Dr. Michael R. Harbut, chief of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Wayne State University, commented about the declining numbers of patients being treated for illnesses related to exposure to asbestos. Harbut said it\'s difficult to understand why medical centers with a large patient load wouldn\'t be seeing asbestosis. \"In my own practice, I\'ve seen at least three new noncontroversial diagnoses in the last nine workdays,\" said Harbut, who is also co-director of the National Center for Vermiculite and Asbestos-Related Cancers.