Commercial production of asbestos insulation material begins.

1899

Murray

First case of asbestosis described in “Curious Bodies.”

1906

Auribault

First reported case of asbestos lung disease: linked 50 deaths to asbestos dust in weaving mill.

1918

Hoffman

U.S. Department of Labour bulletin – “urgent need for more qualified extensive investigation. . . .”

1924–27

Cooke

First “asbestosis” case in British literature.

1928–29

Seiller; Haddow

Case reports: average age at death, 41 (4 cases).

1920–29

25+ asbestos-related publications.

1930

Mereweather
& Price

363 asbestos textile workers studied. 95 (26%) had asbestosis and 21 had precursive signs. Saw dose-response relationship and importance of intensity and duration of exposure.

1933

Ellman

First U.S. case report of asbestosis in an insulation worker.

1933

Donnelly

Describes short exposures as definite, serious industrial hazard. Consensus is that protective devices used in plants are inadequate.

1933–34

Mereweather

Risk in milling and manufacturing processes is patent and serious. Concludes affected workers face inevitable death.

1934

Wood & Gloyne

Review of the first 100 cases of asbestosis they had seen. It includes two cases of individuals working outdoors, one office worker, and a boiler-riveter. Two cases had serious lung cancer.

1935

Lanza

Survey of U.S. mines and mills. 126 random exams (all more than three years of exposure) with 67 cases of asbestosis. Dust control only partly effective; industry must face this problem.

1935

Lynch & Smith

First asbestosis and lung cancer case reported in the U.S.

1936

Donnelly

Asbestosis in 34% of workers; seriousness of hazard has received insufficient attention. Greater number of exposed workers means asbestosis of greater importance.

1936–38

Egbert; Nordmann, British Factory Inspectorate Report

Additional cases of lung cancer in asbestosis.

1938

Dreessen

U.S.P.H.S. study – “tentative” threshold value set at five mppcf “until better data are available.”

1938

Lanza

Reports that 1931 British regulations applied to all factories and workshops where asbestos-containing products were either manufactured or sold.

1930–39

150+ published articles

1941

Kuhn

Reports German case of shipyard insulator receiving disability compensation for asbestosis.

1942

Holleb

Reports two cases of lung cancer in insulation workers.

1942

Hueper

Book on occupational tumours discusses asbestos exposure and lung cancer – “suggestive of an occupational origin.”

1942

Germany recognizes combination of asbestosis and lung cancer as compensable occupational disease.

1943

Hueper

Convinced of occupational origin of lung cancer with asbestosis, concerned about industry reactions, and stresses need for workers to be informed.

1943

Welder

First pleural tumour reported.

1946

Fleischer

U.S. Navy survey of three shipyards, hygiene and clinical – high dust counts during cutting, sawing, and mixing asbestos products. Disease expected among workers in these operations. Clinical survey found three cases of asbestosis among the 51 men with more than ten years experience in the yards.

1946

ACGIH

Adopts five mppcf into a list of MAC values (called TLVs after 1948).

1947

Mereweather

31/235 (13%) autopsied cases of asbestosis had cancer of the lungs or pleura. Only 1% seen in silicotics and general population.

1949

AMA editorial

Increased attention needed to probable occupational hazards of cancer.

1940–49

50+ new published articles

1951

1949 British Factory Inspectorate Report

Burlap packaging criticized as a health hazard. Stresses need to be watchful for disease among those who are not fully aware of risks.

1953

Weiss

First mesothelioma case reported in an insulation worker.

1955

Doll

Mortality study of 113 asbestos textile workers, all with more than 20 years of exposure. Excess mortality found (39 deaths; 15 expected – 11 lung cancer; 0.8 expected).

1955

McLaughlin

Reports increasing cases of asbestosis in Great Britain, including insulators.

1955

Schepers

Reports asbestos-containing insulation products produce asbestosis in animals.

1956

Frost

Of 31 insulation workers in Denmark with more than 20 years in the trade, 22 abnormal.

1958

Van Der Shoot

Reports pleural mesothelioma in a Dutch insulation worker in a refinery.

1950–59

125+ publications

1960

Wagner

Asbestos exposure and mesothelioma – 32/33 cases had asbestos exposure, occupational or environmental.

1960

Kiviluoto

Pleural calcifications seen more frequently among residents in county with asbestos mine or mill (7.9%).

1960–63

Eisenstadt, Wilson, McCaughey, Wade, Elmes, Castleman, Kibbee

Case reports of mesothelioma seen among workers using asbestos products in Great Britain & U.S.

1963

Mancuso

Mortality study in the U.S. shows asbestos plant workers have increased mortality rates.

1964

Marr

Six cases of shipyard asbestosis. Industrial hygiene survey done, some counts exceed TLV. “During sawing of blocks and pipe sections and removal of old insulation, the work environment appears extremely dusty.”

1964

Selikoff

Mortality study of asbestos insulation workers, excess asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma deaths. Clinical survey of 1,117 workers.

1965

Newhouse

Nine cases of mesothelioma among family members of asbestos workers, 11 neighbourhood cases.

1965

McVittie

Between 1955 and 1963, 41% of new cases of asbestosis diagnosed by the Great Britain pneumoconiosis panels were workers in the insulation industry; 21% were workers in textile factories.

1960–69

200+ publications