1911 - 5 out of 40 asbestos workers died

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Justinian

In 1911, Dr. Collis described the experiences of a factory in which asbestos mattresses were made:

Asbestos. - Following up information received from the Registrar-General, it was found that five deaths of persons suffering from pthisis [A type of tuberculosis.] had occurred in five years among a staff of under 40 workers employed at a factory where asbestos is woven.  The process, which appeared most dangerous, is the production of asbestos mattresses.  These mattresses which are composed of bags of woven asbestos filled with short asbestos fiber, are placed on a table and beaten out flat by a man with a wooden flail when process much dust arises.

Five deaths out of 40 people in five years.  Again, another early warning sign that asbestos dust kills.  Early reports such as this are used in asbestos and mesothelioma lawsuits to counteract the state-of-the-art defense.

This citation for this article is: Collis, 1911.  Dusty Processes.  In: Factories and Workshops: Annual Report For 1910.  Great Britain.

If you have any questions about this blog post - or anything else on this site - please e-mail me at justinian@justinian.us

1907 - Murray Publishes Autopsy of Asbestosis Victim

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Justinian

In 1899, Dr. H.M. Murray performed an autopsy on an asbestos worker who died in his mid thirties.  This man was the tenth individual in his work area to die at a young age due to a breathing impairment.  Dr. Murray noted that the man had interstitial fibrosis and "curious bodies" in his lungs.  In 1907, Dr. Murray published these findings.

Let's put things in perspective.  In 1907, asbestos was still a relatively new substance.  Ten young men who worked with it all died of a mysterious respiratory problem that had never been seen before.  Shouldn't that have raised a few red flags?  Perhaps in some circles it did.  But those who ran asbestos companies had little interest in providing protection for asbestos workers because doing so would have implied to customers that asbestos was unsafe.

The law terms the attitude of asbestos executives as conscious indifference.  They knew that asbestos was killing workers, yet they didn't care.  Perhaps nothing illustrates the dark nature of greed more than the story of asbestos.  Yet some of these same individuals who literally killed their workers for money complained of the greed of those who file asbestos lawsuits.  There might not have been any asbestos lawyers or lawsuits if asbestos companies had put safety ahead of profits.

The citation for Dr. Murray's report is: Murray, H.M., 1907.  Statement before the committee in the minutes of evidence.  In: Report of the Departmental Committee on Compensation for Industrial Disease.  London: H.M. Stationery Office, P.127.

If you have any questions about this blog post - or anything else on this site - please e-mail me at justinian@justinian.us

1902 - Anderson Notes that Asbestos Work Is a Dangerous Trade

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Justinian

In 1902, the book Dangerous Trades was published and included some information about the dangers of working with asbestos.  The excerpt below shows that experts in 1902 regarded asbestos as dangerous... but so did experts in ancient Rome:

In the great civilisations of antiquity, whether in the East,West, or in Europe generaIly, there was sufficient concentration of the forces of labour to produce the intensest forms of the maladies classed by Pliny as the "diseases of slaves." 

Some of the most injurious processes known to us now are extremely ancient. To mention but a few: lead and quicksilver mining, the potters’ craft, and the textile processes of preparing and weaving asbestos and flax.

The entire "state of the art" defense is predicated on the notion that asbestos companies didn't learn until the mid 1960's that asbestos could be dangerous.  That is a demonstrably false argument; Pliny the Younger wrote in approximately 110 A.D. that slaves who worked in asbestos mines tended to die young.  By 1902, the scientific community recognized that asbestos was dangerous enough that asbestos work was classified as a "Dangerous Trade."

The proper citation is: Anderson, A.M. 1902.  Historical sketch of the development of legislation for injurious and dangerous industries in England.  In: Oliver, T. (ed.) Dangerous Trades.  New York, Dutton.

If you have any questions about this blog post - or anything else on this site - please e-mail me at justinian@justinian.us

1898 - Lucy Dean writes about injurious nature of asbestos

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Justinian

In 1898, Lucy Dean authored the Annual Report on the Health of Workers.  She surveyed workers in a range of industries, including the asbestos industry.  In 1898, here is what Lucy Dean had to say about asbestos:

"The evil effects of asbestos dust have also attracted my attention, a microscopic examination of this mineral dust which was made by H.M. Medical Inspector clearly revealed the sharp, glass-like, jagged nature of the particles, and where they are allowed to rise and to remain suspended in the air of a room, in any quantity, the effects have been found to be injurious, as might have been expected."

Notice how Ms. Dean wrote that "in any quantity, the effects have found to be injurious, as might have been expected."  That was correct in 1898, and it's correct in 2011.  There is absolutely NO safe dose of asbestos - even one asbestos fiber can be harmful to a human being.

In an asbestos lawsuit, this article can be used as convincing evidence that the asbestos industry knew before 1900 that asbestos can be harmful to workers.

If you have any questions about this blog post - or anything else on this site - please e-mail me at justinian@justinian.us

1713 - Diseases of Workers

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Justinian

In 1713, Bernardino Ramazzini published Diseases of Workers, and proposed that all physicians should ask their patients what they did for a living.  Because of his recognition that what someone does for a living can influence their health, Ramazzini has been called the father of occupational medicine.  To honor Ramazzini, a group of noted asbestos doctors founded the Collegium Ramazzini , an organization dedicated to banning the use of asbestos.

The proper citation for the book is: Ramazzini, B., 1713. Diseases of Workers.  Translated from the Latin test DeMorbis Artificum of 1713 by Wilmer Cave Wright.  Intr. George Rosen, The New York Academy of Medicine, Harper Publishing Company, 1964.

If you have any questions about this blog post - or anything else on this site - please e-mail me at justinian@justinian.us

2500 B.C. - Asbestos Used in Pottery

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Justinian

In 1556, Agricola published De Re Metallica, which is Latin for "On The Nature of Metals."  In that book, he noted that asbestos fibers were used as long ago as 2500 B.C. to strengthen pottery.  The book was first translated into English in 1912 by a miner named Herbert Hoover.  Yes, the same Herbert Hoover who would later become President of the United States.

De Re Metallica is not a document that would be introduced as evidence in an asbestos lawsuit as it did not discuss the health hazards of asbestos.  Still, it is an important piece of the history of asbestos usage.

The full citation for the book is: Agricola, G., 1556, De Re Metallica.  Translated from Latin Edition by Herbert Clark Hoover and Lou Henry Hoover, London: The Mining Magazine (1912).

If you have any questions about this blog post - or anything else on this site - please e-mail me at justinian@justinian.us