After a succession of posts and studying for the Bar, Edward Merewether joined the Medical Inspectorate of Factories in 1927. Not long thereafter he was asked to undertake a study of the effects of asbestos exposure on the lungs. His results showed that asbestos workers had a significant risk of developing pulmonary fibrosis and this resulted in the promulgation of regulations to limit exposure. Some years later, Merewether showed that asbestos workers also had a higher than expected risk of developing lung cancer, but on this occasion there was no further protective legislation, and the association was not generally accepted until some years later. Merewether's name is inextricably linked with the risks of asbestos exposure but after his death the importance of his efforts was often played down by those who wished to show that the government had not acted quickly enough, or vigorously enough to control the hazard. The contention of this paper is that these criticisms are not justified and that Merewether acted to the best of his ability, given the conditions and knowledge current at the time he was working.

中文翻译：

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ERA Merewether – 和石棉

1927 年，在连续任职并为律师协会学习后，爱德华·梅鲁韦特加入了工厂医学监察局。此后不久，他被要求进行石棉暴露对肺部影响的研究。他的研究结果表明，石棉工人患肺纤维化的风险很大，这导致颁布了限制接触的法规。几年后，Merewether 表明，石棉工人患肺癌的风险也高于预期，但这次没有进一步的保护立法，直到几年后，该协会才被普遍接受。米尔韦瑟 他的名字与接触石棉的风险密不可分，但在他去世后，他的努力的重要性往往被那些希望表明政府行动不够迅速或不够有力来控制危险的人轻描淡写。本文的论点是，这些批评是不合理的，考虑到他工作时的条件和当前知识，Merewether 已尽其所能。