In the 1930s and 1940s, researchers in Germany and the United States concluded that there was substantial medical evidence to support a causal link between asbestos exposure and lung tumors. However, this data remained confidential and largely unpublished. In 1955, Dr. Richard Doll undertook a study of workers at Turner Brothers Asbestos for lung cancer mortality. Doll demonstrated beyond doubt a substantial excess of lung cancer in heavily exposed long-term asbestos workers. However, once published, Doll's findings produced an amazing lack of interest and it took another twenty years for legislation to be passed to control asbestos exposures.

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