Though the use of asbestos products has been highly regulated in the United States since the Clean Air Act of 1970, there are still plenty of asbestos injuries reported each year. This is due, in large part, to the latency period of many asbestos related diseases. Asbestosis, a scarring of the lungs due to asbestos exposure, can take as much as 20 years to surface. Because of the number of people who have suffered asbestos injuries, there are many personal injury attorneys who today handle only asbestos injury cases. These attorneys primarily help plaintiffs who suffer from mesothelioma, a deadly lung cancer which is almost always caused by asbestos exposure. Most victims of mesothelioma are dead within one year of their diagnosis with the disease. Though many countries have banned the use of asbestos entirely, it is still used in the United States, though its use has been federally regulated since the Clean Air Act of 1970.