Asbestos is a category of naturally occurring substances that is essentially a mineral.  When crushed and milled it can be made into fiber that is capable of being woven into textile and other products.  It can also serve as a "binder" or thickening agent.

There are several different types of asbestos that were available, and the number of asbestos containing products manufactured in the past number in the thousands and range from insulations and cements to dental molds.  

The use of asbestos products ranged from those in high-heat, commercial applications to residential applications. Today, asbestos is most commonly found in older homes, in pipe and furnace insulation materials, asbestos shingles, millboard, textured paints and other coating materials, and floor tiles.

Asbestos and asbestos-containing products are capable of creating dust that, when inhaled, can (and in many cases do) cause various lung diseases including mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis.  The fibers that can cause injury can be so small they are not seen by the naked eye and can remain in work spaces where asbestos has been manipulated for many hours following the stoppage of work.  Often one cannot see, smell nor taste the presence of asbestos fibers in the environment. 

Why was asbestos used?

At first it was valued for its heat resistance. When manufacturers discovered methods to incorporate it into mass production processes to make asbestos insulation products, the asbestos industry was born and quickly grew into a major industry. Over the years researchers discovered that it was an excellent additive to cements, plasters, and spackling compounds as an effective and cheap binder.

Materials researchers came to value asbestos for its use in rubber, plastics, cements, paints, electrical products, fashion makeup, art supplies, gaskets, construction materials, home kitchen products, gardening supplies, pesticides, and on and on and on. By the 1970s it was used in over 3,000 different applications or products. If you need to know about a certain product or would like a list of known asbestos products, please feel free to contact us.

When were the dangers of asbestos known?

By 1936 documents produced by certain insurance companies insuring several large asbestos manufacturers clearly identified asbestos as a serious heath hazard to the lungs. By the late 1940s secret industry studies confirmed unexpected high incidences of lung cancers in animal studies as well as workers. In the early 1950s the asbestos mining companies were actively suppressing reports of high cancer rates among workers and those living near asbestos mines. If you would like to see some of these documents please feel free to call.

Tragically, the companies that manufactured and marketed asbestos-containing products knew, or should have known, that the products they were unleashing on the unsuspecting American workforce and general public would many years later result in the epidemic of disease being realized today. Medical literature documented the disease implications from the earliest days.

It was no mystery that the diseases associated with asbestos exposure would not occur until decades after the exposure occurred. The greater tragedy is that many of the companies had direct knowledge from experiences in their manufacturing facilities that the products they were making would cause disease and death, but they made the choice to put profits over lives. From the very beginning, asbestos diseases, including malignant mesothelioma occurred in anyone exposed. While subsequent years of research have added to the knowledge of how the diseases occur, asbestos's ability to cause death and disease was documented from the time the fiber was added to manufacturing processes.

Armed with all of this information, some asbestos companies expanded the uses for asbestos into a broader range of products, increased production of existing product lines, or began for the very first time to make asbestos-containing products after having been directly advised by medical experts that exposure to asbestos would cause lung cancer including malignant mesothelioma!

As the asbestos industry is fond of saying, we all have asbestos in our lungs. They say that to try to convey to you that this is a normal process. But it overlooks the fact that it is such a ubiquitous product and has been used so irresponsibly in the last 100 years that literally it is now a contaminant of the air you breathe, no matter where you live. The industry tries to make you believe that there is a threshold level of asbestos in your lungs and it is perfectly safe and normal. Actually the reverse is true.

Mesothelioma:

The National Cancer Institute states—

"Malignant mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer, is a disease in which cancer (malignant) cells are found in the sac lining the chest (the pleura), the lining of the abdominal cavity (the peritoneum) or the lining around the heart (the pericardium)."

Risks are significant to those living near asbestos plants, and to spouses and family members who come into contact with those who were directly exposed to asbestos at work or even to asbestos waste materials that were improperly disposed of.

The risks of contraction of mesothelioma among the general population are relatively low.

The Environmental Working Group estimates that there will be 2,000-3,000 new cases this year in the U.S. Unlike other asbestos-related lung diseases, the risk factor for this disease increases with excessive exposures to asbestos, even for short periods of time and even in environmental non-workplace exposure settings.

Asbestos-related lung cancers—

Studies have shown that workers that smoked and worked around asbestos have a multiplicative risk of contraction of lung cancer (which is distinct and separate from mesothelioma). For reasons not well understood, this risk effect from smoking and asbestos is not added together but instead is multiplied. The best thing that one who has both factors in his or her background can do is to quit smoking. The longer the cessation from smoking, the less the risk factor for cancer and other problems. To learn more about this, contact the American Cancer Society.

Exposure:  Home Contamination

Fatal lung diseases, including mesothelioma, have also occurred among family members of workers exposed to asbestos on the job. Families have also been exposed to asbestos when workers were engaged in asbestos removal operations.

In 1992 the U.S. Congress passed the Workers' Family Protection Act, which requested that the CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conduct a study to "evaluate the potential for, prevalence of, and issues related to, the contamination of workers' homes with hazardous chemicals and substances... transported from the workplaces of such workers."

Dangers included workers inadvertently carrying hazardous materials such as asbestos home from work on their clothes, skin, hair, and tools in their vehicles.

As a result, families of these workers have been exposed to hazardous substances and have developed various health problems, including malignant mesothelioma.

Preventative Measures in the Workplace—

Reducing asbestos exposure in the workplace:

• Changing clothes before going home and leaving the asbestos-soiled clothing at work to be laundered by employers.
• Storing street clothes in separate areas of the workplace to prevent their asbestos contamination.
• Showering before leaving work.
• Prohibiting removal of toxic substances or contaminated items from the workplace.

Preventative Measures at Home—

• Separating work areas of cottage industries from living areas.
• Properly storing and disposing of toxic substances on farms and in cottage industries.
• Preventing family members from visiting the workplace.
• Laundering asbestos-contaminated clothing separately from family laundry when necessary to wash contaminated clothing at home.
• Informing workers of the risks to family members and educating as to preventative measures.

Please contact us to schedule an absolutely free and confidential consultation.