Chrysotile has been included with other forms of asbestos in being classified as a human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. These state that "Asbestos exposure is associated with parenchymal asbestosis, asbestos-related pleural abnormalities, peritoneal mesothelioma, and lung cancer, and it may be associated with cancer at some extra-thoracic sites". In other scientific publications, epidemiologists have published peer reviewed scientific papers establishing that chrysotile is the main cause of pleural mesothelioma.