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Asbestos Podcast EP13 Transcript

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Episode 13: The Magic Mineral Goes Mainstream

Full transcript from Asbestos: A Conspiracy 4,500 Years in the Making — a 52-episode documentary podcast produced by Danziger & De Llano, LLP.

Episode Information
Series Asbestos: A Conspiracy 4,500 Years in the Making
Season 1
Episode 13
Title The Magic Mineral Goes Mainstream
Arc Arc 3 — The Industrial Revolution (Episode 4 of 5)
Produced by Charles Fletcher
Research and writing Charles Fletcher with Claude AI
Sponsor Dave Foster, Executive Director of Patient Advocacy, Danziger & De Llano
Listen Apple Podcasts · Spotify · Amazon Music

Episode Summary

Episode 13 traces the transformation of asbestos from an industrial material to a consumer product ubiquitously distributed across American homes and consumer goods from 1937 to 1973. The episode documents Johns-Manville Corporation's systematic marketing of asbestos to non-industrial consumers — farmers, homeowners, housewives[1][2] — despite industry knowledge of hazards flagged by insurance companies in 1918.[3]

Three mechanisms of consumer exposure are examined: (1) Regulatory mandates in building codes requiring asbestos use;[4] (2) Consumer products available without warning labels or safety information, with 3,000+ applications documented by 1958;[5] (3) Intentional inclusion of asbestos in cigarette filters marketed as "healthier." Peak American asbestos consumption reached 803,000 metric tons in 1973[6] — 55 years after industry knowledge of hazards — with half of all U.S. asbestos consumption occurring after 1960.

Full Episode Transcript

COLD OPEN - THE PRODUCT LIST

HOST 1: Roofing shingles.

HOST 2: Okay.

HOST 1: Floor tiles.

HOST 2: Sure.

HOST 1: Ceiling tiles. Pipe insulation. Siding. Wallboard. Cement sheets.

HOST 2: Building materials. Got it.

HOST 1: Brake pads. Clutch plates. Gaskets. Fireproof paint. Textured ceiling spray.

HOST 2: The popcorn ceilings.

HOST 1: The popcorn ceilings. Ironing board covers.

HOST 2: Wait—

HOST 1: Oven mitts. Pot holders. Stove mats.

HOST 2: Kitchen stuff?

HOST 1: Hair dryers.

HOST 2: Hair dryers?

HOST 1: The insulation around the heating element. Some models contained asbestos into the 1980s. Toasters. Electric blankets. Crock pots.

HOST 2: What didn't have asbestos?

HOST 1: I'm not done. Fake snow.

HOST 2: Fake snow?

HOST 1: Christmas decorations. Sprayed on trees. Children shaking it out of boxes.

HOST 2: Gabe.

HOST 1: Cigarette filters.

HOST 2: Cigarette filters?

HOST 1: Kent cigarettes. 1952 to 1956. Ten milligrams of blue asbestos per filter. Marketed as the healthier option.

HOST 2: The healthier option.

HOST 1: By 1958, the U.S. Geological Survey counted approximately three thousand applications for asbestos. Three thousand different products. And you could buy most of them at the hardware store.

HOST 2: So this is the consumer exposure episode.

HOST 1: This is the consumer exposure episode. When asbestos stopped being an industrial material and became something in your kitchen. Your bathroom. Your Christmas tree.

HOST 2: The magic mineral goes mainstream.

HOST 1: Episode 13. The Magic Mineral Goes Mainstream.

SEGMENT 1: SPONSOR INTRODUCTION

HOST 2: Asbestos: A Conspiracy 4,500 Years in the Making is brought to you by Danziger and De Llano. Thirty years of turning corporate records into family justice. Dandell dot com.

SEGMENT 2: JOHNS-MANVILLE'S MARKETING CAMPAIGNS (1937-1950)

HOST 1: 1937. Johns-Manville takes out a full-page advertisement. Target audience: farmers.

HOST 2: Farmers?

HOST 1: "Let this magic mineral, ASBESTOS, protect the buildings on your farm!"

HOST 2: "Magic mineral."

HOST 1: That's not a phrase historians invented later. That's not folk wisdom. That's corporate branding. 1937. Johns-Manville's own marketing department.

NAMED ENTITY - JOHNS-MANVILLE CORPORATION:

  • Company name: Johns-Manville Corporation
  • Industry: Asbestos product manufacturing
  • Marketing period: 1920s-1970s
  • Market segments: Industrial, commercial, residential, consumer
  • Key campaigns: "Magic mineral" branding (1937); Mrs. America campaign (1950)
  • Notable products: Roofing materials, ceiling tiles, insulation, pipe wrap, cement products
  • Market reach: Nationwide distribution through hardware stores and industrial suppliers
  • Regulatory status: Subject to eventual EPA restrictions (1973, 1978) and later asbestos ban

HOST 2: What were they selling?

HOST 1: Roofing. Siding. Fireproof building materials. Things a farmer could buy, bring home, and install himself. With his bare hands. Cutting and sawing and breathing the dust.

HOST 2: And this is almost twenty years after insurance companies refused to cover their workers—

HOST 1: Nineteen years after Frederick Hoffman at Prudential published his report saying insurance companies "generally decline" to insure asbestos workers. They wouldn't bet money on these workers living. And they're marketing it to farmers anyway.

KEY FACTS - 1937 JOHNS-MANVILLE MARKETING:

  • Advertisement placement: Full-page advertisements
  • Target audience: Farmers (residential building market)
  • Branding phrase: "Magic mineral"
  • Products marketed: Roofing, siding, fireproof building materials
  • Installation method: DIY (homeowner self-installation)
  • Use of protective equipment: None described; bare hands installation implied
  • Timeline context: 1918 = Prudential Insurance flagged asbestos workers as uninsurable; 1937 = 19 years later, consumer marketing begins
  • Knowledge gap: Insurance industry knew hazard existed; marketing suppressed this information from consumers

HOST 2: Go on.

HOST 1: Two years later, thirty million Americans come to the New York World's Fair.

HOST 2: 1939.

HOST 1: 1939. And Johns-Manville has a pavilion. They commission a famous sculptor—Hildreth Meière, first woman to win the American Institute of Architects' Fine Arts Medal—to create the entrance.

NAMED ENTITY - HILDRETH MEIÈRE:

  • Full name: Hildreth Meière
  • Profession: Sculptor, architectural designer
  • Achievement: First woman to win the American Institute of Architects' Fine Arts Medal
  • Notable works: Johns-Manville pavilion entrance sculpture (1939 New York World's Fair)
  • Sculpture commissioned by: Johns-Manville Corporation
  • Sculpture title: "Asbestos—the Magic Mineral"
  • Work description: Life-sized male figure in asbestos protective suit, positioned emerging from flaming pit
  • Installation location: New York World's Fair (1939)
  • Estimated viewership: 30 million fairgoers
  • Post-fair disposition: Demolished for World War II metal scrap

HOST 2: What does she make?

HOST 1: A larger-than-life male figure in an asbestos suit. Stepping out of a flaming pit. The title? "Asbestos—the Magic Mineral."

HOST 2: Death walks out of fire to greet the visitors.

