First recorded case of asbestos disease

The first recorded case of asbestos-associated disease was seen in 1899 by Dr. H. Montague Murray, a physician at the Charing Cross Hospital in London. The case was a man with marked dyspnea employed for only 12 years in the carding room of a recently established asbestos factory. Death occurred a year later and, at autopsy, fibers of the mineral were seen (together with what were recognized as asbestos bodies when the slides were reviewed in 1970s).

Nevertheless, there was no special comment made that the dust to which exposure had occurred was fibrous in nature (1). Nor was there recognition that special potential toxicity might be associated with the fibrous nature of the dust; although public health authorities responsible for maintenance of hygienic precautions in workplaces were then aware of excessively dusty conditions and worker complaints (2,3), and it had been categorized by HM Factory Inspectors in 1898 as one of the four most hazardous occupational dusts.

To review the references in Dr. Selikoff’s article see Pages 275-276 of his report.

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