry location.[17] The material acquired mystical properties in the classical imagination—ancient writers sometimes confused asbestos with the mythical salamander, a creature supposedly born from fire and immune to flame.

The Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder (~23–79 CE) discussed asbestos in two passages of his Naturalis Historia. In Book 19, he described a fireproof textile called linum vivum ("living linen") used for royal cremation shrouds, recording that it was "rarely found" and rivaled "the prices of exceptionally fine pearls." In Book 36, he used the name amiantus and noted it "affords protection against all spells." However, the widely repeated claim that Pliny documented a "sickness of the lungs" among asbestos workers requires correction. Scholar Rachel Maines demonstrated in Asbestos and Fire (Rutgers University Press, 2005) that this attribution has "no basis" in the classical texts—the passages about respiratory illness, bladder-skin respirators, and slaves dying young actually derive from Pliny's discussion of cinnabar (mercury sulfide) workers in Book 33, not from his asbestos descriptions in Books 19 and 36.[18][4] Because Pliny also described asbestos as red in color, the two mineral discussions appear to have been conflated across centuries of secondary citation. While Pliny's asbestos passages are historically significant for documenting ancient knowledge of the mineral's properties, they do not constitute early health warnings about asbestos exposure.[19]

Ancient Era Timeline Event Historical Significance
~4700 BCE Asbestos-tempered pottery tradition begins in eastern Finland Oldest documented asbestos use globally; anthophyllite from Lake Saimaa region[3]
~3800–2700 BCE Kierikki Ware produced at Kierikkisaari, Northern Ostrobothnia Type-site for asbestos-ceramic tradition; pottery up to 90% asbestos content[13]
~500 BCE Karystos quarries active in Euboea (Greece) Supply network for Mediterranean luxury markets; Strabo documents "combed and woven" stone[17]
394 BCE Erechtheion completed (Athens) Asbestos used in temple oil lamps for incombustibility
~77 CE Pliny the Elder describes asbestos in Naturalis Historia Records fire-resistance, rarity, use in royal cremation shrouds; health attribution now disputed[4]
"Ancient peoples recognized that asbestos could not burn, making it invaluable for sacred lamps and decorative cloths. Yet Pliny's observations of disease in quarry workers were lost to history for nearly two thousand years. The Romans solved the asbestos problem technologically—with bladder respirators—but never solved it systematically. Modern industry, with vastly greater knowledge and resources, instead chose concealment."
— Rod De Llano, Partner, Danziger & De Llano

Medieval & Pre-Industrial Era: 1165 – 1725

How did medieval and Renaissance societies understand asbestos?

During the medieval and Renaissance periods, asbestos entered European consciousness through trade routes and legend. The 1165 Letter of Prester John—a widely circulated fabrication supposedly from a Christian priest-king of the East—claimed that "salamanders live in fire and make cocoons, which our court ladies spin and use to weave cloth and garments," reinforcing the erroneous belief that fireproof cloth came from a living creature.[20] The German philosopher Albertus Magnus (c. 1200–1280) called incombustible cloth pluma salamandri ("salamander's plumage"), further embedding the myth in European scholarship.

The most detailed medieval European account of asbestos came from Marco Polo. In Chapter XLII of The Travels of Marco Polo (dictated c. 1298–1299), he described asbestos mines in the province of Chingintalas (modern Xinjiang, China) and provided remarkably detailed processing methods: mining, crushing, drying, pounding in copper mortars, washing, and spinning into cloth. Most significantly, Polo explicitly debunked the prevailing European salamander myth, declaring: "the Salamander is no beast, as they allege in our part of the world, but is a substance found in the earth." His account, based on information from a Turkish mining overseer named Zurficar who had spent three years at the operation on behalf of Kublai Khan, represents one of the earliest European texts to correctly classify asbestos as a mineral.[20]

The famous story of Charlemagne demonstrating an asbestos tablecloth by throwing it into fire—widely repeated in asbestos histories—has no basis in medieval primary sources. Charlemagne scholar Donald Bullough of the University of St. Andrews called it "the purest of pure myths, one of the many that were added to the ones inherited from the Middle Ages in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth centuries." Rachel Maines confirmed in Asbestos and Fire (2005) that the story appears in no contemporary Carolingian text, including Einhard's Vita Karoli Magni and the Royal Frankish Annals.[4] A more historically grounded medieval asbestos episode involves 11th-century monks of Monte Cassino who purchased a cloth from Jerusalem believed to be the towel Jesus used to wash his disciples' feet, with its fire-resistance taken as proof of authenticity.