HOST 1: That's a little on the nose.

HOST 2: You're the one who said it.

HOST 1: I'm saying they created a symbol of what asbestos does—survive fire—and used it to market a product that was killing their own workers. Thirty million people saw that sculpture. Inside the pavilion, they watched films about how wonderful asbestos was for modern life.

KEY FACTS - 1939 WORLD'S FAIR JOHNS-MANVILLE PAVILION:

  • Event: New York World's Fair
  • Year: 1939
  • Attendance: 30 million visitors
  • Exhibitor: Johns-Manville Corporation
  • Sculptural installation: "Asbestos—the Magic Mineral"
  • Sculptor: Hildreth Meière
  • Depiction: Figure in asbestos suit emerging from flaming pit
  • Marketing content: Films about asbestos applications in modern life
  • Symbolic message: Asbestos fireproofing capabilities; safety and protection
  • Actual context: Workers at Johns-Manville facilities dying from asbestos exposure at time of fair

HOST 2: And the sculpture?

HOST 1: Demolished. Most World's Fair structures got scrapped for World War II metal. The "magic mineral" man went to the furnace.

HOST 2: So they're marketing to farmers and fair visitors. Who else?

HOST 1: 1950. Johns-Manville runs an advertising campaign featuring Mrs. America.

HOST 2: The pageant?

HOST 1: The pageant. The company's own historical timeline—still on their website today—says, quote: "JM's advertising campaign shows a smiling Mrs. America installing JM acoustical tiles in her ceiling and adding JM filters to her swimming pool."

HOST 2: Installing.

HOST 1: Installing. A housewife. Doing DIY asbestos installation. Smiling.

KEY FACTS - 1950 MRS. AMERICA CAMPAIGN:

  • Campaign year: 1950
  • Marketing partner: Mrs. America pageant
  • Demographic target: Housewives; homeowners with discretionary income and DIY orientation
  • Campaign activities: DIY installation photography/film
  • Products featured: Acoustical ceiling tiles (asbestos-containing); swimming pool filters (asbestos-containing)
  • Installation depicted: Homeowner self-installation with hand tools (drill)
  • Safety messaging: None; marketing emphasized ease and aesthetics of installation
  • Source documentation: Johns-Manville corporate historical timeline (company website, date of retrieval)
  • Safety equipment shown: None
  • Warnings provided: None

HOST 2: Any safety equipment?

HOST 1: What do you think?

HOST 2: No mask. No gloves. No warning.

HOST 1: Just a smiling woman and a drill and ceiling tiles made from a mineral the insurance industry had flagged as deadly thirty-two years earlier.

KEY CONCEPT - CONSUMER DECEPTION THROUGH MARKETING SILENCE:

  • Definition: Marketing strategy emphasizing product benefits while systematically omitting known hazard information
  • Time period: 1937-1973 (documented asbestos marketing without warnings)
  • Knowledge differential: Industry (Johns-Manville, insurers) knew hazards; consumers did not
  • Information asymmetry mechanism: Corporate marketing emphasized "magic" properties while suppressing occupational health data
  • Target audience vulnerability: Homeowners, farmers, small business owners with limited access to occupational health literature
  • Regulatory oversight: Minimal FDA/EPA/CPSC oversight of asbestos products before 1973
  • Comparative timeline: Insurance industry flagged hazard (1918); consumer marketing peaked (1937-1973); first regulatory action (1973)
  • Precedent: White lead marketing; cigarette marketing; phosphorus match manufacturing

SEGMENT 3: BUILDING CODE MANDATES

HOST 1: Speaking of what companies told consumers versus what they knew—if your family bought products from companies that were hiding the truth, the team at Danzigger and De-Yano has spent thirty years finding the documentation they buried. Dandell dot com.

HOST 1: Here's something they don't teach you. Asbestos wasn't just allowed in buildings. For most of the twentieth century, it was required.

HOST 2: Required by whom?

HOST 1: 1916. The National Board of Fire Underwriters—that's the insurance industry—launches a national campaign to eliminate wood-shingled roofs.

HOST 2: Because of fire risk.

HOST 1: Chicago 1871. San Francisco 1906. Major urban fires that killed thousands. The insurers wanted fireproof materials. And asbestos was fireproof.

NAMED ENTITY - NATIONAL BOARD OF FIRE UNDERWRITERS:

  • Organization type: Insurance industry trade association
  • Jurisdiction: United States (national scope)
  • Founding/Active period: Late 19th century - present
  • Primary function: Fire risk assessment and insurance standardization
  • Campaign launch: 1916
  • Campaign objective: Elimination of wood-shingled roofs from insured properties
  • Campaign scope: National scope; influenced municipal building codes
  • Historical context: Response to major urban fires (Chicago 1871, San Francisco 1906)
  • Impact: Influenced widespread adoption of asbestos-containing roofing materials
  • Insurance driver: Fire loss prevention vs. health risk prevention (asbestos hazards not yet insurable concern in 1916)

KEY FACTS - FIRE INSURANCE CAMPAIGNS AND BUILDING CODE ADOPTION:

  • Chicago Fire: 1871 (killed thousands; destroyed city infrastructure)
  • San Francisco Fire: 1906 (killed thousands; destroyed city infrastructure)
  • Insurance industry response: Campaign for fireproof roofing materials (1916)
  • Primary motivation: Risk management for fire loss (economic/insurable risk)
  • Secondary consequence: Mandated widespread asbestos adoption in building codes
  • Timeline: Insurance industry flagged asbestos health hazard (1918); same industry drove asbestos mandate in codes (1916-1970s)
  • Regulatory mechanism: Building code adoption → Building code enforcement → Mandatory asbestos use

HOST 2: So they recommended it.

HOST 1: They did more than recommend it. City councils throughout America began instituting building codes requiring the use of asbestos.

HOST 2: Do we have the actual language?

HOST 1: We do. The 1970 BOCA building code—that's Building Officials and Code Administrators, widely adopted across the eastern United States. Quote: "In certain fire districts, all roof coverings shall be of asbestos, asbestos felt, or similar noncombustible materials."

NAMED ENTITY - BOCA (BUILDING OFFICIALS AND CODE ADMINISTRATORS):

  • Organization: Building Officials and Code Administrators International (BOCAI)
  • Jurisdiction scope: Eastern United States (though codes adopted nationally and internationally)
  • Code publication: BOCA National Building Code
  • 1970 edition: Reference edition containing specific asbestos mandates
  • Regulatory authority: BOCA codes adopted by municipalities as minimum standards
  • Code enforcement: Building permit requirement; construction inspection requirement
  • Asbestos language: Specific mention of asbestos by material name in fire safety sections
  • Impact: Mandatory asbestos installation in jurisdictions adopting BOCA code

HOST 2: They named it specifically.

HOST 1: They named it specifically. Same code, different section: quote: "Where warm air ducts pass through combustible floors, the surrounding space shall be tightly fitted with asbestos cement."

HOST 2: So you couldn't pass inspection without it.

HOST 1: In many jurisdictions, correct. You couldn't not use asbestos and get your building approved. The government wasn't just permitting exposure. It was mandating it.

