"This is the first comprehensive history 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 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 accompanied the commercial development of a material that was already known to be lethal at the start of the twentieth century."--Jacket.