Asbestos deaths among U.S. residents have increased from fewer than 100 in 1968 to nearly 1,500 annually in 2000, with no apparent leveling off of this trend, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

Between 1990 and 1999, there were more than 10,000 asbestos-related deaths and the annual asbestos death counts increased by one-third, the CDC said.

In 1998 and 1999, asbestos-related deaths outnumbered coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (black lung disease), which the CDC attributes to the decrease in the number of coal mine workers employed in the U.S.

Residents of California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Texas, Florida, Washington, and Virginia together accounted for nearly half of all asbestos-related deaths between 1990 and 1999.

The CDC findings are based on analysis of death certificates of nearly 125,000 people who had lung conditions linked to inhaling dust or fibers from minerals.

Asbestos is the name given to a group of naturally occurring fibrous silicate minerals (amosite, chrysotile, crocidolite, tremolite, actinolite, and anthophyllite) that have been mined for their useful properties such as thermal insulation, chemical and thermal stability, and high tensile strength. All forms of asbestos are hazardous, and all can cause cancer.

Because of the qualities, asbestos has been used in a wide range of manufactured products, mostly in building materials, friction products, and heat-resistant fabrics. Asbestos can only be identified under a microscope.

Since asbestos fibers may cause harmful health effects in people who are exposed, the EPA has banned all new uses of asbestos in the United States.

Asbestos-related diseases may not appear until 30 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos.

(via Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)