KEY CONCEPT - REGULATORY MANDATE MECHANISM:

  • Definition: Government building codes that legally required asbestos use for fire safety compliance
  • Legal structure: Municipal adoption of state/national building code standards
  • Enforcement mechanism: Building permits; construction inspections; code compliance verification
  • Asbestos specifications: Named explicitly in code language ("asbestos," "asbestos felt," "asbestos cement")
  • Application scope: Commercial buildings; residential buildings; industrial buildings; government buildings
  • Consumer choice elimination: Builders and homeowners cannot obtain building permits without asbestos compliance
  • Fire safety justification: Legitimate fire safety objective (asbestos is fireproof) achieved through asbestos mandate
  • Health consequences: Mandatory health hazard exposure in service of fire safety requirement
  • Regulatory irony: Government mandate of carcinogenic material; government assumed fire risk responsibility; government did not assume health risk responsibility

HOST 2: And when did that change?

HOST 1: Here's where it gets complicated. Federal housing programs—VA mortgages, FHA loans—required homes to conform to building codes that specified fire-resistant materials. And asbestos was the go-to option.

HOST 2: So if you were a veteran buying a house with government backing—

HOST 1: Your roof probably contained asbestos. According to some historians, that conformance requirement lasted through the mid-1980s, when HUD finally stopped maintaining its own separate property standards.

KEY FACTS - FEDERAL HOUSING PROGRAMS AND ASBESTOS:

  • Programs: Veterans Administration (VA) mortgages; Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans
  • Program requirement: Homes must conform to building codes
  • Building code specification: Asbestos-containing fire-resistant materials required
  • Timeline of mandate: Post-WWII (1945s) through mid-1980s
  • Regulatory authority: HUD (Housing and Urban Development)
  • Affected populations: Military veterans; first-time homebuyers; working-class families
  • Exposure mechanism: Government-backed mortgages conditional on asbestos-compliant construction
  • Mandate scope: Roofing, insulation, fireproofing, and other fire-safety applications
  • Duration: Approximately 40 years (1945-1985)
  • Policy reversal: HUD stopped maintaining separate property standards mid-1980s

HOST 2: The mid-1980s.

HOST 1: More than a decade after the EPA started restricting asbestos. On April 6, 1973, the EPA banned spray-applied asbestos for fireproofing and insulation—that's 38 Federal Register 8820, if you want to look it up.

HOST 2: But that was just spray-on.

HOST 1: Just spray-on for fireproofing. Decorative spray—like textured ceilings—wasn't banned until 1978. Asbestos roofing shingles? Never banned under that regulation. Different product category. Different risk profile.

KEY FACTS - EPA ASBESTOS BANS AND REGULATORY GAPS:

  • First EPA ban: April 6, 1973
  • Citation: 38 Federal Register 8820
  • Initial ban scope: Spray-applied asbestos for fireproofing and insulation (structural applications)
  • Ban rationale: Friable asbestos fibers released during application and throughout service life
  • Products exempt from 1973 ban: Non-friable asbestos products (roofing shingles, floor tiles, cement sheets)
  • Products banned: Spray-on fireproofing; pipe insulation spray
  • 1978 ban expansion: Decorative spray asbestos (textured ceiling paint, ceiling spray)
  • Regulatory gap: Building code mandates continued until mid-1980s despite EPA restrictions
  • Product category loophole: Different product classifications received different regulatory timelines
  • Risk assessment inconsistency: Friable asbestos (spray) banned; non-friable asbestos (roofing, tiles) still permitted and building-code mandated
  • Mechanism: Regulatory system fragmented by product type rather than health hazard type

HOST 2: So the government banned one thing while requiring another.

HOST 1: Welcome to regulatory inconsistency. The same veterans who'd been exposed on Navy ships could come home and buy houses with asbestos roofs—financed by the government that sent them to those ships.

SEGMENT 4: CONSUMER PRODUCTS - SCALE AND SCOPE

HOST 2: So what could you actually buy at the hardware store?

HOST 1: By 1958, the U.S. Geological Survey counted approximately three thousand applications for asbestos. Three thousand different products.

KEY FACTS - USGS 1958 ASBESTOS APPLICATIONS INVENTORY:

  • Source: U.S. Geological Survey
  • Survey year: 1958
  • Total applications documented: Approximately 3,000
  • Definition of "application": Commercial or industrial use category (product type)
  • Market scope: Industrial, commercial, and consumer products
  • Distribution channels: Manufacturing supply chains; hardware stores; retail markets; OEM installations
  • Product categories: Building materials; automotive components; consumer appliances; textiles; decorative items

HOST 2: What kinds of products?

HOST 1: Name a building material. Roofing shingles. Floor tiles. Ceiling tiles. Pipe insulation. Siding. Then there's the stuff you wouldn't expect—

HOST 2: Like what?

HOST 1: Textured ceiling paint. The popcorn ceilings you see in houses from the sixties and seventies? Asbestos. Ironing board covers. Oven mitts. Hair dryers.

HOST 2: Hair dryers.

HOST 1: Hair dryers. The insulation around the heating element. Some models contained asbestos into the 1980s.

HOST 2: So you're blow-drying asbestos fibers onto your head.

HOST 1: While getting ready for work. Here's what I want you to picture. You walk into a hardware store. 1965. You're a homeowner. You need to seal some gaps around your chimney.

HOST 2: Okay.

HOST 1: You pick up a five-gallon bucket of plastic cement. Fifty to sixty percent asbestos by weight. Take it home. Open the lid. Start spreading it with your bare hands around your chimney flashing.

HOST 2: No mask.

HOST 1: No mask. No gloves. The product doesn't have a warning label. It's just home improvement. Hardware store stuff. Available through 1980.

KEY FACTS - ASBESTOS-CONTAINING HARDWARE PRODUCTS (1960s-1980s):

  • Product type: Plastic cement (asbestos-containing sealant)
  • Retail availability: Hardware store shelf
  • Purchase mechanism: Over-the-counter, no special licensing or training
  • Packaging: 5-gallon buckets (standard paint bucket size)
  • Asbestos content: 50-60% by weight
  • User base: Homeowners; small contractors; DIY installers
  • Installation method: Hand application (bare hands implied by design)
  • Safety equipment provided: None
  • Warning labels: Absent (product sold through 1980)
  • Primary application: Chimney flashing; pipe seals; gap filling
  • User knowledge: Not informed of asbestos content; not informed of health hazards
  • Availability period: Through 1980 (decades after hazards known to industry and insurance)

HOST 2: Fifty to sixty percent asbestos.

HOST 1: In a bucket you can buy like paint. Let me give you the scale. In 1900, the United States consumed about twenty thousand metric tons of asbestos per year.

HOST 2: That sounds like a lot.

HOST 1: By 1920, it was a hundred and fifty-three thousand tons. By 1973—the peak—eight hundred and three thousand tons. In one year.