Sir Thomas Browne published the landmark scientific demystification of asbestos in Pseudodoxia Epidemica (1646), definitively classifying it as a mineral and debunking the salamander myth across six editions translated into French, Dutch, Latin, and German. The Royal Society of London published eight studies on asbestos properties between 1660 and 1700.[21] Italian physician Bernardino Ramazzini published De Morbis Artificum Diatriba (Diseases of Workers) in 1700—the founding text of occupational medicine—which, while not focusing specifically on asbestos, established the intellectual framework later essential for understanding asbestos-related diseases.[22]

In 1725, a nineteen-year-old Benjamin Franklin sold an asbestos purse to Sir Hans Sloane, Secretary of the Royal Society, during his first London visit. Franklin's original letter of June 2, 1725, preserved at the British Library, describes "a Purse made of the Stone Asbestus" and "Salamander Cotton" brought from North America. The purse, made of plaited tremolite-asbestos, passed from Sloane's collection into the British Museum and is now held at the Natural History Museum, London—one of the earliest documented American asbestos artifacts.[23] In Russia, chrysotile asbestos mining began under Peter the Great at the settlement of Kudelka (later renamed Asbest) in the Ural Mountains around 1720. Industrialist Nikita Demidov produced protective clothing and gloves from asbestos for metallurgical factory workers, representing one of the earliest known industrial applications of the mineral.[24]

Medieval & Pre-Industrial Era Timeline Event Historical Significance
1165 Letter of Prester John references "salamander cocoons" Drives European belief in biological origin of fireproof cloth
~1298 Marco Polo describes asbestos mines in Chingintalas (Xinjiang) First European text to correctly classify asbestos as mineral; debunks salamander myth[20]
1646 Sir Thomas Browne publishes Pseudodoxia Epidemica Scientific demystification; six editions across four languages[21]
1700 Ramazzini publishes Diseases of Workers Founding text of occupational medicine[22]
~1720 Peter the Great establishes asbestos mining in Ural Mountains First Russian industrial asbestos extraction at Kudelka (modern Asbest)[24]
1725 Benjamin Franklin sells asbestos purse to Royal Society's Hans Sloane Earliest documented American asbestos artifact; now in Natural History Museum, London[23]

Early Industrial Era: 1828 – 1898

When did asbestos become an industrial commodity?

The 19th century transformed asbestos from a boutique luxury material into an industrial commodity. The first asbestos textile processing patent was filed in England in 1828, marking the beginning of systematic commercial development.[25] Industrial expansion accelerated after 1860 when Canadian deposits in Quebec were discovered and exploited. The development of mechanical looms and spinning technology made asbestos cloth economically viable for mass production. British factories established near port cities to facilitate import of raw asbestos fibers and export of finished textiles. In the United States, the Keasbey & Mattison Company transformed the rural Quaker village of Ambler, Pennsylvania into a major asbestos manufacturing center, attracting thousands of workers from Europe and the Americas; decades of production left massive waste piles of discarded asbestos material that became a lasting environmental hazard.[26]

Occupational disease documentation began appearing in medical literature by the late 19th century. A British factory physician, Lucy Deane, published observations in 1898 of respiratory disease in female workers at an asbestos textile factory—one of the earliest formal occupational health studies linking asbestos exposure to pulmonary disease.[5] Deane's report, published in the Medical Register, described chronic cough, shortness of breath, and chest pain in workers, though the term "asbestosis" had not yet been coined. Industry response to Deane's findings set a pattern: minimal acknowledgment and no systemic change in workplace conditions.

Early Industrial Timeline Event Historical Significance
1828 First asbestos textile patent (England) Beginning of mechanized asbestos production
1860 Canadian asbestos deposits discovered (Quebec) Massive expansion of global supply
1880s Keasbey & Mattison establishes asbestos manufacturing in Ambler, PA Transforms rural village into major U.S. asbestos production center[26]
1898 Lucy Deane reports respiratory disease in textile workers First formal occupational study in English medical literature[5]

Industrial Revolution: 1899 – 1935

How did the 20th century industry boom transform asbestos use and conceal known hazards?

