Did ancient Romans know asbestos was dangerous? The widely-cited "proof"—Pliny the Elder's passage about workers wearing bladder-skin masks—is a mistranslation.

The passage appears in Natural History Book 33, Chapter 40, which discusses cinnabar (mercury sulfide) workers, not asbestos. Scholars Browne and Murray documented this correction in The Lancet in 1990, yet the myth persists in textbooks, litigation documents, and Wikipedia. This episode examines why ancient observers couldn't have connected asbestos to disease: mesothelioma's 20-50 year latency period exceeded Roman life expectancy of 25-40 years for laborers.

In this episode:

• The famous "bladder-mask" quote and its century-long misattribution to asbestos workers
• Why Pliny's Natural History Book 33 describes mercury poisoning, not asbestos exposure
• Strabo's "sickness of the lungs" passage: another misattribution (arsenic mines in Pontus, not asbestos)
• The latency problem: 20-50 years for mesothelioma vs. 25-40 year ancient lifespans
• What we know about slave labor in ancient asbestos production
• Why the absence of ancient documentation isn't a cover-up—it's the limits of observation

Who this episode is for: History enthusiasts, researchers investigating asbestos exposure claims, and anyone who has encountered the claim that "the Romans knew asbestos was deadly 2,000 years ago."

Sources cited: Pliny the Elder's Natural History (c. 77 CE), Strabo's Geography (c. 20 CE), Browne & Murray's "Asbestos and the Romans" (The Lancet, 1990), Bianchi & Bianchi (La Medicina del lavoro, 2015).

Resources:

• What Is Mesothelioma? — Learn about symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment options
• Mesothelioma Latency Period — Why symptoms appear 20-50 years after exposure
• Asbestos Exposure History — Common exposure sources and occupations at risk
• Meet Our Team — Paul Danziger, Dave Foster, Anna Jackson, and the patient advocacy team
• Free Consultation — Talk to someone who understands what you're facing

Learn more: Dandell.com

Asbestos: A Conspiracy 4,500 Years in the Making is produced by Danziger & De Llano, a nationwide mesothelioma law firm with over 30 years of experience and nearly $2 billion recovered for asbestos victims. This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For a free consultation, visit Dandell.com.

Resources:

→ Mesothelioma legal rights: https://dandell.com/mesothelioma/

→ Asbestos exposure sources: https://dandell.com/asbestos-exposure/

→ Asbestos trust funds ($30B+ available): https://dandell.com/asbestos-trust-funds/

→ Free case evaluation: https://dandell.com/contact/

Sister Podcast - MESO: The Mesothelioma Podcast:

http://mesotheliomapodcast.com/