"Unleashed on an Unsuspecting World": The Asbestos Information Association and Its Role in Perpetuating a National Epidemic

Am J Public Health. 2016 May;106(5):834-40. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.303023. Epub 2016 Feb 18.

Abstract

Examining previously underused corporate documents, we revisit the story of the Asbestos Information Association/North America, an industry trade group that sought in the early 1970s to counteract the growing public attention to, and government regulation of, asbestos as a serious threat to workers and consumers. From the mid-1960s through the early 1970s, according to its own spokesperson, asbestos was exposed as "probably the most hazardous industrial material ever unleashed on an unsuspecting world." In retrospect, thousands of lives may have been saved if the Asbestos Information Association had publicly acknowledged this earlier.

MeSH terms

  • Asbestos / adverse effects*
  • Humans
  • Industry / legislation & jurisprudence*
  • Information Dissemination / methods*
  • North America
  • Occupational Exposure / legislation & jurisprudence*
  • Occupational Health
  • Public Opinion
  • Societies / organization & administration*
  • United States
  • United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Substances

  • Asbestos