During the early part of the 19th and 20th centuries and up until today there were and are a large number of workers and individuals that are constantly exposed to harmful compounds, chemicals and substances in their workplace. When these hazardous materials are known, employers and employees can take the correct precautions to eliminate or minimize any risk to life or health due to these types of exposures. Unfortunately for many workers, asbestos environmental contamination was kept secret by companies, even after they were well aware of the risk they were putting employees in. Currently individual and class action lawsuits for asbestos exposure are based on the negligence of these employers and companies in failing to adequately or even basically protect their workers. The huge scale cover-up of the dangers of exposure to airborne asbestos environments in shipyards, construction, automobiles, refining, manufacturing, demolition and renovation industries has provided the opportunity for injured employees or their surviving families to seek monetary compensation for their medical bills, pain and suffering, loss of wages and other costs associated with asbestos exposure illnesses.