Irving Selikoff

Dr. Irving J. Selikoff was a medical researcher who in the 1960s established a link between the inhalation of asbestos particles and lung-related ailments. His work is largely responsible for the regulation of asbestos today. He also co-discovered a cure for tuberculosis.

In the 1960's Selikoff documented asbestos-related diseases among industrial workers. He found that workers exposed to asbestos often had scarred lung tissue 30 years after exposure. His research is credited with having pressured the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to limit workplace exposure to asbestos. Citation
last =Hooper
first =Joseph
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title = The Asbestos Mess
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year =1990
date =November 25
url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9C0CE2DF113AF936A15752C1A966958260&n=Top%2fNews%2fHealth%2fDiseases%2c%20Conditions%2c%20and%20Health%20Topics%2fCancer]

For many years, Selikoff was director of the Environmental and Occupational Health Division of Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, later renamed the "Irving J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine".cite web
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title =Mount Sinai - Irving J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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publisher =The Mount Sinai Medical Center
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url =http://www.mssm.edu/cpm/selikoff_clinical_center/
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accessdate =2007-08-03 ] He received awards from the American Public Health Association, the New York Academy of Sciences, and the American Cancer Society. He was also awarded the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research in 1955.

Selikoff continued to research the effects of asbestos up to the age of 75. He died May 20, 1992 at the age of 77.cite web
last =
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title =Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research
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publisher =Albert Lasker foundation
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url =http://www.laskerfoundation.org/awards/obits/selikoffobit.shtml
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accessdate =2007-08-03 ] .

External links

* [http://www.shhofi.org/inductees/Bios/selikoff97.htm Safety and Health Hall of Fame International]
* [http://www.mssm.edu/cpm/selikoff_clinical_center/ Mount Sinai Medical Center] (discusses current activities of an institution renamed in honor of Dr. Selikoff)

References