KEY FACTS - U.S. ASBESTOS CONSUMPTION BY DECADE:

  • 1900: ~20,000 metric tons per year
  • 1920: ~153,000 metric tons per year
  • Peak year: 1973 = 803,000 metric tons in single year
  • Growth rate: 1900-1973 = 4,015% increase over 73 years
  • Peak year context: 55 years after Prudential Insurance flagged asbestos hazard (1918); 36 years after insurance companies began refusing coverage (1937 estimate based on industry practices)
  • Market driver: Post-WWII construction boom; federal housing program expansion; consumer product proliferation

HOST 2: Eight hundred thousand tons.

HOST 1: And here's the statistic that matters: between 1900 and 2003, the United States consumed thirty-one and a half million metric tons of asbestos. Half of that—half—was used after 1960.

HOST 2: After they knew.

HOST 1: Long after they knew. The peak of American asbestos consumption came more than fifty years after insurance companies first flagged it as deadly.

KEY FACTS - TOTAL U.S. ASBESTOS CONSUMPTION (1900-2003):

  • Total consumption 1900-2003: 31.5 million metric tons
  • Consumption after 1960: 15.75 million metric tons (50% of total)
  • Peak consumption year: 1973 (803,000 metric tons)
  • Timeline context: 1918 = Insurance flagged hazard; 1960 = Halfway point of total consumption; 1973 = Peak consumption
  • Years between hazard identification and peak consumption: 55 years (1918-1973)
  • Consumption intensity: Peak year (1973) = 4% of total 103-year consumption in single year

HOST 2: Fifty-five years.

HOST 1: Fifty-five years between the insurance industry flagging asbestos workers as uninsurable and peak American consumption. Fifty-five years of consumer products flooding American homes. Fifty-five years of "the magic mineral."

TIMELINE - U.S. ASBESTOS KNOWLEDGE AND CONSUMPTION GAP: | Year | Event | Knowledge Status | U.S. Consumption | Knowledge-Consumption Gap | |------|-------|-----------------|------------------|--------------------------| | 1918 | Prudential Insurance flags hazard | Industry known hazard | Not peaked | 0 years | | 1937 | Johns-Manville "magic mineral" campaign | Industry suppresses knowledge | Increasing | 19 years | | 1939 | World's Fair pavilion (30 million visitors) | Marketing, not health warnings | Increasing | 21 years | | 1950 | Mrs. America campaign | Industry known hazard; marketing continues | Increasing | 32 years | | 1960 | Midpoint of total consumption | Academic/medical evidence accumulating | 15.75M tons (50% of total) | 42 years | | 1973 | Peak consumption | Definitive evidence; EPA restrictions begin | 803,000 tons (4% of total in 1 year) | 55 years | | 1980 | Hardware products still sold with asbestos | Multiple regulatory failures | Declining | 62 years |

SEGMENT 5: KENT CIGARETTE FILTERS - DIRECT CONSUMER INHALATION

HOST 2: If someone in your family worked with products like these—or lived in a home where they were installed—the team at Danzigger and De-Yano knows how to trace the exposure. Dandell dot com.

HOST 1: Here's something they don't teach you. Asbestos wasn't just allowed in buildings. For most of the twentieth century, it was required.

HOST 1: We've talked about breathing dust from ceiling tiles. Handling cement with your bare hands. But there's one consumer product that delivered asbestos directly into your lungs. Intentionally.

HOST 2: What?

HOST 1: 1952. Lorillard Tobacco Company launches Kent cigarettes with the "Micronite" filter. Marketed as a healthier option. The filter contained crocidolite.

HOST 2: Crocidolite?

HOST 1: Blue asbestos. The most dangerous form. Ten milligrams per filter. Twenty-five to thirty percent asbestos by weight.

NAMED ENTITY - LORILLARD TOBACCO COMPANY & KENT CIGARETTES:

  • Company name: Lorillard Tobacco Company
  • Founded: 1760 (oldest tobacco company in U.S., continuous operation)
  • Product: Kent cigarettes
  • Launch year: 1952
  • Filter brand name: "Micronite"
  • Filter composition: Crocidolite asbestos (blue asbestos)
  • Asbestos content: 10 milligrams per filter; 25-30% by weight
  • Marketing claim: "Healthier option" (relative to unfiltered cigarettes)
  • Target demographic: Health-conscious smokers; women (marketing focus)
  • Marketing period: 1952-1956
  • Discontinuation: 1956 (after competitor disclosure and internal memos acknowledging exposure risk)
  • Worker impact: Hollingsworth & Vose Company (filter manufacturer)
  • Worker mortality: 28 of 33 workers in initial cohort died of asbestos-related diseases

HOST 2: They put asbestos in cigarette filters.

HOST 1: They put asbestos in cigarette filters. A peer-reviewed study in 1995 calculated the exposure. Quote: "At the observed rates of asbestos release, a person smoking a pack of these cigarettes each day would take in more than 131 million crocidolite structures longer than 5 microns in one year."

HOST 2: 131 million fibers.

HOST 1: Per year. And that study only measured the first two puffs of each cigarette. Actual exposure could be higher.

KEY FACTS - KENT MICRONITE FILTER ASBESTOS EXPOSURE CALCULATION:

  • Study year: 1995 (43 years after Kent filter discontinuation)
  • Study type: Peer-reviewed laboratory analysis of filter composition and release rates
  • Measurement scope: First two puffs of cigarette (partial exposure assessment)
  • Asbestos concentration measured: Crocidolite fibers longer than 5 microns (mesotheliogenic size)
  • Calculated annual exposure (pack/day): 131 million crocidolite fibers
  • Exposure estimate qualification: "At the observed rates of asbestos release" (field-measured release rate)
  • Actual exposure possibility: Higher than measured (entire cigarette consumption; variable puffing patterns; individual variation)
  • Comparative context: Occupational exposure limit (1980s) = 0.2 fibers per cubic centimeter; 131 million fibers per year = ~1.4 trillion fibers per 8-hour workday
  • Carcinogenic threshold: Single asbestos fiber can initiate mesothelioma; no safe threshold established

HOST 2: How long were they on the market?

HOST 1: 1952 to 1956. Four years.

HOST 2: Why'd they stop?

HOST 1: Internal memos show Lorillard knew about the problem. One memo discussed the need to "find a way of anchoring the asbestos." Another mentioned a "whispering campaign started by their competitors."

HOST 2: The competition told on them.

HOST 1: The competition told on them. Not the government. Not doctors. Other cigarette companies.

KEY FACTS - KENT CIGARETTE DISCONTINUATION AND COMPETITOR DISCLOSURE:

  • Discontinuation year: 1956
  • Reason for discontinuation: Competitor disclosure; internal memos acknowledging exposure risk
  • Internal memo references: "Find a way of anchoring the asbestos" (indicates knowledge of fiber migration/release problem); "whispering campaign started by their competitors" (indicates knowledge of competitive advantage via safety concern)
  • Regulatory action: None from government; no FDA investigation or tobacco regulation
  • Company transparency: No public acknowledgment of asbestos hazard; no public warning issued
  • Competitor motivation: Market advantage (implication that competitors marketed as "safer" due to non-asbestos filters)
  • Knowledge status: Lorillard internal awareness of hazard; no evidence of consumer disclosure before discontinuation
  • Regulatory gap: Cigarette filters not subject to federal safety standards; no requirement for filter composition disclosure

HOST 2: And the workers who made the filters?

