Asbestos is a rather remarkable naturally occurring substance. Known as "rock floss" or "mountain leather", man has found many uses for asbestos throughout the ages.
The word "asbestos" comes from the Greek name for "inextinguishable" or "indestructible." For thousands of years asbestos has been admired for its heat- and fire-resistant properties as well as its strength.
There is evidence that Egyptians, five thousand years ago, wrapped the bodies of their pharaohs in asbestos in preparation for their journey to the next world.
It's been found in ancient Scandinavian pottery.
It's been found in ancient Roman lamp wicks and table cloths. The easily cleaned their table linens by just throwing them into a fire. After which they just removed
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And an increasingly large number of these people were succumbing to illnesses such as mesothelioma and asbestosis.
In addition, the family members of employees who worked for ship building, construction, mining, and other factories whose products used asbestos were also getting ill. This happened because asbestos fibers were being brought home on the employee's clothing.
Today lung cancer, mesothelioma, and other illnesses related to asbestos are being increasingly recognized as diseases that were probably caused by second hand exposure to these fibers.
People who live close to asbestos mines may be drinking water that contains the material. People who live in homes that were constructed with asbestos products may be breathing in the fibers as these materials wear down and the fibers are released into the air.
Asbestos fibers can be contaminating drinking water as it is released from the cement pipes that are used to carry the water or after it is filtered through water filters that contain "mountain leather".
Because of these water-related risks the EPA now mandates that water suppliers regularly test water
What is asbestos you ask? Well asbestos is the name for a group of naturally occurring silicate minerals that can be separated into fibers. The fibers are strong, durable, and resistant to heat and fire. They are also long, thin, and flexible, so that they can even be woven into cloth. Because of these qualities, asbestos has been used in thousands if consumer, industrial, maritime, automotive, scientific and building products. During the twentieth century, some 30 million tons of asbestos were used in industrial sites, homes, schools, shipyards and commercial buildings in the United States.
In discussing the negative impact that asbestos has had on the people of Libby, it is very easy to correlate how the asbestos exposure was so concentrated in a family. Another way that a household, people who occupy the same housing unit, could have large amount of asbestos exposure is simply working with the products that asbestos was used to create. This could happen to people who do not even live in Libby. Asbestos was used for very many different products, all in which every member of a household could be bringing it back to the house. A grandmother of a household may love to garden and help grow a beautiful yard. This could lead her to buying large amounts of vermiculite, a type of asbestos, and bringing it back to the home. The vermiculite is then used for fertilizer being spread throughout the land outside of the house. With wind blowing the asbestos could very easily be spread throughout the inside of the house. In order to properly lay the vermiculite the grandmother would come in contact with the material, covering herself and her clothes, all in which will be entering the home. The father of a household may work for an insulation company who uses asbestos to insulate houses. The father will be covered in this asbestos, and also probably have his own house insulated with this material. These are two more contributing factors of asbestos to the household. Another example could be that a child of the
You have locked all the windows, made sure all the doors are locked and secure and set the security alarm before retiring to bed. You even had security lights added at the corners and entrances of your home. Despite all your efforts to protect your family, there is a killer in your home, lurking, waiting, for the right moment to strike. It is not a person, but a thing, and it is called asbestos. Asbestos is a mineral found and mined out of the earth and is naturally fire and heat resistant. Therefore, it was used in many building materials such as insulation for building and electrical, mixed with cement, and used in fabric or mats. The prolonged inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis. According
Asbestos Network defines asbestos as, “A disease cause by exposure to asbestos fibers.” Asbestos fibers are artificially created by humans often use during various man-made construction projects to make stable interiors to create buildings. Asbestos fibers were high in production
Although quite a few materials can possibly cause this disease, mesothelioma is mainly attributed to exposure to asbestos as reported by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry of the CDC. In addition, Asbestos has been classified by the EPA as a human carcinogen.
At the same time, however, many of the companies employing the workers had full knowledge that asbestos was dangerous and that exposure to asbestos would harm the health of many of the workers. Insulators, plasterers, electricians, pipe fitters, mechanics, iron workers, ship builders, ship workers, brick layers, carpenters, and other tradesmen are just a few examples of workers that were likely to work with asbestos on a day-to-day basis. Also at risk are the families of these workers, as the asbestos fibers may be brought into the home from the clothes, skin, or hair of the worker.