The early 20th century witnessed explosive expansion of asbestos applications and deliberate suppression of health information. The Raybestos Company was founded in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1906, pioneering asbestos-based brake linings and friction products for the rapidly expanding automotive industry.[27] Between 1902 and 1929, the company grew through the acquisition of Manhattan Rubber and U.S. Asbestos, forming Raybestos-Manhattan Corporation in 1929—a conglomerate that would dominate American asbestos manufacturing for the next 60 years.[28] World War I accelerated asbestos demand through massive naval construction programs. The Hog Island shipyard in Philadelphia—the largest shipyard in the world during World War I—employed 30,000 workers at peak production and launched 122 ships in just four years using pioneering prefabricated construction techniques that required extensive asbestos insulation throughout every vessel.[29]

The 1930 Merewether and Price Report, commissioned by the British government, represented the first comprehensive occupational epidemiological study of asbestos workers. Conducted by H.A. Merewether and C.W. Price, the study documented asbestos-related lung fibrosis in 80% of workers at a British asbestos factory, establishing the disease pattern later termed "asbestosis."[30] The British government responded by implementing workplace regulations in March 1932, requiring exhaust ventilation and dust suppression in asbestos factories. The United States, by contrast, adopted no federal occupational asbestos standards until 1970.

The most significant revelation of the early industrial era came with the discovery of the Sumner Simpson Papers. On October 1, 1935, Sumner Simpson, president of Raybestos-Manhattan, wrote an internal memo to company leadership instructing that asbestos health hazards should be downplayed: "The less said about asbestos the better."[6] These documents, initially concealed and discovered through litigation in 1977, revealed that Raybestos and its industry peers possessed knowledge of health risks as early as the 1930s yet deliberately withheld this information from workers, regulators, and the public. The Simpson Papers later became central evidence in hundreds of asbestos personal injury lawsuits, demonstrating that corporate knowledge and culpability significantly antedated regulatory action by four decades.

Industrial Revolution Timeline Event Historical Significance
1906 Raybestos founded in Bridgeport, Connecticut Beginning of American asbestos brake/friction industry
1917–1921 Hog Island shipyard operates in Philadelphia World's largest WWI shipyard; 30,000 workers; 122 ships in 4 years; pioneered prefabricated construction[29]
1919 Raybestos establishes Stratford, Connecticut facility 75 East Main Street; 70 years of asbestos manufacturing
1929 Raybestos-Manhattan Corporation formed (merger) Industry consolidation; 40% of American asbestos market
1930 Merewether & Price Report (UK) First comprehensive occupational study; documents asbestosis in 80% of workers[30]
March 1, 1932 British Asbestos Industry Regulations take effect First national workplace asbestos standards (UK only)
October 1, 1935 Sumner Simpson Papers: "the less said the better" Evidence of corporate knowledge suppression[6]
"The Simpson Papers demonstrate premeditated concealment. In 1935, Raybestos possessed the same knowledge that would take the scientific establishment another 25 years to establish. The instruction to say nothing was not a response to scientific uncertainty—it was a response to corporate risk assessment. Knowledge suppression persisted through WWII, through the 1950s, and into the 1960s, costing workers decades of unprotected exposure."
— Anna Jackson, Client Advocate, Danziger & De Llano

The Selikoff Era: 1960 – 1979

When did scientific consensus on asbestos dangers emerge, and how did regulatory systems respond?

The decade from 1960 to 1970 witnessed the transformation of asbestos from an industry-protected secret to a scientific imperative. The 1960 publication by Dr. J.C. Wagner and colleagues describing 33 cases of diffuse pleural mesothelioma in South African crocidolite miners became the foundation for all subsequent mesothelioma epidemiology.[8] Wagner's study, published in the British Journal of Industrial Medicine, established that crocidolite asbestos caused mesothelioma and crucially documented cases in housewives with no direct occupational exposure—proving that secondary/take-home exposure presented genuine risk. Peer reviewers initially rejected the paper on the grounds that "eminent London pathologists stated that mesotheliomas did not exist," yet Prof. Jethro Gough at Cardiff persuaded the journal to publish. The paper has since accumulated over 240 citations, making it one of the most influential occupational epidemiology publications.