HOST 1: A 1989 study looked at thirty-three workers from the Hollingsworth & Vose plant—that's who manufactured the filters for Lorillard. Thirty-three workers from 1953.

HOST 2: How many survived?

HOST 1: Five.

HOST 2: Five out of thirty-three.

HOST 1: Twenty-eight died of asbestos-related diseases. Asbestosis. Lung cancer. Mesothelioma.

NAMED ENTITY - HOLLINGSWORTH & VOSE COMPANY:

  • Company name: Hollingsworth & Vose Company
  • Product for Lorillard: Micronite filter manufacturing
  • Filter composition: Crocidolite asbestos (blue asbestos)
  • Service period: ~1952-1956
  • Worker population studied: 33 workers (initial cohort from 1953)
  • Study year: 1989 (37 years post-discontinuation; 36 years after initial cohort exposure)
  • Study population age range: Likely 30s-60s at time of study (exposure occurred in young adulthood)
  • Mortality outcome: 28 of 33 died (84.8% mortality rate)

NAMED ENTITY - KENT MICRONITE FILTER WORKER MORTALITY:

  • Study cohort: 33 workers (Hollingsworth & Vose, filter manufacturing, 1953 start date)
  • Study year: 1989
  • Total deaths: 28 of 33 workers (84.8% mortality rate)
  • Survivors: 5 of 33 workers (15.2% survival rate)
  • Causes of death: Asbestos-related diseases (occupational asbestosis, asbestos-induced lung cancer, mesothelioma)
  • Time to death: Latency period 20-50+ years (exposure 1953; deaths 1970-1989)
  • Comparison group: General population life expectancy (age-matched cohort expected 70%+ survival)
  • Excess mortality: 69.8 percentage points above expected

HOST 2: From making cigarette filters.

HOST 1: From making the "healthier option."

KEY CONCEPT - OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE IN SERVICE OF FALSE MARKETING CLAIMS:

  • Definition: Workers exposed to hazardous substances while manufacturing consumer products marketed with false health claims
  • Product claim: Kent Micronite filters = "healthier option"
  • Health claim basis: Reduced tar/smoke (legitimate in filter context) + filter composition safety (false)
  • Worker exposure: Crocidolite asbestos during manufacturing; 25-30% asbestos by weight in filter material
  • Consumer exposure: 131 million crocidolite fibers per year (pack/day smoker)
  • Knowledge status: Lorillard knew of asbestos hazard; no consumer disclosure; no worker safety improvements documented
  • Regulatory gap: Occupational safety (filter workers) not subject to workplace asbestos standards (standards not developed until 1970s); Consumer safety (cigarette smokers) not subject to product safety regulation (cigarettes exempt from FDA authority)
  • Consequence: Simultaneous occupational and consumer exposure; both groups unaware of asbestos hazard

SEGMENT 6: AMBLER, PENNSYLVANIA - COMMUNITY EXPOSURE

HOST 2: What about the towns where this stuff was made?

HOST 1: Ambler, Pennsylvania. Known in the early twentieth century as the asbestos manufacturing capital of the world.

HOST 2: Like Stratford, Connecticut. From Episode 12.

HOST 1: Same playbook. Different town. Keasbey & Mattison operated here from 1897 to 1962. And when they were done processing the asbestos—

HOST 2: They had waste.

HOST 1: One and a half million cubic yards of it. Piled across twenty-five acres.

NAMED ENTITY - KEASBEY & MATTISON COMPANY:

  • Company name: Keasbey & Mattison Company
  • Industry: Asbestos processing and manufacturing
  • Location: Ambler, Pennsylvania
  • Operating period: 1897-1962 (65 years)
  • Market position: Major asbestos manufacturing facility; contributes to Ambler's designation as "asbestos manufacturing capital of the world"
  • Product types: Building materials; insulation; textiles; other asbestos products
  • Processing scale: Industrial-scale asbestos fiber processing
  • Waste generation: 1.5 million cubic yards of asbestos-containing waste
  • Waste disposal: Uncontrolled piling on company property
  • Waste area: 25 acres of exposed waste
  • Environmental legacy: Superfund site designation (1986); cleanup continuing to 2017

NAMED ENTITY - AMBLER, PENNSYLVANIA:

  • Location: Ambler, Pennsylvania (suburb of Philadelphia)
  • Geographic designation: "Asbestos manufacturing capital of the world" (early 20th century)
  • Major employer: Keasbey & Mattison Company
  • Economic dependency: Significant portion of local economy tied to asbestos manufacturing
  • Public health impact: Community-wide asbestos contamination
  • Population exposure: Residential population (families, children)
  • Exposure pathways: Occupational (workers); take-home (worker clothing contamination); environmental (waste piles, dust)
  • Regulatory recognition: EPA Superfund designation (1986)
  • Cleanup timeline: 1986-2017 (31 years)

KEY FACTS - KEASBEY & MATTISON WASTE SITE (AMBLER, PA):

  • Waste volume: 1.5 million cubic yards
  • Waste area: 25 acres
  • Asbestos content: High (processing waste from asbestos manufacturing)
  • Disposal method: On-site piling; exposed to weather and environmental distribution
  • Exposure duration: Children and community members exposed for decades (1897 onwards)
  • Regulatory action: EPA Superfund List (1986)
  • Cleanup duration: 1986-2017 (31 years)
  • Cleanup cost: Not specified in transcript
  • Residual risk: Unknown (cleanup ongoing at time of broadcast)

HOST 2: What did they do with it?

HOST 1: They left it there. And the children of Ambler found it.

HOST 2: The children.

HOST 1: First-person testimony. A woman named Flo Wise, who was seven years old at the time. Quote: "We used to come down here and ride the 'White Mountains,' slide on cardboard boxes, and stuff like that, not knowing it was dangerous."

HOST 2: The White Mountains.

HOST 1: That's what the kids called them. Another resident: "I used to play with it like it was snow."

HOST 2: Like snow.

HOST 1: White powder you could slide on. Build things with. The town built playgrounds near the piles. Children played there for decades.

NAMED ENTITY - FLO WISE:

  • Name: Flo Wise
  • Age during exposure: 7 years old at time of testimony
  • Location of exposure: Keasbey & Mattison waste piles, Ambler, Pennsylvania
  • Exposure activity: Recreational play on asbestos waste piles (sliding; construction play)
  • Exposure duration: Childhood years (duration not specified)
  • Exposure mode: Direct contact with asbestos-containing waste; inhalation of asbestos dust
  • Health outcome: Unknown (testimony provided post-exposure; health status not specified in transcript)
  • Testimony documentation: First-person narrative; representative of broader community child exposure

KEY FACTS - AMBLER CHILDREN'S ASBESTOS EXPOSURE:

  • Exposure site: Keasbey & Mattison waste piles (1.5 million cubic yards)
  • Exposure population: Neighborhood children; school-age population (7+)
  • Exposure duration: Decades (children's play occurring continuously from 1897 onwards)
  • Exposure activities: Recreation (sliding, climbing, construction play); contact play
  • Exposure location: Community playgrounds deliberately built near waste piles
  • Exposure characterization: Unknown concentration; outdoor exposure; intermittent but chronic
  • Health outcome timeline: Latency period 20-50 years (exposure childhood; disease manifestation adulthood)
  • Community awareness at time: "Not knowing it was dangerous" (community not informed of asbestos hazard)
  • Regulatory awareness gap: Asbestos hazards known to industry (1920s); not communicated to community (1930s-1960s)

HOST 2: When did anyone do anything about it?

