The first known U.S. workers' compensation claim for asbestos disease was in 1927.

He successfully brought a claim in tort against Cape plc for causing him an asbestos disease, asbestosis.

The risk of contracting an asbestos related disease increases depending on the amount of exposure to it.

Approximately 13 Britons die every day from asbestos related diseases, and the rate of deaths are increasing.

We're starting to see the decline of asbestos diseases, or at least as many as we did 10 years ago.

Selikoff is America's most prominent researcher in the field of asbestos disease.

"We don't want to derail what could be an important compensation bill for asbestos disease," she said.

It is also a function of the deadly nature of asbestos and the long latency period for asbestos disease, which can be up to 40 years.

Peter Gowan died at age 63 from the asbestos related disease, peritoneal mesothelioma on 12 June 2009.

She also collaborated with artist Conrad Atkinson on statement artworks speaking out against asbestos disease.