In the early twentieth century, asbestos had a reputation as a lifesaver. In 1960, however, it became known that even relatively brief exposure to asbestos can cause mesothelioma, a virulent and lethal cancer.
Yet the bulk of the world’s asbestos was mined after 1960. Asbestos usage in many countries continued unabated.

This is the first global history of how the asbestos industry and its allies in government, insurance, and medicine defended the product throughout the twentieth century. It explains how mining and manufacture could continue despite overwhelming medical evidence as to the risks. The argument advanced in this book is that asbestos has proved so enduring because the industry was able to mount a successful defense strategy for the mineral–a strategy that still operates in some parts of the world. This defence involved the shaping of the public debate by censoring, and sometimes corrupting, scientific research, nurturing scientific uncertainty, and using allies in government, insurance, and medicine.
The book also discusses the problems of asbestos in the environment, compensating victims, and the continued use of asbestos in the developing world. Its global focus shows how asbestos can be seen as a model for many occupational diseases–indeed for a whole range of hazards produced by industrial societies. The book is based on a wealth of documentary material gained from legal discovery, supplemented by evidence from the authors’ visits and researches in the US, the UK, Canada, Kazakhstan, Zimbabwe, Australia, Swaziland, and South Africa.

Focusing on how toxic scare stories are literally spooking the general public out of house and home, Haunted Housing is a compelling expose of the fears and realities of radon, lead, asbestos, and electromagnetic fields. Haunted Housing is a manual for buyers and sellers of homes, regulators, legislators, and public policy analysts. Haunted Housing is sensible, scholarly, skeptical, pragmatic, and wonderfully well written for the non-specialist general reader. When the media constantly bombards the public with scare stories about the effects of substances on our families and homes (and a network of federal bureaus and regulations further fuel the hysteria), Haunted Housing stands alone as a clarion appeal to common sense and the application of scientific reasoning. — Midwest Book Review

Moore argues that we need to apply risk/benefit analysis to the exaggerated claims being made today.

A brilliant book by a brilliant reporter—one of the most important books I’ve read in years. — Terry Tempest Williams, author of Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert

A testament to the strength of ordinary citizens acting in the “common good.” — Jim Hightower

A tip of the hat to Andrea Peacock who … brought this lethal … story into the light of day. — Charles Bowden, author of Blood Orchid

Skillfully exposes a true axis of evil and its dire human effects … a “must read” for people of conscience. — Jim Harrison

This is a story almost too terrible to read, yet too terrible to put down. — Rick Bass, author of The Book of Yaak

Tree bark and core samples were collected from areas surrounding the asbestos-contaminated vermiculite mine in Libby, MT. These samples were collected to provide preliminary data in support of a proposed study to determine if trees can serve as reservoirs for amphibole fibers and to determine if there is a potential for exposure to those that harvest contaminated wood in the Libby mine area, specifically during firewood harvesting and commercial logging. Initially, three sets of samples were taken both within and directly outside of the EPA restricted area surrounding the mine site. Based on the results of the initial samples, a follow-up sampling program was conducted both in the town of Libby and directly outside the city limits.

Gravimetric reduction of a tree core sample did not indicate the presence of amphibole fibers. However, transmission electron microscopy analysis of bark samples collected near the vermiculite mine yielded substantial amphibole fiber concentrations ranging from 41 million to 530 million fibers/g of bark. In addition, a bark sample collected approximately 7 miles west of the town next to a railroad line had concentrations of 19 million fibers/g. A conversion of these mass-based concentrations to areal concentrations (to reflect surface area contamination) revealed concentrations in excess of 100 million amphibole fibers/cm^2. These preliminary results suggest that trees in the Libby valley and along vermiculite shipping corridors can serve as reservoirs for amphibole fibers, and that a potential for exposure exists for those who harvest contaminated wood.

As part of a year-long investigation into the impact of the General Mining Act, which let corporations buy land cheaply from the government, Schneider, senior national correspondent for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, met with Gayla Benefield, a resident and activist in Libby, Mont. Benefield’s extensive knowledge of the area and the number of people suffering from asbestos-related illnesses impressed Schneider. He began his own digging, talking to lawyers, residents, environmental experts and staffers at the EPA, and even had tests conducted. This book chronicles his inquiry into an enormous coverup by Grace Corporation, which ran the Zonolite factory. Schneider and McCumber, managing editor at the newspaper, have written a compelling and frightening story about the victims-the people who worked in the factory and other local residents who weren’t employees-suffering from life-threatening ailments. The authors focus on the individuals rather than the legal wrangling, court cases or scientific research. For example, in describing the matter-of-fact way employees handled the asbestos dust, they compellingly write: “Each floor was worse than the last. Les’ battle with the never-ending blizzard of dust was truly mythical in proportion, like Hercules cleaning the Augean stables…. When he got on the bus to ride back to town that night, he was covered in dust, just like everybody else. His hair was coated, his ears and his nose were plugged up. His throat felt like sandpaper. The dust in his mouth and nose felt like thick brown syrup….” With Benefield-who’s reminiscent of Erin Brockovich-at the center of the story, the authors have written a first-rate book about a contemporary American tragedy.
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