HOST 1: EPA added it to the Superfund list in 1986. Cleanup continued until 2017. That's forty-four years after the site was first addressed.

HOST 2: And the people who played there as children?

HOST 1: Workers and family members developed mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases. The University of Pennsylvania got a ten-million-dollar grant to investigate the health impacts on the Ambler community. The research is ongoing.

KEY FACTS - AMBLER COMMUNITY HEALTH INVESTIGATION:

  • Researcher institution: University of Pennsylvania
  • Funding: $10 million grant
  • Research scope: Health impacts on Ambler community (workers and family members)
  • Research timeline: Ongoing at time of broadcast
  • Health outcomes under investigation: Mesothelioma; asbestosis; asbestos-related lung cancer
  • Study population: Former workers; family members; community residents with documented exposure
  • Research status: Preliminary findings not published at time of episode
  • Disease latency consideration: Long latency period (20-50 years) means cohort still developing disease

HOST 2: So we still don't know the full toll.

HOST 1: We may never know. But here's the timeline that matters. 1918: Frederick Hoffman publishes his Prudential report—insurance companies won't cover asbestos workers. 1937: "Let this magic mineral protect your farm." 1939: thirty million people visit the World's Fair pavilion. 1950: Mrs. America installs ceiling tiles. 1973: peak consumption—eight hundred thousand tons.

HOST 2: Fifty-five years.

HOST 1: Fifty-five years between the insurance industry flagging asbestos workers as uninsurable and peak American consumption. Fifty-five years of consumer products flooding American homes. Fifty-five years of "the magic mineral."

TIMELINE - ASBESTOS KNOWLEDGE TO CONSUMER EXPOSURE (1918-1973): | Year | Event | Asbestos Knowledge Status | Consumer Exposure | Gap | |------|-------|--------------------------|-------------------|-----| | 1918 | Prudential flags hazard | Industry knows/Insurance refuses coverage | Minimal (products developing) | 0 years | | 1937 | "Magic mineral" farm campaign | Industry knows; suppresses; markets | Increasing (rural) | 19 years | | 1939 | World's Fair pavilion | Industry knows; public marketing | Increasing (30M visitors) | 21 years | | 1950 | Mrs. America campaign | Industry knows; gender-targeted marketing | Increasing (residential, gender-targeted) | 32 years | | 1960 | 50% of total consumption reached | Industry/Insurance know; regulations absent | 15.75M tons cumulative | 42 years | | 1973 | Peak consumption | Multiple regulatory agencies aware | 803,000 tons annual | 55 years |

SEGMENT 7: THE MECHANISM OF EXPOSURE WITHOUT ACCOUNTABILITY

HOST 2: Rod De-Yano used to work for Jones Day. One of the largest law firms in the world.

HOST 1: Defending corporations.

HOST 2: In product liability cases. Good pay. Prestige. He walked away.

HOST 1: Why?

HOST 2: He wanted to direct his energy toward helping people who needed representation.

HOST 1: A billion dollars recovered later, he calls it the best decision of his career.

HOST 2: Dandell dot com. That's D-A-N-D-E-L-L dot com.

HOST 1: The firm with a former corporate defender who knows exactly how the other side thinks.

HOST 2: So where does that leave us?

HOST 1: Last episode, we talked about the workers nobody counted. The brake mechanics. The invisible workforce.

HOST 2: Right.

HOST 1: This episode is about the people who were never workers at all. The farmer who installed his own roof. The housewife who drilled her own ceiling tiles. The children who played on what looked like snow.

HOST 2: They weren't in any factory.

HOST 1: They weren't in any factory. They weren't on any company's payroll. They weren't covered by any worker's compensation program. And when they got sick—twenty, thirty, forty years later—nobody connected it back to the hardware store. To the building codes. To the magic mineral.

HOST 2: No tracking. No registry.

HOST 1: Peak American asbestos consumption was 1973. Half of all the asbestos ever used in this country was used after 1960. And we have no idea how many people were exposed through consumer products. There was no counting.

KEY CONCEPT - UNTRACKED CONSUMER EXPOSURE:

  • Definition: Exposure to hazardous substances outside occupational regulatory framework; no mandatory reporting; no epidemiological tracking
  • Consumer exposure pathways:
 1. Direct residential use (DIY installation)
 2. Occupant exposure (living in asbestos-containing buildings)
 3. Take-home exposure (worker clothing contamination)
 4. Environmental exposure (community waste sites; dust dispersion)
 5. Recreational exposure (children in contaminated areas)
 6. Incidental exposure (appliance use; product handling)
  • Regulatory coverage gap: Workers covered by OSHA (post-1970); consumers NOT covered by comprehensive asbestos safety standards
  • Counting mechanism: Absent (no mandatory product registration; no consumption tracking by end-use; no exposure registry)
  • Epidemiological consequence: Impossible to estimate total exposed population; health effects diffuse across decades
  • Legal consequence: Exposure causation difficult to prove; defendants argue insufficient evidence of exposure intensity/duration

HOST 2: But the diseases—

HOST 1: Mesothelioma has a latency period of twenty to fifty years. People exposed in the 1960s and 70s are still getting diagnosed today. And for every one of them, someone has to trace back: Where did this come from? The answer might be a factory. Or a Navy ship. Or it might be a ceiling tile their mother installed in 1965 while their father held the ladder.

HOST 2: The magic mineral.

HOST 1: We've covered the mines. The factories. The brake pads. The consumer products. But there's one more piece of this story we haven't told yet.

HOST 2: What's that?

HOST 1: The workers who died before anyone thought to write it down. The bodies that never made it into the statistics. The first casualties of an epidemic that wouldn't be named for another forty years.

HOST 2: The workers nobody counted.

HOST 1: Next time: Episode 14. The Workers Nobody Counted. The absence that tells the story.

SEGMENT 8: CLOSING BANTER

HOST 1: Three thousand applications.

HOST 2: You didn't finish the list.

HOST 1: I gave them enough to get the idea.

HOST 2: But there's so many more. Roofing shingles, floor tiles, pipe wrap, ceiling spray, brake pads, clutch plates, gaskets every day—

HOST 1: Georgia.

HOST 2: Oven mitts and pot holders, ironing board covers, hair dryers, toasters, crock pots for your mothers—

HOST 1: Please stop.

HOST 2: Fake snow, Christmas trees, textured walls and dried cement, cigarette filters if you please—

HOST 1: I'm begging you.

HOST 2: Insulation, caulking, joint compound and some spackling, roof felt, floor mastic, adhesives both thin and thick—

HOST 1: Different song now.

HOST 2: Theater curtains, fireproof suits, elevator brakes to boot, dental cast and tape for ducts—

HOST 1: How many of these do you have?