It is thought that exposure to this dust through the lungs and skin has contributed to the asthma, gastrointestinal problems, and possibly the increased cancer risk experienced by rescue workers, especially those who were on the site immediately after the attack. Rescue workers continue to struggle with respiratory illness, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and many of them may be at increased risk for developing a number of cancers. The planes were fueled with 24,000 gallons of fuel that spread to 100,000 and 230,000 gallons in diesel oil in the buildings feeling them up with toxic pile of ash. Many of these toxins that the 9/11 first hand responders were exposed to were asbestos which refer to a set of six naturally occurring fibrous minerals that have six primary sub classification chrysotile, crocidolite, amanita, anthophylite, tremollile and achitone. The minerals that the first responders were exposed to could cause mesothelioma cancer. Those from the cite have a 32 percent more likely to have numerous of cancers. 14 years after the 9/11 70,000 patients enrolled in the W.I.C and 21,000 of them are getting treatment and many health programs were created in
Mesothelioma lawyers are specialized law practitioners who deal with cases pertaining to the cancerous disease of Mesothelioma. Many people who incur this cancer are workers who have worked around asbestos-containing products. Wherever the usage of asbestos fibers is a necessity for manufacturing products, or the use of other such harmful materials is prevalent, risk factors for Mesothelioma exist. Examples are industries related to production of cement, brick, and insulation. Veterans are the leading group of people who suffer from mesothelioma; they were exposed to the dangerous particles through their service in war efforts.
Asbestos is made up of six different minerals and is a naturally forming substance. As it forms, fibres develop that can be transformed into durable, thin threads for use in industrial, commercial and even domestic applications. For example, the construction industry has used asbestos in insulation, as a cement strengthener, fireproofing and roofing. Over the years, it became evident how risky asbestos exposure is to your health as people developed the life-threatening form of Mesothelioma that could be traced back to this exposure.
If you or anyone you know have been exposed to such things as hazardous materials containing asbestos you may want to get checked out by a physician. Asbestos poisoning can lead to a cancer known as mesothelioma. There are several different types of mesothelioma as well including;
Asbestos has been being used in the construction industry for decades. It dates back all the way to the Ancient Egyptians and Ancient Greeks. Asbestos is a natural occurring mineral made up of six sets of fibrous mineral: chrysotile, crocidolite, amosite, anthophyllite, tremolite and actinolite. Asbestos is a compound that is very versatile. In the 1800s, during the Industrial Revolution, asbestos was being widely used throughout companies for various reasons. Companies like Ford Motor Company, General Electric, General Motors, and Mobil Oil Corporation were all companies using asbestos in their products. Companies used this fibrous mineral as a insular in houses, schools, steam engines, fire-proof ocean vessels, and even in the brakes of automobiles. Construction workers can become deathly ill after long-term exposure to this mineral.
“Asbestos can be found in many homes, schools, and workplaces, and if it is not handled properly it poses a serious health risk,” Healey said. “Too often, children, families, and workers are exposed to airborne asbestos fibers due to shoddy or unlicensed work, and many aren’t aware of the serious
Asbestos had been widely used in many industries around the world due to its versatility, strength, fire-resistant and insulating properties of the fibres. They are used in the manufacturing industry as vinyl floor tiles, electrical components, gasket products, brake linings and disc pads. The three main type of asbestos, white, blue and brown can also be found in cement sheeting and piping in the construction industry. However, the use of asbestos in Australia and many other countries had been ban due to its known health effects which is include pleural diseases, lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma.
Asbestos is found to be a deadly material and exposure to it for long durations of time results in asbestos cancer mesothelioma. The material was held in high regard due to its multifarious qualities like resistance to heat and shock, low weight etc. It was put to use in various commercial and consumer products on a large scale. Companies manufacturing cement, insulation, roofing shingles, along with industrial applications such as automobile brake pads, hair driers etc make extensive use of asbestos.
Veterans are a special group. Unfortunately, today men and women are at higher risk than the general population for developing asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma cancer. Of this group rely on asbestos past, the main cause of the disease, and the results of these operations as they leave the VA do private service. Asbestos is making it a useful tool for all branches of the military so once was considered for the heat-resistant and fire correction. Ships, tanks, cars, all modes of transportation, such as military aircraft are contained asbestos.