When the government began tracking mesothelioma as a cause of death, mortality nationwide more than doubled, from 935 in 1998, to 2,343 in 1999.

*The low number in the range represents 20 years of mortality data when mesothelioma incidence was reported based on total deaths from cancers that were thought to be mesothelioma. The high number in the range is the number of mesothelioma cases from 1979 through 2001, assuming that the incidence was twice that reflected by government statistics.