The History of the Asbestos Industry
While tracing the history of asbestos it was found that its usage dates back to 2000 years. The name Asbestos was first given to this toxic mineral by the Ancient Greeks, and the word “Asbestos” literally means inextinguishable. Throughout history, since the Ancient Greeks, asbestos has been loved for its durability and fire retardant properties. The Greek geographer Strabo and the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder noticed something wrong regarding asbestos workers. In fact, the ancient Greeks used asbestos for the funeral dress of kings that were to be cremated. Asbestos is also known as “magical mineral” due to the fact that it has such a natural composition that it is considered ideal for usage in anything from tiles to rooftops to road signs.
They went as far as calling asbestos “amiantus”, meaning “unpolluted.During the middle ages, it was believed that the Frankish king, Charlemagne had asbestos tablecloths. At the peak of its use and through the late 1980s, asbestos was used in more than 3,000 products in homes.A large number of products using asbestos are used in construction products. This harmless looking mineral has unleashed its lethal poison and claimed thousands of lives since the upsurge of the industrial revolution. In shipbuilding they use it for insulation of hot water pipes, steam pipes, and boilers.
As you may well know, asbestos is a substance that has seen extensive use during the twentieth century. Mesothelioma is a deadly cancer which is fairly rare although in the last few decades the number of people who have died from it have dramatically increased. The first recorded death due to asbestos was in 1906, further studies indicated an increase in lung related diseases in people that were around asbestos on a regular basis. The survey showed that asbestos related diseases are currently the main cause of work related ill health. The United Kingdom began regulating ventilation and established asbestosis as an “excusable work related disease” in the 1930s.
Mesothelioma lung cancer is a major disease brought about by being exposed to asbestos. Like many cancers, without continued support and attention, research and funding are not possible. For anyone who have work in the construction manufacturing companies that were use Asbestos in their products, you must make a check up instantly. Currently, many of these men are lodging million dollar lawsuits against the companies who exposed them to asbestos. There is no doubt that this is the least the company responsible can do. Today, victims exposed to asbestos are faced with mesothelioma cancer and certain death.What is Asbestos?
Asbestos is highly dangerous to you, your family and your pets.Definition of Asbestos To help you understand what asbestos is, asbestos is made up of a group of minerals. The mineral occurs naturally on the earth and it is usually mined and is commonly called asbestos. The wonder of this mineral is that it is fire resistant, chemical resistant, highly strong, and completely flexible and has very low electrical conductivity.
There is a strong link between mesothelioma and contact with asbestos particles via breathing or swallowing.There are three common forms of mesothelioma:1. Chrysolite or white asbestos is the only asbestos minerals that belong to the serpentine group. Included within the amphibole are amosite, tremolte, crocidolite and anthophyllite.
Asbestos is a deadly fiber that seems to have been used in pretty much every industry since its fire retardant, insulating, and strengthening properties were discovered. Asbestos fibers are stronger than steel, resistant to chemicals, resistant to high temperatures, it does not conduct electricity, and they are very flexible. It is lightweight, extremely strong, and can be woven into cloth or mixed with building materials such as concrete. Asbestos as also widely used in insulation because of its resistance to heat, electricity and chemical damage.
Even if you simply suspect the presence of asbestos, it is recommended that you have air samples taken by professionals.Often, asbestos-containing materials are safe when they remain undisturbed. Usually they pose little or no risk to the health of the individual.
It is also present in many materials such as vinyl floor tiles, pipes, adhesives and many other products.
‘Friable’ is used to refer to asbestos-containing materials that can be easily reduced to powder by hand, when dry. Consumer goods that use this material usually do not pose any risk to the health of the individual unless such products are damaged in such a way that releases fibers in the air.
It occurs mostly to persons who work in construction industry, ship building industry, automotive industry or other manufacturing industry where exposure to asbestos is common. Some of the products that normally contain asbestos are floor adhesives, door gaskets, boilers, furnace ducts, vinyl floor tiles, textured paint, fireproof gloves, asbestos cement roofing, etc.2.
Asbestos was commonly used as an insulation material, due to its strength and resistance to heat and fire. Asbestos has been used extensively in many industrial products such as cement, roof shingles, flooring products, insulation and textiles. Although the substance was banned for the most part in the late 1980s, it is still in many structures that were built before the ban.
There are also many other occupations that involve asbestos exposure. Large amounts of asbestos were used in shipbuilding and construction prior to the mid -1970’s.
Workers are constantly exposed to such wastes and constantly inhale or swallow these near invisible fibers. The fibers travel through the entire digestive tract and settle in some part of the digestive systems.
People who inhale the fibers first develop a problem called asbestosis.Asbestosis is the development of small scar tissue in the lungs due to the fibers of asbestos. For example it is difficult to distinguish between pleural mesothelioma and lung cancer. The diagnosis of mesothelioma lung cancer is very difficult and you have to undergo a couple of tests before there is conclusive evidence that you have the disease.
Mesothelioma is a rare and deadly form of cancer that affects the lining of the lung, lining of the abdominal cavity or the lining around the heart. Both the Greeks and Romans used asbestos-fiber napkins, which they would clean by throwing into the fire.In modern times, asbestos has been used for much the same reason. Types of asbestos: chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, actinolite and anthophyllite. Also, while mesothelioma takes 20 to 50 years to develop, asbestosis usually develops after 5 to 10 years to exposure to asbestos fibers. The most number of mesothelioma cases are occupational-related, while non-occupational related or secondary mesothelioma cases are not rare.
Lung cancer research receives much less funding, and general public takes much less interest in lung cancer. These tumors grow rapidly into larger tumors and can eventually spread throughout the body and into the chest, bones, spine or other organs. What is Lung Cancer?Lung cancer is almost always caused by cigarette smoking. Smoking increases the risk of death due to lung cancer for asbestos workers.The history of asbestos and how it is has endangered human mortality has plagued different societies since ancient times.
Asbestos was also used in ancient times to produce clothes. