According to the article in the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a recall of many hair dryers in 1979 due to asbestos infiltration. Despite the action, plenty of hairstylists continued using asbestos-contaminated products through the 1980s.
A History of Risk
Hairdressers using these products regularly from the 1970s and 1980s were at imminent risk. According to that article, there were 30 reported cases of current or former hairdressers developing mesothelioma between 2000 and 2009. Since peritoneal mesothelioma has a long latency period of around 20-50 years — the timelines match.
And since some hazardous hair dryers remained in use through the 1990s, more mesothelioma cases connected to this trade may pop up in the 2020s and 2030s.