Dr. Richard Doll's 1955 cohort study of British asbestos workers, published in the British Journal of Industrial Medicine, documented a 14-fold increase in lung cancer risk among asbestos workers, establishing causation before mesothelioma became the focal disease.[31] Doll and his colleague Peto updated the Rochdale cohort repeatedly, finding excess lung cancers even in workers exposed after 1933 (when British regulations took effect), demonstrating that regulation intensity alone could not eliminate occupational risk when exposure remained occupational.

The 1964 Conference on Biological Effects of Asbestos, organized by Dr. Irving J. Selikoff at the New York Academy of Sciences, brought together the international scientific consensus. Selikoff's own prospective cohort studies of International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers (IAHFIAW) members documented that among 1,522 members as of 1943, 542 had died by 1989—with approximately half occurring before age 65 and a high proportion from asbestos-associated diseases despite radiological absence of lung fibrosis in many cases.[32] Industry mounted aggressive public relations campaigns to undermine Selikoff's credibility, deploying ad hominem attacks on the epidemiologist in medical journals and professional forums.

The regulatory response followed in the early 1970s. OSHA was established in 1970, with initial federal workplace asbestos guidelines taking effect in 1971 at a permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 5 fibers per cubic centimeter. In December 1972, the permanent OSHA standard lowered the PEL to 2 fibers/cc.[12] The EPA identified asbestos as a hazardous air pollutant on March 31, 1971, under Clean Air Act Section 112, and issued the Asbestos National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) on April 6, 1973, eliminating spray-applied asbestos fireproofing in buildings.[33]

The Borel v. Fibreboard Products Corp. decision in 1973 established strict liability for asbestos manufacturers. Plaintiff Clarence Borel, an industrial insulation worker, sued multiple manufacturers for respiratory disease and asbestosis. The jury found that the manufacturers' products were "unreasonably dangerous" because no warnings were provided to workers despite knowledge of hazards; manufacturers had never tested their products' effects on insulators or checked if exposure exceeded threshold limits.[9] The verdict of $79,436.24 in favor of Borel, upheld on appeal by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, established a precedent that would generate thousands of subsequent lawsuits and eventual bankruptcy filings.

Selikoff Era Timeline Event Historical Significance
1955 Dr. Richard Doll: 14-fold increased lung cancer risk First rigorous epidemiological proof of asbestos-lung cancer link[31]
1960 Dr. J.C. Wagner: Diffuse pleural mesothelioma in crocidolite miners 33 cases; 240+ subsequent citations; establishes causal link[8]
1963 Dr. Irving J. Selikoff publishes in JAMA National media attention to asbestos dangers
1964 Selikoff Conference (New York Academy of Sciences) International scientific consensus on asbestos carcinogenicity[32]
1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act signed (Congress) Created OSHA; Clean Air Act passed same year
1970 OSHA establishes first federal asbestos guidelines PEL 5 f/cc; take effect 1971
March 31, 1971 EPA identifies asbestos as hazardous air pollutant Under Clean Air Act Section 112[33]
April 6, 1973 EPA promulgates Asbestos NESHAP Bans spray-applied asbestos fireproofing
December 1972 OSHA sets permanent PEL at 2 f/cc First substantial reduction from initial 5 f/cc
1973 Borel v. Fibreboard Products Corp. (Fifth Circuit) Establishes strict liability; $79,436 verdict upheld[9]
1976 OSHA further lowers PEL to 2 f/cc Incremental tightening of occupational standard
1972 Consumer Product Safety Act bans asbestos in wall patching First product-specific ban
"Wagner, Doll, and Selikoff built scientific consensus on a foundation of raw occupational data. They did not imagine the mechanisms of mesothelioma or construct elaborate theories—they simply documented what happened to workers. The regulatory system responded, but slowly. Even after 1970, manufacturers had a decade to wind down operations; instead, they accelerated production in developing nations and fought legal liability at every step."
— David Foster, Client Advocate, Danziger & De Llano

Corporate Collapse and Litigation: 1980 – 2000

How did asbestos litigation reshape corporate America and create compensation systems?

The 1980s and 1990s witnessed unprecedented corporate consolidation of asbestos liabilities through bankruptcy reorganization. Johns-Manville Corporation, a diversified manufacturer with $1.2 billion in net shareholder equity, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on August 26, 1982.[10] The filing was historic not because the company was unable to meet current debts, but because it anticipated massive future asbestos personal injury liability—approximately 16,500 pending claims at the time of filing. The Johns-Manville bankruptcy established the precedent that corporations could use Chapter 11 reorganization to consolidate and limit asbestos-related claims through a centralized trust fund mechanism.

The Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust was established on December 18, 1986, following an Insurance Settlement Order from the bankruptcy court. The trust received initial funding of $2.5 billion and established scheduled values for disease categories: mesothelioma ($350,000), severe asbestosis ($95,000), and other asbestos-related diseases on a graduated scale.[34] By 2026, the trust maintained a payment percentage of approximately 5.1%, meaning a mesothelioma claimant would receive roughly $17,500 (0.051 × $350,000) as their settlement—a pittance relative to the disease's severity and the corporation's prior knowledge of hazards.

The EPA's attempt to ban asbestos in 1989 was overturned in 1991. On July 12, 1989, the EPA issued a final rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) prohibiting the manufacture and sale of almost all asbestos products, citing established carcinogenicity and the availability of substitutes.[11] However, in Corrosion Proof Fittings v. EPA (Fifth Circuit, November 15, 1991), the court vacated the ban, finding that the EPA had failed to adequately consider less burdensome alternatives to an outright prohibition under TSCA Section 6.[11] The decision created a 33-year regulatory gap during which asbestos remained legal in the United States despite a ban being technically finalized and multiple countries moving toward comprehensive prohibitions.

Raybestos-Manhattan, operating the Stratford, Connecticut facility since 1919, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1989. The company had previously reorganized in 1982, merging with Hi-Shear Industries to form Raymark Corporation in an explicit attempt to distance itself from the negative asbestos brand identity. Despite this corporate restructuring, plaintiffs' attorneys successfully pierced the corporate veil in subsequent litigation. Raymark's operations ceased at the Stratford facility in 1989; the site was later capped and redeveloped as Stratford Crossing Shopping Center. The Environmental Protection Agency declared the site a National Priorities List Superfund site in 1995, with cleanup ongoing as of 2026 under nine operable units and $113 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding.

The major asbestos bankruptcy trusts established during this period collectively hold over $30 billion in assets, with more than 60 trusts currently active. The Pittsburgh Corning (PCC) trust maintains the highest payment percentage at 24.5%, while smaller trusts operate at single-digit percentages. Average claimants file claims with 5 or more separate trusts to aggregate compensation, yet total recoveries remain substantially below actual medical care costs and loss of life expectancy for mesothelioma patients.

W.R. Grace and Company's Libby, Montana vermiculite mining operation represents perhaps the most devastating occupational and environmental asbestos contamination outside of dedicated asbestos mining. The operation extracted vermiculite from 1963 to 1990, but the ore contained significant tremolite asbestos contamination. An estimated 200+ residents of Libby died from asbestos-related diseases, representing a death rate per capita far exceeding even heavily exposed occupational cohorts. Despite comprehensive evidence of knowledge and negligence, a federal jury in U.S. District Court (Missoula, Montana) acquitted W.R. Grace and three former executives on all criminal charges in May 2009, with the judge criticizing the government's "inexcusable dereliction of duty" in failing to provide exculpatory materials to the defense.

Corporate Collapse Timeline Event Historical Significance
August 26, 1982 Johns-Manville files Chapter 11 $1.2 billion company; 16,500 pending claims; establishes trust fund precedent[10]
December 18, 1986 Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust established $2.5 billion initial funding; mesothelioma scheduled value $350,000[34]
July 12, 1989 EPA final rule bans most asbestos products Under Toxic Substances Control Act
1989 Raymark Industries files Chapter 11 (Connecticut) Stratford facility operations cease after 70 years[35]
November 15, 1991 Corrosion Proof Fittings v. EPA (Fifth Circuit) Vacates EPA ban; creates 33-year regulatory gap[11]
1995 Raymark Industries site added to NPL (Superfund) $113 million cleanup funding (2022–2026)
May 8, 2009 W.R. Grace acquitted in Libby criminal trial Jury acquittal despite ~200 deaths; judge criticized prosecution

Modern Regulation: 2000 – 2026

Congressional efforts to pass a comprehensive asbestos ban have been remarkably persistent yet unsuccessful. The Ban Asbestos in America Act (Murray Bill), sponsored by Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington), was introduced multiple times beginning in 2002 and passed the Senate in 2007 but stalled in the House. The Bruce Vento Ban Asbestos and Prevent Mesothelioma Act, named after Representative Bruce Vento (D-Minnesota) who died of pleural mesothelioma in 2000, failed to gain sufficient bipartisan support. The Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now (ARBAN) Act, named after a mesothelioma victim and veteran, has been introduced eight times since 2016, most recently in 2023 with sponsorship by Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-Oregon) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon), yet has never advanced beyond committee. As of February 2026, no comprehensive federal asbestos ban has passed the U.S. Congress, despite Iceland banning asbestos as early as 1983 and 72 countries establishing comprehensive prohibitions by September 2025.