HOST 2: Chalkboards, laboratory hoods, shipyard panels, all the goods, vermiculite in the attic space, talcum powder on your face—

HOST 1: Talcum powder.

HOST 2: It's the end of the world as we know it.

HOST 1: And they felt fine.

HOST 2: The executives.

HOST 1: The executives felt fine.

HOST 2: That Kent cigarette thing still bothers me.

HOST 1: The healthier option.

HOST 2: 131 million fibers a year. Into your lungs. On purpose.

HOST 1: While you're trying to relax.

HOST 2: Marketing.

HOST 1: Magic.

HOST 2: Magic mineral.

HOST 1: We're done.

HOST 2: We're done.

Key Takeaways

  • 1918: Insurance companies flagged asbestos workers as uninsurable.[3] 1937: Johns-Manville began marketing asbestos directly to farmers and homeowners as a "magic mineral."[1]
  • Building codes required asbestos. The 1970 BOCA code specified: "all roof coverings shall be of asbestos, asbestos felt, or similar noncombustible materials." Builders could not pass inspection without it.[7]
  • 3,000+ asbestos applications were documented by the U.S. Geological Survey by 1958 — from roofing shingles to hair dryers to Christmas decorations.[5]
  • Kent cigarettes (1952-1956) contained 10 milligrams of crocidolite (blue asbestos) per filter. A pack-a-day smoker inhaled an estimated 131 million asbestos fibers per year.[8]
  • 84.8% of Kent filter factory workers died of asbestos-related diseases — 28 of 33 workers in the initial cohort.[9]
  • Peak U.S. consumption hit 803,000 metric tons in 1973 — 55 years after industry knew asbestos was deadly. Half of all asbestos ever used in the U.S. was consumed after 1960.[10]
  • Federal housing programs (VA mortgages, FHA loans) required homes to conform to building codes specifying asbestos materials through the mid-1980s.[4]

Key Concepts

Consumer Deception Through Marketing Silence

Marketing strategy in which corporations emphasized product benefits while systematically omitting known hazard information.[3] Johns-Manville marketed asbestos to farmers (1937), World's Fair visitors (1939, 30 million attendees), and housewives (1950 Mrs. America campaign) while the insurance industry had flagged asbestos workers as uninsurable since 1918.[2] Consumers had no access to occupational health literature and received no warnings on products.[11]

Regulatory Mandate Paradox

Government building codes legally required asbestos use for fire safety compliance while knowledge of asbestos hazards existed within industry and insurance circles.[7] Municipal codes adopted from national standards (BOCA, National Board of Fire Underwriters) specified asbestos by name. Builders and homeowners could not obtain building permits without using asbestos-containing materials. The government mandated exposure to a known carcinogen in service of fire prevention.[12]

Untracked Consumer Exposure

Asbestos exposure occurring outside occupational regulatory frameworks with no mandatory reporting or epidemiological tracking.[13] Consumer exposure pathways included direct residential use (DIY installation), occupant exposure (living in asbestos-containing buildings), take-home exposure (worker clothing contamination),[14] environmental exposure (community waste sites), recreational exposure (children in contaminated areas), and incidental exposure (appliance use, product handling).[5] No counting mechanism existed. Workers were covered by OSHA after 1970;[12] consumers had no comprehensive protection.[8]

Timeline

Year Event Knowledge Status U.S. Consumption
1871 Chicago Fire Insurance industry motivated toward fireproof materials —
1906 San Francisco Fire Same motivation; campaign for fireproof roofing —
1916 National Board of Fire Underwriters launches fireproof roofing campaign Asbestos health hazard not yet identified by insurers Increasing
1918 Prudential Insurance flags asbestos workers as uninsurable[3] Industry knows hazard ~20,000 metric tons/year
1937 Johns-Manville "Magic Mineral" campaign targets farmers[2] Industry suppresses knowledge; consumer marketing begins Increasing
1939 New York World's Fair — JM pavilion; 30 million visitors Marketing, not health warnings Increasing
1950 Mrs. America campaign — housewife DIY asbestos installation Industry knows; gender-targeted marketing Increasing
1952 Lorillard launches Kent cigarettes with crocidolite Micronite filter Marketed as "healthier option" Increasing
1956 Kent filters discontinued after competitor disclosure Internal memos acknowledge hazard Increasing
1958 U.S. Geological Survey documents ~3,000 asbestos applications Multiple knowledge sources Increasing
1960 Midpoint of total U.S. consumption reached Academic/medical evidence accumulating 15.75M metric tons (50% of total)
1970 BOCA Building Code specifies asbestos requirements Definitive evidence of hazard Approaching peak
April 6, 1973 EPA bans spray-applied asbestos (38 Federal Register 8820)[4] Regulatory action begins 803,000 metric tons (peak)
1978 EPA bans decorative spray asbestos (textured ceilings)[10] Expanding regulation Declining
Mid-1980s HUD stops requiring asbestos-compliant housing standards Federal mandate ends Declining
1989 Kent filter worker study: 28 of 33 dead (84.8% mortality) Full documentation Declining
1995 Peer-reviewed study: 131 million fibers/year from Kent filters Published research Minimal
2017 Ambler, PA Superfund cleanup concludes (31 years) Ongoing investigation Near zero

Named Entities

Organizations

Entity Role in Episode Key Facts
Johns-Manville Corporation Asbestos product manufacturer; major marketing campaigns[1][2] "Magic mineral" branding (1937); World's Fair pavilion (1939); Mrs. America campaign (1950); marketed to farmers, homeowners, housewives
Lorillard Tobacco Company Produced Kent cigarettes with asbestos filters Oldest U.S. tobacco company (founded 1760); launched Micronite filter (1952); internal memos acknowledged hazard; discontinued 1956
Keasbey & Mattison Company Asbestos processing, Ambler, Pennsylvania Operated 1897-1962; generated 1.5 million cubic yards of waste across 25 acres; community childhood exposure
Hollingsworth & Vose Company Kent cigarette filter manufacturer 28 of 33 workers in initial cohort (84.8%) died of asbestos-related diseases[15]
National Board of Fire Underwriters Insurance industry trade association Launched 1916 campaign for fireproof roofing; influenced municipal building codes nationwide
BOCA Building Officials and Code Administrators 1970 code specified asbestos by name in fire safety sections; widely adopted across eastern United States[7]
U.S. Geological Survey Documented asbestos applications Counted approximately 3,000 asbestos applications by 1958
EPA Environmental Protection Agency Banned spray-applied asbestos April 6, 1973 (38 Federal Register 8820); banned decorative spray 1978[4]

Individuals

  • Frederick Hoffman — Prudential Insurance actuary; published 1918 report flagging asbestos workers as uninsurable[3]
  • Hildreth Meiere — Sculptor; first woman to win the American Institute of Architects' Fine Arts Medal; created "Asbestos—the Magic Mineral" sculpture for Johns-Manville pavilion at 1939 World's Fair
  • Flo Wise — Ambler, Pennsylvania resident; exposed to asbestos waste as a child: "We used to come down here and ride the 'White Mountains,' slide on cardboard boxes, and stuff like that, not knowing it was dangerous."

