THcB: Well, at least they hugely decreased the risk of fire on set.
tugnasty: Could you just make anything out of asbestos?
Ceilings, brooms, clothes etc.
–geode: When I was in high school (late 80s) we had these little asbestos heatproof pad things in chemistry class that you were supposed to use to put your hot beakers on or something. The teacher stressed repeatedly “do not scratch these with your fingernail, you WILL get lung cancer.”
Of course several kids immediately proceeded to scratch the hell out of them because kids are assholes
diegojones4: To say the health risks were known is overstating it. They knew that asbestos factory workers got sick. It was still a product that was used in absolutely everything and it took decades to connect all the dots.
ZanyDelaney: [Buddy Ebsen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Ebsen#The_Wizard_of_Oz) was first cast as the Scarecrow in *The Wizard of Oz* but swapped to playing the Tin Woodsman as Ray Bolger wanted to play the Scarecrow.
Ebsen recorded all the songs and went through all the rehearsals. Once he started filming he began experiencing cramps and shortness of breath, eventually leading to hospitalisation. He was suffering a reaction to the aluminum dust used in the Tin Man makeup and was forced to leave the production for health reasons.
jtdusk: Oh we’re off to see the oncologist/because, because, because, because of all the tumors on our lungs.
TheGarrandFinale: “All these science spheres are made of asbestos, by the way. Keeps out the rats. Let us know if you feel a shortness of breath, a persistent dry cough or your heart stopping. Because that’s not part of the test. That’s asbestos.”
-Cave Johnson
Allittle1970: I remember cutting asbestos panels with my dad for backer boards to hang tiles behind a Franklin stove. I also recall rubbing the ceiling soffit at my sixth grade class and asbestos snow wold come down all in the mid 1970s.
TooShiftyForYou: Another issue was that the temperatures on set were extremely hot due to the Technicolor process requiring very bright shots. Multiple actors passed out during production when the set could reach temps as high as 100 °F (38 °C). Sounds like hellish work conditions.
[Source](http://thefilmspectrum.com/?p=3634)
msiekkinen: Good things Dorthy’s lungs were protected from all tar from the 8 packs of cigarettes she was forced to smoke per day to keep thin
DrKakistocracy: Amphetamines and Aluminum and Asbestos…Oh my!
Szos: Give it a decade or two but we’re going to have similar issues with nanomaterials.
kayjay25: Guess he should have asked for a new set of lungs instead.
LucianoThePig: The munchins were also made of asbestos, as was Toto
pfelon: No wonder all the actors from that movie are dead now.
tehbantho: Saw at least one mesothelioma lawsuit joke below. But as someone who’s family has benefited greatly from a mesothelioma lawyer I’ll say that shit is legit. I’m grateful that when my grandfather was taken too soon and too suddenly by mesothelioma my grandma has no financial worries at all anymore.
deathschemist: asworstos
JayTee12: Also, the way that Judy Garland was treated during filming – and the was she was treated by MGM in general – was allegedly horrendous. Extremely strict diet control, and basically forcing her to chain smoke in order to keep her weight down.
Heliolord: It’s like that episode of Reno 911 where their station is being renovated because the walls were asbestos. As were the floors. And ceiling. And even the little masks they gave them to breath in the building after it was determined the walls, floors, and ceiling were asbestos–the masks were asbestos, too.
irvy88: Everything I read about this movie’s production makes it sound like an absolute hellhole. I can’t watch and enjoy it the same way I did when I was a kid.
I_Have_Nuclear_Arms: Wow. That’s fucking rude as hell.
And it’s too late to get their mesothelioma lawsuit on.
chillord: My school in Germany had a lot of asbestos plates. It got built in the 70s afaik. Took until 2010 until they actually got rid of the asbestos plates that they used and replaced them with a material that didn’t have any health risks.
CEBVIII: “I believe that the movement against asbestos was led by the mob, because it was often mob-related companies that would do the asbestos removal. Great pressure was put on politicians, and as usual, the politicians relented.”
-Donald Trump, 1997
merelyadoptedthedark: Actors weren’t really considered as people at that time. They were basically overpriced props as far as the studios were concerned.
ihohjlknk: America’s always late to the game when it comes to banning dangerous and harmful products. Lead was a well-known neurotoxin and was in everything – especially paint. Europe banned lead paint in the 1909, but America didn’t ban it until 1977 due to intense lobbying from the lead industry.
Upgraded_Self: Asbestos was dirt cheap and chemically stable. As long as it didnt tear it was totally safe. Actually raining torn up asbestos as snow was a very bad idea.
dafunkmunk: Hell even the munchkins were just clumps of asbestos and the whole thing was filmed with asbestos. All the movie theatres replaces their seats with asbestos just for its showings.
runetrantor: Was there even the fucking HINT of good things and happiness to come from the production of that movie?
Everything I hear from it’s making is horrifying in so many levels…