[Wonder matter and assassin. The perception of the asbestos danger as a mirror of the time 1930-1990].

Abstract

In the seventies and eighties of the twentieth century the ideas of the dangers concerning the use of asbestos changed dramatically. The mineral, which had, more than half a century before been introduced in the Netherlands as a miraculous mineral, was completely banned from use. Asbestos became known as a 'silent killer' and 'the blue sand of death', and as a symbol of the hidden hazards of a deteriorating environment caused by unscrupulous companies and indolent authorities. Asbestos seems to fit perfectly into the ubiquitous hazards which Ulrich Beck defines in his concept of the 'risk society' as the dangerous side effects of industrial production. Yet the perception of the risk associated with asbestos depended more on socio-cultural characteristics than on scientifically risk assessments. In the first half of the twentieth century the use of asbestos was limited and therefore did not cause any concern. Economic crisis and war silenced the first alarming signals of asbestos related disease from foreign experts and a handful of Dutch physicians. The asbestos workers themselves were held responsible for their own health and safety. In the 1951 asbestosis became recognised as an industrial disease. Preventive measures with regard to the industrial use of asbestos were prescribed by law. Workers shared the responsibilities for a safe use with employers and authorities. However, during this period, all the attention was directed towards economic growth. Supervision by the labour inspection was scarce and workers and employers were not very interested in upholding the safety measures. Among asbestos workers the use of protective clothes and dust masks was generally seen as unmanly. In the sixties the foreign literature on the connection between the exposure to asbestos and the occurrence of lung cancer and mesothelioma became known among Dutch specialists. The results of these studies were confirmed by research among Dutch insulation workers. At the same time the trade unions rejected the idea of a shared responsibility and formulated the unilateral 'right to a safe working environment', with the implication that, in their view, all unhealthy and unsafe procedures should unconditionally be banned from the workshops, including the use of asbestos. Concerned civilians, environmental lobbyists, progressive political parties and concerned scientists transformed this idea into a 'right to a safe living environment', while mass media spread the message. Asbestos was pointed out as a threat to the public health, tracked down all of its hiding places and ultimately removed. The ban on asbestos was one of the results of democratisation and emancipation movement of the late sixties and seventies. The emancipation expressed itself in an increasing intolerance to risks brought about by powerful companies and bureaucratic authorities.