Locations

  • Ambler, Pennsylvania — "Asbestos manufacturing capital of the world"; Keasbey & Mattison operated 1897-1962; 1.5 million cubic yards of waste; children played on waste piles for decades; EPA Superfund site 1986; cleanup completed 2017; University of Pennsylvania $10 million health investigation ongoing
  • New York — 1939 World's Fair; Johns-Manville pavilion visited by 30 million people
  • Stratford, Connecticut — Referenced from Episode 12; similar asbestos manufacturing and community exposure

Products

  • Kent cigarettes (Lorillard; 1952-1956) — Micronite filter containing 10mg crocidolite (blue asbestos) per filter; 25-30% asbestos by weight; marketed as "healthier option"[8]
  • Plastic cement — 50-60% asbestos by weight; sold at hardware stores in 5-gallon buckets; no warning labels; available through 1980[5]
  • Popcorn ceiling spray — Textured ceiling paint containing asbestos; banned 1978[4]
  • Asbestos-containing appliances — Hair dryers, toasters, electric blankets, crock pots; some models contained asbestos into the 1980s[13]

Statistics

Statistic Value Context
U.S. asbestos consumption (1900) ~20,000 metric tons/year Baseline
U.S. asbestos consumption (1920) ~153,000 metric tons/year 665% increase from 1900
U.S. asbestos consumption (1973 peak) 803,000 metric tons/year 4,015% increase from 1900; 55 years after Prudential hazard flag[6]
Total U.S. consumption (1900-2003) 31.5 million metric tons Half consumed after 1960
Asbestos applications documented (1958) ~3,000 U.S. Geological Survey count
Kent filter asbestos content 10mg crocidolite per filter; 25-30% by weight Most dangerous form of asbestos[8]
Kent filter annual exposure (pack/day) 131 million crocidolite fibers >5 microns Based on first two puffs only; actual exposure likely higher
Kent filter worker mortality 28 of 33 (84.8%) Hollingsworth & Vose cohort from 1953; study published 1989[9]
Keasbey & Mattison waste 1.5 million cubic yards across 25 acres Ambler, PA; Superfund cleanup 1986-2017
Federal housing asbestos mandate ~40 years (1945-mid-1980s) VA mortgages, FHA loans required code-compliant construction
Knowledge-to-peak gap 55 years (1918-1973) Between insurance hazard identification and peak consumption[3]

Referenced Documents

  • 38 Federal Register 8820 — EPA ban on spray-applied asbestos for fireproofing and insulation (April 6, 1973)[4]
  • 1970 BOCA National Building Code — Specified asbestos requirements for fire districts: "all roof coverings shall be of asbestos, asbestos felt, or similar noncombustible materials"
  • Prudential Insurance report (Frederick Hoffman, 1918) — Documented insurance companies "generally decline" to insure asbestos workers[3]
  • Internal Lorillard memos — Discussed need to "find a way of anchoring the asbestos" and referenced "whispering campaign started by their competitors"
  • 1995 peer-reviewed study — Calculated Kent filter exposure at 131 million crocidolite fibers per year for pack-a-day smokers
  • 1989 worker mortality study — Documented 28 of 33 Hollingsworth & Vose workers (84.8%) died of asbestos-related diseases

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Johns-Manville Asbestos Trust Payments and Lawsuits, Danziger & De Llano
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Johns-Manville Asbestos Manufacturer Profile, Mesothelioma Lawyer Center
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 When Did Asbestos Manufacturers Know the Truth They Hid?, Danziger & De Llano
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Asbestos Laws and Regulations, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 What Products Contained Asbestos?, Mesothelioma.net
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Asbestos, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Asbestos Laws and Regulations, Mesothelioma Lawyer Center
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Asbestos and Your Health, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Malignant Mesothelioma Treatment, National Cancer Institute
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 When Was Asbestos Banned?, MesotheliomaAttorney.com
  11. ↑ Asbestos Exposure Information, Mesothelioma Lawyer Center
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Asbestos, Occupational Safety and Health Administration
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Asbestos Exposure, Danziger & De Llano
  14. ↑ Secondary Asbestos Exposure, Mesothelioma.net
  15. ↑ Asbestos and Cancer, Mesothelioma Lawyer Center

External Resources

Government and Regulatory Sources

  • EPA Asbestos Information — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency overview of asbestos hazards, regulations, and protective measures
  • EPA Asbestos Laws and Regulations — Comprehensive listing of federal asbestos regulations including TSCA, Clean Air Act, and NESHAP standards
  • OSHA Asbestos Standards — Occupational Safety and Health Administration workplace exposure limits and construction industry standards
  • ATSDR Asbestos and Your Health — Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry information on asbestos types, exposure routes, and health effects
  • NCI Malignant Mesothelioma — National Cancer Institute information on mesothelioma diagnosis, treatment, and clinical trials
  • EPA Superfund Program — Environmental cleanup program for contaminated sites including asbestos waste sites

Asbestos Exposure and Health

Corporate History and Liability

Series Navigation

Asbestos: A Conspiracy 4,500 Years in the Making — Arc 3: The Industrial Revolution
Previous: Episode 12: Raybestos Brake Pad Revolution Episode 13: The Magic Mineral Goes Mainstream Next: Episode 14: The Workers Nobody Counted

About This Series

Asbestos: A Conspiracy 4,500 Years in the Making is a 52-episode documentary podcast tracing the complete history of asbestos from 4700 BCE to the 2024 EPA ban. The series is produced by Danziger & De Llano, LLP, a nationwide mesothelioma law firm with over 30 years of experience and nearly $2 billion recovered for asbestos victims.

Approximately 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year.[1] Mesothelioma has a latency period of 20-50 years, meaning people exposed decades ago are still being diagnosed today.[2] Over $30 billion remains available in asbestos trust funds for victims.

If you or a loved one were exposed to asbestos, contact Danziger & De Llano for a free case evaluation. Call (855) 699-5441.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Episode 13 of the Asbestos podcast about?

Episode 13 traces the transformation of asbestos from an industrial material to a consumer product ubiquitously distributed across American homes and consumer goods from 1937 to 1973. The episode documents Johns-Manville Corporation's systematic marketing of asbestos to non-industrial consumers — farmers, homeowners, housewives — despite industry knowledge of hazards flagged by insurance companies in 1918.

Where can I listen to the Asbestos podcast?

The Asbestos podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music — all free. Search for 'Asbestos: A Conspiracy 4,500 Years in the Making' or use the links on any episode transcript page. The 52-episode series is produced by Danziger & De Llano, LLP, a nationwide mesothelioma law firm.

Mesothelioma is caused by asbestos exposure, and U.S. law provides multiple compensation pathways. Over $30 billion remains available through 60+ asbestos bankruptcy trust funds, with average payments of $300,000–$400,000. Victims may also pursue personal injury lawsuits, VA disability benefits (for veterans), or wrongful death claims. The statute of limitations is as short as 1 year in some states, so consulting a mesothelioma attorney promptly is critical. Danziger & De Llano has recovered nearly $2 billion for asbestos victims over 30+ years of practice.

  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named nci_mesothelioma
  2. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named atsdr_asbestos
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