| Abstract: | The level of asbestos risk varies widely, with insulation workers facing risks many orders of magnitude greater than other groups, such as school children. After a period of regulatory neglect, asbestos risks are now among the mos stringently regulated risks, with costs per case of cancer prevented on the order of $100 million. Asbestos litigation triggered much of the public action against asbestos, as asbestos cases constituted the majority of all product liability cases in the federal courts from 1988 to 1991. The litigation costs have, however, been substantial, almost three times as great as the amounts transferred to asbestos disease victims. Risk communication potentially could promote efficient risk levels and victim compensation. |
