Magic Mineral to Killer Dust Turner & Newall and the Asbestos Hazard

Asbestos was once known as the 'magic mineral' because of its ability to withstand flames. Yet since the 1970s, it has become a notorious and feared 'killer dust' that is responsible for thousands of deaths and an epidemic that continues into the new millennium. This is the first comprehensive account of the UK asbestos health problem, which provides an in-depth look at the occupational health experience of one of the world's leading asbestos companies-British asbestos giant, Turner & Newall. Based on a vast company archive recently released in American litigation, 'Magic Mineral to Killer Dust' gives an unprecedented insight into all aspects of the asbestos hazard - dust control, workmen's compensation, government regulation, and the development of medical knowledge. In particular, it looks at the role of industrialists, doctors, factory inspectors, and trades unionists, highlighting the failures in regulation that allowed the commercial development of a material that was known to be lethal since at least 1900.

Physical Paradox, Dust Control and Mortality: 1931 to the 1940s, Medical Provision, Diagnosis, and Prescription, Compensation for Asbestos Workers, Death by Industrial Disease, Dust, Mortality, and the Cancer Hazard: 1940s to the early 1960s, Countervailing Forces, Lighting the Powder Trail, The Asbestos 'Bomb' Explodes, Turner & Newall on Trial, An Acceptable Level of Death, References

Geoffrey Tweedale is Reader in the Centre for Business History, Manchester Metropolitan University. From 1983 he worked as a Researcher and Teacher in the History of Business, Technology, and Medicine, and more recently has held the position of Research Fellow at both Manchester and Sheffield universities.