63 H. Sato (ed.), Management of Health Risks from Environment and Food, Aliance for Global Sustainability Bookseries 16, DOI 10.1007/978-90-481-3028-3_3, © Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 20 0 Introduction Asbestos is a naturally occurring silicate mineral with long, thin fibrous crystals. It became increasingly popular among manufacturers and builders during the industrial revolution and thereafter in the mid and late nineteenth century, due to its resistance to heat, electricity and chemicals. Asbestos, however, can be hazardous. When asbestos fibers are inhaled or ingested, they can cause serious health damages, including malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 2001). As early as 1898, the Chief Inspector of Factories in the UK reported that asbestos had “easily demonstrated” health risks. In the early 1900s, researchers began to notice a large number of early deaths and lung problems in asbestos mining towns. By the 1930s, England regulated ventila- tion and made asbestosis an excusable work related disease (Johnston & McIvor 2000; Tweedale 2001). This chapter examines the emergence of asbestos-related health hazards, the development of asbestos regulations, and the socio-political context surrounding them in the UK, where, as noted above, health hazards of asbestos were noticed quite early. Our study found three distinct periods in the UK history of asbestos- regulations: 1924–1974, 1974–1999, and 1999–2006. The key events, major actors, and socio-political characteristics of asbestos-related risk management in each period will be presented. A. Webster and C.M. Douglas Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU), Department of Sociology, University of York, UK H. Sato () Department of Public Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan e-mail: hsato-tky@umin.net; hsato@post.harvard.edu Chapter 3 Emergence of Asbestos-related Health Issues and Development of Regulatory Policy in the UK Andrew Webster, Conor M.W. Douglas, and Hajime Sato 1