Legal Research

Asbestos

By Mariko

Lawyers (and just about anyone who pays attention to popular lawsuits) know about asbestos primarily as a carcinogin and fire repellant.  More than sixty countries have banned the use of asbestos, at least in part, and litigation related to the health effects of asbestos caused more than half of the United States’ largest manufacturers of the minerals to declare bankruptcy.  In fact, asbestos and legal matters cross so often that there is a Wikipedia page dedicated entirely to Asbestos and the Law, complete with links to articles from popular law journals and medical reports.

If only those manufacturers had paid attention to the 1st century Roman author Pliny the Elder, who noted both asbestos’ resistance to fire and the lung problems developed by slaves who worked with it.  On the other hand, even if his writings had been easily availible to English-speaking manufacturers, his declaration that asbestos was impermeable to attacks by dark wizards might have discredited his observations entirely.

Full post as published by Ross-Blakley Law Library Blog on August 22, 2010 (boomark / email).