Asbestos has been called one of the most potent cancer-producing substances known to humankind. Authorities estimate that 27 million Americans have been exposed to asbestos on the job. Of that 27 million, more than one million will become sick with diseases ranging from minor respiratory problems to deadly mesothelioma or lung cancer. Deaths may number more than 400,000 by the year 2027, according to the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. This does not include those who die without the cause of their cancers being investigated and revealed, nor those who long suffer from asbestos-related disease but eventually die from some other cause.