Most of us however do not become ill as a result of our exposure. To receive a free mesothelioma web information packet or to make a request please fill out the following form . Since that time asbestos containing products were used by the construction and building trades the automotive industry and the manufacturing industry. This number however does not take into consideration events such as the world trade center disaster on september when millions of new yorkers were potentially exposed to air filled with carcinogenic asbestos particles. Has reached its peak and has begun to drop a forecast released by the national cancer institutes surveillance epidemiology and end results program seer in april projected the total number of american male mesothelioma cases from to be approximately . Asbestos was used commercially in north america as early as the late s but its use increased dramatically during the world war ii era when shipyards produced massive numbers of ships for the war effort.