|  | Asbestos Exposure
 Asbestos Company Cover-UpBy the 1930s, the manufacturers of asbestos products were aware of the deadly dangers and health hazards of their asbestos products to people. Workers in asbestos factories, including men, women and children, were developing asbestos lung disease as soon as five or six years after first exposure to asbestos. By the early 1940s, medical and scientific articles were being published, showing the connection between asbestos and the development of lung cancer. By the 1950s, the connection between asbestos and mesothelioma had been made, and by 1960, it was established that persons exposed to asbestos were developing mesothelioma at an alarming rate. Secret internal company documents reveal that the asbestos companies intentionally hid what they knew about the dangers and health hazards of asbestos so that workers and customers would not object to using asbestos products. The fact that asbestos companies had actual knowledge of the dangers and health hazards of their asbestos products many years ago has formed the basis for the award of punitive damages against a number of asbestos manufacturing companies. Punitive damages are awarded by juries to punish the asbestos companies for their malicious and despicable conduct of concealing the dangers and health hazards of asbestos from their workers, customers, the public and the government, thereby bringing about unnecessary injury and death to tens of thousands of people. Juries have awarded punitive damages against the following asbestos companies to punish them for their malicious, knowing and intentional conduct, which brought about injuries to so many people: Owens Corning, Owens Illinois, W.R. Grace, Armstrong World Industries, GAF, U.S. Gypsum. 
 Sources of Asbestos ExposureMost people are exposed to asbestos as part of their work. However, exposure to asbestos in other ways can also cause mesothelioma many years later. Asbestos dust carried home on the clothes of workers has caused mesothelioma to develop in their spouses and children many years later. Asbestos dust released from pipes and ceiling materials in schools has caused mesothelioma to develop in those school children after a long latency period. Asbestos dust released from asbestos product manufacturing factories into the neighborhood air has caused mesothelioma to develop in persons who live in vicinity of the plant. It does not take much exposure to asbestos to cause mesothelioma and this must always be remembered if you think that you might be in a situation where there will be some exposure to asbestos. A little bit of this poison can kill. 
 Asbestos CompaniesAsbestos products have been used in the United States since the 1800s. Over 3,000 different types of products containing asbestos have been manufactured by hundreds of different asbestos companies. Many of the asbestos companies are multi-billion dollar, multinational corporations with enormous assets and large amounts of insurance to pay asbestos claims. Over the years, these companies earned enormous profits by selling their asbestos containing products at the expense of the hundreds of thousands of people who would go on to develop or die of asbestos related disease. The following list of companies that manufactured asbestos products is by no means complete. Instead, this is merely a list of some of the major companies which manufactured or sold asbestos products; 
							Armstrong World IndustriesBendix (Brakes)Chrysler (Brakes)FiberboardFord (Brakes)GAF Corp.General ElectricGeneral Motors (Brakes)General RefractoriesGeorgia PacificHarbison WalkerJohns ManvilleKaiser GypsumNational GypsumOwens Corning FiberglassOwens IllinoisPittsburgh CorningPhilip CareyU.S. GypsumUniroyalWestinghouseWR Grace (Zonolite) Many other companies made asbestos products. These are just a few! 
 Jobs With Potential Asbestos Exposure
							Electrical and electronic engineerIndustrial engineerMechanical engineerBoilermakerRailroad and car shopPlumbers and pipe fittersPower station operatorRoofers and slatersAsbestos and insulation workersDry wall installers and lathersFurnace men, smelter-men and pourersConstruction laborers, excluding carpenters' helpersAeronautical and astronautical engineerCivil engineerSales engineerEngineer, n.e.c.Personnel and labor relations workersTeachers, college and universityElementary school teachersChemical techniciansDraftsmenTechnicians, n.e.c.Painters and sculptorsManagers and superintendents, buildingOfficers, pilots, and pursers; shipInsurance adjusters, examiners and investigatorsBlacksmithsBrick masons and stonemasonsCabinetmakersCarpentersCrane men, derrick men, hoist menElectriciansElectric power linemen and cable menExcavating, grading and road machine operators; exc. bulldozerForemen, n.e.c.Forge men and hammer menHeat treaters, annealers and temperersJob and die setters, metalLocomotive engineerMachinistsMechanics and repairmen; aircraftAutomobile mechanicsHeavy equipment mechanics, including dieselHousehold appliance and accessory installers and mechanicsLoom fixersMiscellaneous mechanics and repairmenMechanics and repairmenMillwrightsMolders, metalPainters, construction and maintenancePattern and model makers, excluding paperRollers and finishers, metalSheet metal workers and tinsmithsStationary engineersStructural metal craftsmenTelephone installers and repairmenTool and die makersCheckers, examiners, and inspectors; manufacturingClothing ironers and pressersFilers, polishers, sanders, buffersGarage workers and gas station attendantsMixing operativesDrill press operativesGrinding machine operativesSailors and deckhandsSawyersCarding, lapping and combing operativesSpinners, twisters and windersWeaversTextile operatives, n.e.c.Welders and flame-cuttersWinding operatives, n.e.c.Machine operatives, miscellaneous specifiedMiscellaneous operativesNot specified operativesMotormen; mine, factory, logging camp, etc.Freight and material handlersLongshoremen and stevedoresHairdressers and cosmetologists 
 Asbestos Materials & Products
							Pipe coveringBlockInsulating cementJoint compoundCeiling tileFloor tileBrakesClutchesClothFireproof clothesKent cigarette filters (1952-1956)Grinding wheelsRefractory materialsIroning boardPaintElectrical wireElectric motorsCement pipeCement board |