The first known death due to asbestos was in 1906. In the 1970s, court documents proved that asbestos industry officials knew of its dangers since the 1930s and had concealed them from the public. It wasn't until 2002 that asbestos mining ended in the U.S. with the closing of the last U.S. asbestos mine. And yet, asbestos is still not banned in this country, exposing millions of people to the long-term effects of this dangerous chemical. In fact, from 1999-2017, there were 5,157 asbestos-related deaths in Arizona.  So why are these chemicals still allowed and used in the United States?