The EPA's regulatory pathway under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) proved more successful than Congressional action. After the 2016 Lautenberg Amendment expanded the EPA's authority to regulate chemicals, the agency included asbestos in the first round of 10 chemicals for comprehensive risk evaluation. In 2019, the EPA issued a Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) requiring federal review of certain asbestos uses previously discontinued. The EPA's Risk Evaluation, completed in 2020, concluded that chrysotile asbestos—the only form currently imported and used in the United States—presents "unreasonable risks" to human health and the environment.

The EPA's final rule on chrysotile asbestos, announced on March 18, 2024 and published in the Federal Register on March 28, 2024, became effective May 28, 2024. The ban applies to all ongoing uses of chrysotile, with a staggered phase-out schedule: imports in the chlor-alkali industry (primary industrial use) were banned immediately; sheet gaskets receive a two-year phase-out; automotive brakes and oilfield brake blocks have six months to two years; chemical manufacturing facilities (the remaining major use) have a 5–12 year phase-out period. On January 13, 2026, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce petitioned the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the chrysotile ban, arguing that the EPA overstepped its statutory authority and failed to adequately consider regulatory burden.

U.S. mesothelioma mortality has declined in absolute terms from peak years in the early 2010s, yet remains substantial. In 2022, the CDC reported 2,236 mesothelioma deaths; over 2,100 deaths occurred in 2023. The age-adjusted death rate is approximately 1 per 100,000 population. The decline reflects reduced asbestos exposure in recent decades due to OSHA regulations and product bans, yet does not reflect a complete cessation of risk—workers in construction, maintenance, automotive repair, and legacy contamination sites remain at elevated risk.

Globally, asbestos remains a major public health concern. Russia remains the world's largest asbestos producer, accounting for approximately 60% of global supply, followed by Kazakhstan and China. Approximately 2 million metric tons of asbestos are produced annually worldwide. Asia and the Middle East consumed 1.31 million metric tons in 2023. Developing nations continue to use asbestos in construction materials, brake linings, and insulation products at rates that would be prohibited in high-income countries. The disparity in regulatory stringency between nations has created what occupational health researchers term "global asbestos inequity"—where corporations redirect production of asbestos-containing products to jurisdictions with weaker regulatory oversight.

Modern Era Timeline Event Historical Significance
1983 Iceland bans most forms of asbestos First national ban globally
2002–2007 Ban Asbestos in America Act (Murray Bill) Passed Senate 2007; stalled in House
2007 Bruce Vento Ban Asbestos Act (H.R. 2866) Named after congressman who died of mesothelioma; failed
2016 Lautenberg Amendment to TSCA Expands EPA authority to regulate chemicals
2016–present Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now (ARBAN) Act Introduced 8 times; never passed
2017 EPA includes asbestos in first round of TSCA risk evaluations 10 chemicals total; asbestos priority
2019 EPA issues Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) Requires federal review of discontinued uses
2020 EPA Risk Evaluation: chrysotile presents "unreasonable risks" Completes TSCA assessment
March 18, 2024 EPA announces final rule banning chrysotile asbestos First comprehensive federal prohibition since 1989 attempt[1]
March 28, 2024 EPA chrysotile ban published in Federal Register Becomes law
May 28, 2024 EPA ban becomes effective Chlor-alkali imports banned immediately; other uses phased (6 months–12 years)[1]
September 2025 72 countries with national asbestos bans Global regulatory convergence except Russia, Kazakhstan, China
January 13, 2026 U.S. Chamber of Commerce petitions Fifth Circuit to overturn ban Legal challenge pending
"Congress has debated an asbestos ban since 2002—a quarter century of legislative effort without passage. Meanwhile, the EPA navigated regulatory channels and achieved prohibition of chrysotile on March 18, 2024. The institutional path of least resistance proved to be administrative action, not legislative will. Yet the Fifth Circuit's 1991 Corrosion Proof Fittings decision looms over every EPA regulation, and industry litigation persists. The battle is not finished."
— Yvette Abrego, Client Advocate, Danziger & De Llano

Frequently Asked Questions

When was asbestos first used by humans?

