Asbestos Litigation can be tough for a variety of reasons. It can be difficult to find witnesses when the asbestos exposure happened decades ago. It can also be hard to collect evidence. Finally, the diseases caused by asbestos exposure are fatal.

The amount of research done regarding asbestos and its link to mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis is legion. One interesting study investigated mesothelioma in rats. It is called, "Mesotheliomata in Rats after Inoculation with Asbestos and Other Materials" by J. C. Wagner, G. Berry, and V. Timbrell - Br J Cancer. 1973 August; 28(2): 173–185.

Here is an excerpt:

"Four experiments in which SPF Wistar rats were inoculated intrapleurally with asbestos or other materials are described. Mesotheliomata were observed in a considerable proportion of animals with all the samples of asbestos used and with a sample of brucite. A few were produced with synthetic aluminium silicate fibres and single ones with barium sulphate, glass powder and aluminium oxide. The risk of developing a mesothelioma at a given time after injection was approximately proportional to the dose. Of the UICC standard reference samples, crocidolite was the most carcinogenic and removal of the oils by benzene extraction did not alter the carcinogenicity of these samples. Chemical properties also seem unlikely to be the main factor producing mesotheliomata but the results support the hypothesis that the finer fibres are the more carcinogenic, and this is additional to the known aerodynamic advantage which the finer fibres have in penetrating to the periphery of the lung."

Another important study is called, "The quantitative risks of mesothelioma and lung cancer in relation to asbestos exposure" by John T. Hodgson and Andrew Darnton

(Epidemiology and Medical Statistics Unit, Health and Safety Executive, Magdalen House, Stanley Precinct, Bootle L20 3QZ, UK). I would urge everyone to read the study in its entirety. Below is an excerpt:

"Mortality reports on asbestos exposed cohorts which gave information on exposure levels from which (as a minimum) a cohort average cumulative exposure could be estimated were reviewed. At exposure levels seen in occupational cohorts it is concluded that the exposure specific risk of mesothelioma from the three principal commercial asbestos types is broadly in the ratio 1:100:500 for chrysotile, amosite and crocidolite respectively. For lung cancer the conclusions are less clear cut. Cohorts exposed only to crocidolite or amosite record similar exposure specific risk levels (around 5% excess lung cancer per f/ml.yr); but chrysotile exposed cohorts show a less consistent picture, with a clear discrepancy between the mortality experience of a cohort of xhrysotile textile workers in Carolina and the Quebec miners cohort. Taking account of the excess risk recorded by cohorts with mixed fibre exposures (generally