PITTSBURGH — Halliburton, a pipeline services company, announced Wednesday that it has agreed to pay about $4 billion in cash and stock to settle about 300,000 current and future asbestos cases nationwide. The Huston-based industrial giant once led by Vice President Dick Cheney inherited the asbestos liabilities when it bought Dresser Industries in 1998.

Asbestos a threadlike mineral is used for insulation and building materials. Inhaling asbestos fibers can cause lung cancer, Mesothelioma, and other deadly respiratory ailments, sometimes decades later. More than 75 percent of the plaintiffs agreed to the deal, which was required for a settlement.

(via The Associated Press)