 Because of these and other cases, Edward Roland Allworth Meriwether decided to study asbestos workers in textile factories. A full quarter of the workers were suffering from asbestosis, and those who had worked longer were sicker. The report underlined the seriousness of the disease, and within a year, legislation was passed in the UK to make efforts to reduce asbestos dust and require medical screenings for employees. Meriwether felt that the study meant asbestos workers faced inevitable death.