ABSTRACT
Asbestos has been recognized as a human carcinogen for more than 50 years, and the International Agency for the Research of Cancer (IARC) has classi“ed asbestos as a class 1A human carcinogen. The IARC has stated “all commercial forms of asbestos tested are carcinogenic in mice, rats, hamsters, and rabbits.”1 Dose-response relationships have been established, and numerous epidemiologic studies in humans have documented a signi“cant increase in cancer risk following asbestos exposure from a wide variety of products, occupations, and industrial settings. The American Thoracic Society, the American Cancer Society, the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other governmental agencies and professional societies also recognize asbestos as a human carcinogen. Elevated cancer risk for a variety of organ systems has been reported by numerous authors throughout the decades.
