Uploaded January 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
This clip on the asbestos tragedy is from Abby Ginzberg’s 1989 award-winning documentary which traces the history of the struggle to rid the workplace of occupational hazards. Her documentary was narrated by Studs Terkel. More than anyone else, Dr. Irving Selikoff is responsible for bringing the irrefutable dangers of asbestos to national attention and changing the world’s perception of the so-called “miracle mineral.” Selikoff died of cancer in 1992. In the asbestos prevention community, Selikoff is regarded as a hero, but during his life, the doctor was vilified by industry insiders in medicine, academia, and the press. His research on the health risks of asbestos exposed a dangerous truth that companies wanted to be covered up. Because of his quest to promote safety for workers, Selikoff found himself in a head-to-head battle with a deep-pocketed asbestos industry that would stop at nothing to keep its products on the market. Stubborn, media-savvy, and whip-smart, Selikoff refused to back down. His story began in the clinic Selikoff opened in Paterson, New Jersey. As he began to treat workers from an asbestos plant, he noticed that a relatively large number of them had supposedly rare illnesses. He monitored these workers and tried to treat them, but “it became clear as we were following these people that they were dying of cancer,” Selikoff said. He began studying the impact of asbestos on lung health and mortality. He orchestrated larger and larger studies, including a groundbreaking survey of 17,800 asbestos insulation workers, which confirmed the deadly connection between asbestos and deadly lung disease. Even before Selikoff started calling for the regulation of asbestos, the companies that sold asbestos knew about the associated respiratory risks. As early as the 1920s, executives at major asbestos corporations had clear medical evidence that their workers were getting sick. In 1964, Selikoff organized an international conference on asbestos in New York City. He gathered the foremost researchers on the subject, and while there was little new scientific evidence presented, the conference raised widespread public awareness about the dangers of asbestos and mesothelioma. For more information on asbestos hazards and their elimination, go to the website of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) at asbestosdiseaseawareness.org . Thanks to filmmaker Abby Ginzberg for permission to post her wonderful film. To see more of her amazing work, visit the website socialactionmedia.com/.
This clip on the asbestos tragedy is from Abby Ginzberg’s 1989 award-winning documentary which traces the history of the struggle to rid the workplace of occupational hazards. Her documentary was narrated by Studs Terkel. More than anyone else, Dr. Irving Selikoff is responsible for bringing the irrefutable dangers of asbestos to national attention and changing the world’s perception of the so-called “miracle mineral.” Selikoff died of cancer in 1992. In the asbestos prevention community, Selikoff is regarded as a hero, but during his life, the doctor was vilified by industry insiders in medicine, academia, and the press. His research on the health risks of asbestos exposed a dangerous truth that companies wanted to be covered up. Because of his quest to promote safety for workers, Selikoff found himself in a head-to-head battle with a deep-pocketed asbestos industry that would stop at nothing to keep its products on the market. Stubborn, media-savvy, and whip-smart, Selikoff refused to back down. His story began in the clinic Selikoff opened in Paterson, New Jersey. As he began to treat workers from an asbestos plant, he noticed that a relatively large number of them had supposedly rare illnesses. He monitored these workers and tried to treat them, but “it became clear as we were following these people that they were dying of cancer,” Selikoff said. He began studying the impact of asbestos on lung health and mortality. He orchestrated larger and larger studies, including a groundbreaking survey of 17,800 asbestos insulation workers, which confirmed the deadly connection between asbestos and deadly lung disease. Even before Selikoff started calling for the regulation of asbestos, the companies that sold asbestos knew about the associated respiratory risks. As early as the 1920s, executives at major asbestos corporations had clear medical evidence that their workers were getting sick. In 1964, Selikoff organized an international conference on asbestos in New York City. He gathered the foremost researchers on the subject, and while there was little new scientific evidence presented, the conference raised widespread public awareness about the dangers of asbestos and mesothelioma. For more information on asbestos hazards and their elimination, go to the website of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) at asbestosdiseaseawareness.org . Thanks to filmmaker Abby Ginzberg for permission to post her wonderful film. To see more of her amazing work, visit the website socialactionmedia.com/.
