Asbestos has been used for centuries as a flame retardant. Its use has been documented as far back as ancient Greek and Persian civilizations. And just as far back, it was noticed that people who regularly came into contact with this fibrous mineral often developed problems with their lungs.It wasn’t until the mid twentieth century that scientific studies were done which clearly linked various types of cancers to asbestos exposure. At first, companies tried to suppress or ignore such evidence. But mounting lawsuits from employees who contracted diseases forced the issue out into the open.Both State and Federal legislative bodies have wrestled with the issue ever since. On one hand is the desire to protect the rights of the individual, who is often a blue-collar worker, from exploitation by large corporations. On the other hand, without the large corporations, many towns would close up for lack of jobs and quality of life would suffer in other ways.In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency issued the
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