During the industrial revolution of the late 19th century, asbestos became widely used for commercial purposes. Asbestos is readily available, is heat resistant, chemical resistant, has tensile strength, sound absorption, and is resistant to electricity. Asbestos fibers were often mixed with woven into fabric, mats, or cement during industrial production. Asbestos was also used in buildings for its flame resistance and insulating properties.

The use of asbestos really escalated during World War II. By this time, it was found in bricks, concrete, pipes, pipe insulation, gaskets, fireplace cement, ceiling insulation, drywall, fire retardant coatings, flooring materials, and roofing materials. Shipbuilding made particularly heavy use of asbestos products. It was used to wrap the pipes, line the boilers and to cover turbine and engine parts. This made occupations such as working on ships particularly hazardous as the asbestos particles were largely contained within the ship. Asbestos fibers were also once heavily used in the automotive parts industry for use in clutch discs, brake pads, and brake shoes.

All western countries used asbestos for industrial purposes. Asbestos use was highest in the United States, Japan, Australia, and the United Kingdom. While the use of asbestos changed drastically in the United States during the 1970s, wide use of asbestos of commercial products in Japan did not drop significantly until about 1990. In fact, the Japanese government did not fully ban the use of asbestos in products until 2004.

Occupations with higher levels of asbestos exposure include ship building, ship vessel repair, painting, tiling, roofing, construction, firefighters, mining, textile manufacturing, railroad, HVAC, drywall installation, automotive manufacturing, and auto parts manufacturing.

Asbestos is the primary cause of the mesothelioma, which is a deadly type of cancer. The longer the worker was exposed to asbestos, the greater the risk of illness. Studies have shown that smoking combined with asbestos exposure greatly increases the risk of getting mesothelioma.