Stung by lawsuits, the automaker hired consultants to change the narrative on the risks of asbestos brakes

In 2001, toxicologist Dennis Paustenbach got a phone call from a lawyer for Ford Motor Company.

The lawyer, Darrell Grams, explained that Ford had been losing lawsuits filed by former auto mechanics alleging asbestos in brakes had given them mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer virtually always tied to asbestos exposure. Grams asked Paustenbach, then a vice president with the consulting firm Exponent, if he had any interest in studying the disease’s possible association with brake work. A meeting cemented the deal. Read more

Courtesy: The Center for Public Intergrity