The earliest confirmed use of asbestos dates to approximately 4700 BCE in eastern Finland, where Neolithic peoples mixed anthophyllite asbestos fibers into clay to produce pottery. The Kierikkisaari archaeological site in Northern Ostrobothnia preserves the type-site for this tradition, known as Kierikki Ware, dated to 3800-2700 BCE.[13] This makes asbestos one of the longest-continuously-used industrial minerals in human history, spanning nearly seven millennia before the EPA's 2024 chrysotile ban.[3]

Did ancient civilizations know asbestos was dangerous?

The widely repeated claim that Pliny the Elder documented respiratory disease in asbestos workers has no basis in the classical texts. Scholar Rachel Maines demonstrated in Asbestos and Fire (2005) that the passages about lung sickness and bladder-skin respirators actually refer to cinnabar (mercury sulfide) workers, not asbestos workers.[4] The first formal documentation of asbestos-related respiratory disease came from Lucy Deane in 1898, nearly two millennia after Pliny's writings.[5]

What are the Sumner Simpson Papers?

The Sumner Simpson Papers are internal corporate documents from October 1, 1935, in which Raybestos-Manhattan president Sumner Simpson instructed company leadership to suppress knowledge of asbestos health hazards. These documents were concealed until their discovery through litigation in 1977 and became central evidence in hundreds of asbestos personal injury lawsuits, proving that industry possessed knowledge of lethal health risks decades before regulators or the public.[6]

Why was the EPA's 1989 asbestos ban overturned?

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the EPA's 1989 asbestos ban on November 15, 1991, in Corrosion Proof Fittings v. EPA. The court ruled that the EPA failed to adequately consider less burdensome alternatives to an outright prohibition under TSCA Section 6.[11] This decision created a 33-year regulatory gap during which asbestos remained legal in the United States, even as 72 countries moved toward comprehensive bans.[2]

What does the 2024 EPA chrysotile ban actually prohibit?

The EPA's March 18, 2024 final rule bans all ongoing uses of chrysotile asbestos — the only form currently imported and used in America. The ban uses a staggered phase-out: chlor-alkali industry imports were banned immediately, sheet gaskets have a two-year phase-out, automotive brakes have six months to two years, and chemical manufacturing facilities have 5-12 years.[1] In January 2026, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce petitioned the Fifth Circuit to overturn the ban.

How many people still die from asbestos exposure in the United States?

In 2022, the CDC reported 2,236 mesothelioma deaths, with over 2,100 deaths in 2023. The age-adjusted death rate is approximately 1 per 100,000 population.[36] Despite declining absolute numbers reflecting reduced exposure since the 1970s, the 20-50 year latency period means deaths from past occupational and environmental exposure will continue for decades.

What was the first successful asbestos lawsuit?

Borel v. Fibreboard Products Corp. (1973) was the first successful asbestos personal injury verdict. Industrial insulation worker Clarence Borel won a $79,436.24 judgment after the jury found that manufacturers' products were unreasonably dangerous because no warnings were provided despite knowledge of hazards.[9] The Fifth Circuit upheld the verdict, establishing the strict liability precedent that generated thousands of subsequent lawsuits and billions in settlements.

How much money is in asbestos trust funds?

More than 60 active asbestos bankruptcy trusts collectively hold over $30 billion in assets. The Johns-Manville trust, established December 18, 1986 with $2.5 billion in initial funding, set the precedent.[34] Payment percentages vary widely — the Pittsburgh Corning trust pays 24.5% of scheduled values, while most smaller trusts operate at single-digit percentages. Average claimants file with 5 or more trusts to aggregate compensation.[10]

