FIGURE 58.5 The risks of asbestos dust. Despite nearly a century of studies on the risks of asbestos dust to human health, only recently have workers been required to go to great lengths to prevent exposure. Today, they dress in chemical suits and respirators when removing asbestos from a building. Applying the precautionary principle would have required protection of workers many decades earlier and saved hundreds of thousands of lives.
(Ashley Cooper/Alamy)