Asbestos was used in the golden age of movies - even as snow
These days we are far more aware of the dangers surrounding asbestos. We have mechanisms in place at the workplace and in private homes to manage and deal with the presence of this deadly mineral. However, this level of caution has grown from increased knowledge that was simply not available during the golden age of cinema. Far too many people were exposed to asbestos over the years in various ways. It may have been present in sound insulating material, pipe lagging or other every day applications that were acceptable at the time. Sadly, asbestos was also used extensively in scenery props such as fake snow. Had the people involved in the films production known just how dangerous the ‘snow’ was, they would never have exposed themselves and the actors to it in the first place.
So what famous movies were particularly affected by the presence of asbestos? Well, the answer could be much longer than the movies mentioned below. The truth is we will probably never know how many were exposed to asbestos, or how severe the exposure actually was. The problem with asbestos exposure is that the damage caused, although nearly always fatal, may not manifest itself for many years after the initial exposure. This fact has undoubtedly broken the causal link, at least in the minds of many of those affected.
Fake snow in the Wizard of Oz was asbestos
A staple film shown, often over the Christmas period to generations is the Wizard of Oz. This classic movie from 1939 used asbestos in several ways, including using 100% pure asbestos as fake snow.
The snow in The Wizard of Oz was made using the deadly mineral. Fortunately a good deal has changed in the entertainment industry since then, but some of the tricks that the production crew used were less than safe for the cast and crew, and this included the use of asbestos. In the early to mid-1900s, asbestos was used a lot during the winter or Christmas holidays as a fake snow with many different brands for sale such, as 'White Magic,' 'Pure White,' and 'Snow Drift.'
The poppy scene looked innocent, but was deadly
The poppy scene in The Wizard of Oz has possibly become the most infamous over the years after the viewing public discovered that the fake snow in the scene was 100% asbestos. In the movie, Judy Garland’s character of Dorothy wakes up in a snow covered poppy field. Chrysotile, which is white asbestos, was commonly used as fake snow for Christmas decorations, but it was mostly used in roofing, brake pads, interior fire doors, fire blankets, stage curtains, ceilings, and many more applications. When asbestos dust is inhaled or ingested, the mineral fibres can become permanently lodged in the body, particularly in the lungs. In this particular film, the characters were literally smothered in this carcinogenic material.
Once asbestos fibres get inside the body, they can cause lung inflammation, scarring, and even genetic damage. Mesothelioma is a particularly nasty and incurable cancer that is almost exclusively linked to asbestos exposure, along with other types of cancer and lung disease. However, there has been no confirmation from the film industry that anybody from the set of The Wizard of Oz died from asbestos exposure during filming.
Asbestos is a superb fire proofing
As well as the fake snow in The Wizard of Oz, asbestos was also used on the scarecrow costume. This was because the character has several incidents with fire in the movie, it is claimed that his costume was sprayed with a flame proofing material made from asbestos. The Wicked Witch of the West uses a burning broom, which was also made of asbestos to keep it from actually burning on the set.
Although not asbestos related, there were a few other health and safety bloopers during its production. The Tin Man character was hospitalised for about two weeks after the aluminium-based makeup he was covered in was absorbed into his body, resulting in a toxic reaction. The wicked witch character was quite badly burned performing one of the smoke filled disappearing stunts, and was also hospitalised as a result. It took her six weeks to fully recover from her injuries.
Other productions dealing with asbestos issues
Holiday Inn
Another Christmas classic that had problems with the use of asbestos was the Bing Crosby film Holiday Inn. Once again, this film featured asbestos snow throughout the production. In the now world famous scene where Bing Crosby is singing White Christmas, it's actually asbestos falling all over his body rather than actual snow.
The snow in the film was made with chrysotile asbestos fibres, a mixture of asbestos and other substances that made it appear more like real snow. This was also used in things like shop window displays at Christmas time. The deadly material was frequently used to cover Christmas displays of products the stores wanted to sell more of during the Christmas period.
Goldfinger
Exactly how many Bond film sets had asbestos present is unknown, but asbestos would most probably have been used in them. What is known is that in the 1964 production of Goldfinger, asbestos was used in the special effects. It was also present in the piping that lined the sets, a fact that probably wasn't known by the crew. The scary thing about this is that by the 1960s it was well known that asbestos was harmful to people’s health.
A film set painter who worked on the film actually died from asbestos related cancer, and his widow sued the film studio over it in 2007.
It's a Wonderful Life
Remaining with the Christmas theme, It’s a Wonderful Life; a substance called foamite was used for snow. However, if that ran out, the production crew would use a mixture of dolomite and asbestos. It is unknown where or how much of the snow in the film is asbestos, but with what we know today, any amount of asbestos snow onset is too much.
Session 9
The 2001 horror movie Session 9, starring David Caruso, is about an asbestos cleaning crew that has sent to clear out an abandoned mental hospital and encounter some supernatural goings on while working. Although asbestos was not actually used in the production of the film, and while the substance only serves as a small part of the plot in the film, it puts into perspective how important it is to remove asbestos, even in rundown, and gives an insight into how that process is carried out.
Dirty Laundry
Another production where asbestos was not actually used, but the dangers of it are highlighted perfectly, is the 2019 documentary Dirty Laundry. This film is a tragic story about the dangers of asbestos. The documentary tells the story of a 90 year old woman who suffers with mesothelioma, a deadly disease caused by prolonged exposure to asbestos. The documentary sees the woman's grandsons and a camera crew go on a cross country bike tour to find the answers about mesothelioma, and how their grandmother could have contracted it.
The film features interviews with her surviving family members, doctors who have dealt with mesothelioma, and activists working against asbestos use in places where it's still commonly found. The production is a heart wrenching account about the dangers of asbestos, and received universal praise at various film festivals, attracting multiple awards for its honesty and emotional depth.
Alice - A Fight for Life
Another documentary, Alice - A Fight for Life, follows 47 year old Alice Jefferson as she struggles with mesothelioma after working in an asbestos plant all her life. The film doesn't only cover Alice's struggle, but also the health issues around manufacturing asbestos as a whole, and how the industry treats its employees. It also looks in depth into what makes asbestos so deadly and gives some history on the use of asbestos in various industries.
Alice eventually died of the disease a month after the documentary finished production, and the documentary got people talking about the dangers of asbestos again. It even got the MP of West Yorkshire at the time, Max Madden, to file a complaint against the company who employed Alice. This lead to an inspection that found 10% of the workers of the factory had developed asbestosis due to exposure.
It is a very sad documentary, but an extremely important in that it once more raised the profile of this deadly mineral.
The situation today
Knowing what we know now about asbestos, film production companies would never willingly expose their crew and actors to asbestos snow. People have found far safer methods of imitating snow in films, so the horrors of the past will never be repeated. As nobody can turn the clock back and change what happened in the past, we can all learn from the mistakes that were made, and keep working to make sure nobody ever suffers from mesothelioma again.
By Neil Harrison LL.B. (Hons)
