ABSTRACT
Asbestos is used for insulation and fireproofing that saved lives and billions of dollars of property throughout the twentieth century. In 1984, the Rand Institute for Civil Justice studied the costs of asbestos litigation. Its statistical analysis of the costs for asbestos litigation identified the price of attorney fees for defense as well as plaintiffs as a key cost of thousands of claims against asbestosusing companies. Asbestos has been known to humanity since ancient times. It was used as an insulator against heat as early as 1866; asbestos cement was introduced in about 1870. Paul Brodeur described the public health impact of unchecked asbestos exposure in consumer use, workplace exposure, and secondary exposure to families. National and international laws have expanded gradually but exponentially in the time after asbestos litigation and before the birth of nanotechnologies in industry. "Medical surveillance" of asbestos workers under ILO C162 refers to monitoring health status.