Quick Statistics

  • The U.S. imported approximately 300 metric tons of raw chrysotile asbestos annually before the 2024 ban, primarily for the chlor-alkali industry[1]
  • Mesothelioma latency periods range from 20 to 50 years after first asbestos exposure, with a median of approximately 30-40 years[36]
  • OSHA's permissible exposure limit has been reduced by 98% since 1971 — from 5 fibers/cc to the current 0.1 fibers/cc[12]
  • The Manville Trust's payment percentage dropped from 100% to approximately 5.1% as claims exceeded initial funding projections[34]
  • Eight separate asbestos ban bills introduced in Congress between 2002 and 2025 — none reached the president's desk[37]
  • Iceland became the first country to ban asbestos in 1983; the European Union followed with a comprehensive ban in 2005[2]
  • Russia produces approximately 1.2 million metric tons of asbestos annually — about 60% of the global supply
  • Asia and the Middle East consumed 1.31 million metric tons of asbestos in 2023, accounting for the majority of global demand
  • The Libby, Montana vermiculite mine contamination caused over 200 deaths in a single community — the highest per-capita asbestos death rate documented
  • The Royal Society of London published 8 separate studies on asbestos properties between 1660 and 1700[21]

Get Help

If you or a loved one has been affected by asbestos exposure, legal and medical resources are available:

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 EPA Announces Chrysotile Asbestos Ban - March 18, 2024
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Summary of Countries that Have Banned Asbestos - ADDRI, September 2025
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Asbestos Exposure - Danziger & De Llano
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Maines R (2005) Asbestos and Fire: Technological Tradeoffs and the Body at Risk. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0813535753
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Lucy Deane's 1898 Occupational Study - Mesothelioma.net
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Simpson Papers, October 1, 1935: Sumner Simpson to company officials on asbestos hazard concealment
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 WWII Shipyard Asbestos Exposure, Mesothelioma Lawyer Center
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Wagner JC et al. (1960) Diffuse pleural mesothelioma and asbestos exposure - British Journal of Industrial Medicine 17(4):260-271
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Mesothelioma Symptoms, Causes & Legal Options | Danziger & De Llano
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Mesothelioma & Asbestos Trust Fund Payouts | Mesothelioma Lawyer Center
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 Corrosion Proof Fittings v. EPA (Fifth Circuit, 1991)
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Occupational Safety and Health Administration Asbestos Standards Evolution
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Kierikki Stone Age Centre — Archaeological Heritage of Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Mökkönen T, Nordqvist K (2018) "Kierikki Ware and the contemporary Neolithic asbestos-tempered pottery in Northeastern Europe." Fennoscandia Archaeologica XXXV:55–77. Fennoscandia Archaeologica
  15. ↑ The Erechtheion and Ancient Asbestos - Mesothelioma.net
  16. ↑ Karystos Quarries and Ancient Asbestos Use - Mesothelioma.net
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Strabo, Geography 10.1.6, trans. H.L. Jones, Loeb Classical Library (1928): "In Carystus is produced also the stone which is combed and woven."
  18. ↑ Pliny Documentation of Asbestos-Related Disease - Danziger & De Llano Research
  19. ↑ Asbestos in the Roman Empire — UNRV Roman History
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Asbestos History | Mesothelioma.net
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Inextinguishable: The History of Asbestos — History Hit
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Ramazzini and the Birth of Occupational Medicine — Hektoen International
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Benjamin Franklin and Early American Asbestos Use - Danziger & De Llano
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Asbest — Encyclopædia Britannica. Russian asbestos mining established under Peter the Great, c. 1720.
  25. ↑ Industrial Asbestos Patents 1828 - Mesothelioma Lawyer Center
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 The White Mountains of Ambler, Wissahickon Valley Historical Society
  27. ↑ Raybestos Company Founded 1906, Mesothelioma.net
  28. ↑ Raymark/Raybestos-Manhattan Industries | Mesothelioma.net
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 The Great War's Largest Shipyard: Hog Island, Roads to the Great War (Michael E. Hanlon)
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Merewether & Price Report 1930 - Mesothelioma Lawyer Center
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Asbestos Cancer | Mesothelioma Lawyer Center
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Selikoff IJ (1964) Biological effects of asbestos - New York Academy of Sciences Conference
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 EPA Asbestos as Hazardous Air Pollutant - 1971
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 Johns-Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust - Mesothelioma Lawyer Center
  35. ↑ Raymark Industries Bankruptcy 1989
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Mesothelioma Statistics and Mortality Data | MesotheliomaAttorney.com
  37. ↑ Congressional Asbestos Ban Attempts 2002-2025 
   Asbestos in Homes: Risks, Identification, and Management
 
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           Exposure to asbestos: past, present and future - PMC
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