A Timeline of the Asbestos Industry's Deadly Secrets: 1918-Present

Asbestos: "...why not die from it?"
—from an asbestos company memo (1966)

1918-1929:
Medical articles describing asbestosis first appear in scientific literature.

Dr. E.R.A. Merewether, medical inspector of factories in Great Britain, publishes a landmark article on asbestosis describing the clinical characteristics of asbestosis, the dust control requirements to prevent the disease, and the importance of educating workers about the hazards of asbestos.

1932:
Manville Corporation, a major producer of asbestos, settles first asbestosis lawsuits.

1933:
Dr. Anthony Lanza of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company discovers more than 300 cases of asbestosis at the Johns-Manville plant. The cases are never published.

1934:
Two doctors publish the first major medical article associating asbestosis with lung cancer.

1948:
Owens-Illinois Glass Company (parent company to Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation) gets results of study on Kaylo, a 15% asbestos-containing pipecovering product. The lab director, Dr. Vorwald, concludes: "...since Kaylo is capable of producing asbestosis, it is better to discover it now in animals rather than later in [humans].... the company, being forewarned, will be in a better position to institute adequate control measure for safeguarding exposed employees and protecting its own interests."

• The final report on Kaylo (1952) shows Kaylo dust can produce a peribroncheolar fibrosis typical of asbestosis. No brochure warning about Kaylo's health hazards was ever published.

• Owens-Corning (OCF) becomes a national distributor of Kaylo (1953) and publicizes Kaylo in a 1955 sales brochure as: "Light weight, pleasant handling and non-irritating and non-toxic nature contribute to worker well- being."

1949:
Johns-Manville Corporation adopts policy not to tell employees when their medical exams show they have asbestosis.

1953:
Dr. O. A. Sander, medical consultant for Southern Asbestos Company, publishes an article stating, "Asbestosis is compatible with good health and a feeling of well-being."

1962-64:
Philip Carey Manufacturing Company, a producer of asbestos pipecovering, hires Dr. Thomas Mancuso to investigate asbestos. Mancuso reports, "there is an urgent need to protect the company's employees and customers from the danger of Philip Carey asbestos products." Mancuso is immediately fired. His report is buried. No warnings are placed on Philip Carey products.

1964:
Many major asbestos manufacturers attend an international conference (organized by Dr. I .J. Selikoff, Environmental Sciences Lab director at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York) about asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma (a unique asbestos cancer of the lining of the lung). Copies of the proceedings and scientific papers and findings were widely distributed. From a study of 117,000 industrial workers in the NY/NJ area: Up to 80% of asbestos insulators were contracting asbestosis after a latency period of 20 years.

1964:
The Manville Corporation recommends the placement of an asbestos caution label on boxes of asbestos products. The labels were 2" square, stamped in small print on the bottom of 3-foot cardboard boxes.

1965:
The Director of Safety for OCF writes a confidential memo to top management: "Our present concern is to find some way of preventing Dr. Selikoff from creating problems and affecting sales."

1966:
A letter from E.A. Martin, the purchasing director of Bendix Corporation, states: "My answer to the problem is: if you have enjoyed a good life while working with asbestos products, why not die from it. There's got to be some cause."

1967:
Louis P. Gray, assistant head of the Pipecovering Department at Newport News Shipyard, writes a memo to four foremen advising respirators are "mandatory" when working with or around asbestos. Gray gives no reason for the respirator use. Workers never see the memo, which is not enforced. Twelve years later Gray testifies: "...it boils down to the fact that if you tell 300 people that what they are working with might cause cancer, you might not have anybody show up the next morning."

1968:
OCF's medical director, Dr. Jon Konzen, responds to an inquiry from OCF lawyers: "Asbestosis was well known and well-documented in the literature... [since the early 1940s]." OCF lawyers later state under oath: "OCF has no information or belief that prolonged use of its products containing asbestos fibers will cause asbestosis."

1969:
OCF's sales manager asks Dr. Konzen about a memo regarding the use of warning labels on Kaylo: "Are you saying that we have to do this now? I naturally would like to delay this requirement as long as possible."

1975-present:
2,500 Newport News Shipyard workers contract asbestosis, lung cancer and/or mesothelioma.

1989:
The EPA issues a ban on the manufacture, importation and distribution of most asbestos-containing products. The industry challenged the ban and it was partially overturned.

1990:
John Thomas, former president of OCF in the 1960s and top executive of OCF since the 1940s, testifies the company knew all the way back to the beginning of his employment that asbestos products were dangerous, that respirators should be worn when working with asbestos products, and that OCF should have warned workers about the dangers of its Kaylo asbestos products.

1999:
Asbestos companies ask Congress for liability relief despite a century of lying and deceit.

2004:
Senate rejects proposal to terminate the legal rights of asbestos victims forcing them into a national trust fund for compensation.

2005:
Senate Judiciary committee takes up trust fund proposal and holds hearings to resolve differences between asbestos defendants and their insurers, and asbestos victims.

2005:
On February 7, 2005, W.R. Grace and seven of its current and former executives were indicted by the federal government for knowingly exposing workers and residents of Libby, MT to asbestos.