Dr. Irving Selikoff: The Dangers of Asbestos Exposure and the American Crisis

When looking back at the relationship between industry and people in our history, it’s considerably strained. The 20th century repeatedly demonstrates this tension - from consumer safety in meat factories in the early 1910s, to the dangers of the automobile industry as revealed in the 70s. Time and again, industry favors profits over morality. The dangers of asbestos, while widely understood in occupational health circles, were suppressed from the general public. Despite asbestos being widely used in manufacturing, from insulation to floor tiles, companies actively worked to discredit those who sought to expose them.This was the path for pioneering asbestos researcher Dr. Irving Selikoff, whose research in the mid 20th century exposed the health risks of asbestos and ultimately transformed workplace safety standards and public health policy worldwide. Despite efforts to silence him from barons of industry and businessmen, his work left a seminal legacy in occupational health, paving the way for critical legislative action and continued research on the dangers of asbestos exposure. 

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Selikoff graduated from Columbia University and received his MD in Scotland. He later interned in Newark, NJ at Beth Israel Hospital and eventually joined the Mount Sinai Medical Center. While his earlier work on the co-development of isoniazid, a groundbreaking tuberculosis treatment earned him rightful accreditation,  his work at his clinic in Paterson, NJ, would prove to have an even greater, far reaching impact, saving hundreds of thousands of American lives.

At this clinic, he was the union doctor for the Asbestos United Workers Association (AUWA). As years passed and he treated hundreds of workers, he began to notice an interesting pattern between rare diseases in groups of asbestos workers; a staggering amount of them presented with malignant mesothelioma, a hallmark of asbestos related diseases. This label classifies diseases caused directly by inhalation of asbestos fibers, leading to disorders in the lungs and the pleura, like asbestosis, lung cancer, and pleural effusion. Out of the 17 workers he diagnosed with this condition, a staggering 15 of his patients ultimately died from it. This pattern was alarming and too extreme to ignore; thus, Selikoff commenced his investigation into the link between exposure and disease.

Selikoff became a key supporter of worker’s rights and consumer rights through his research. In 1964, he presented his research at the New York Academy Sciences conference, revealing to the medical community the stunning effects of even brief or low dose asbestos exposure and its correlated high morbidity rate. Additionally, he revealed that these conditions were not isolated to the patient;  it posed a significant risk to family members who had to interact with the residual asbestos fibers on worker’s clothes, and bystanders who may breathe the dangerous fibers in. His work opened up a history of industrial denial and neglect, revealing a critical oversight that hurt nearly every American: the US was regarded as the “greatest consumer of Asbestos” for a reason. 

His work did not go challenged, however: industries were quick to vilify him and disregard his research as libel, seeking to discredit both his work and the validity of his findings. The plethora of attacks he endured by the asbestos industry did not shake his resolve and instead strengthened his desire to continue his work; to protect workers and their families. In doing so, he not only challenged a dangerous industry, but also helped ignite a broader movement for public health and corporate responsibility.

Ultimately, Selikoff left a lasting legacy on occupational health. His continued work on the dangers of asbestos provided Americans with greater protections and security. Specifically, his work directly led to the passing of the 1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act, which ensured safe and healthful working conditions by establishing and enforcing federal standards in the workplace. Additionally, his research influenced the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate asbestos as an hazardous air pollutant, inspiring a global crusade in consumer health. He forced society to confront the reality that asbestos needed to be banned entirely; its devastating effects on human health demanded an equally harsh response. Today, groups like the asbestos disease awareness organization continue to carry forward Selikkoff’s vision to ban asbestos globally and support patients. Up until his death at the age of 75, he continued to push for action to be done and continued his research, leaving a lasting generational legacy on the public health and safety of Americans to come.