More recently, an elevation in leukemia diagnosed in the first year of life was seen in children born in 1986 and 1987, just after the accident at Chernobyl, representing a latencyperiodof less than two years between in-utero exposure and diagnosis.
Because of its widespread use, inadequate protection by manufacturers, and long latencyperiod (it takes about 12 to 20 years after exposure before symptoms appear), an almost un-quantifiable number of people have been harmfully exposed to asbestos.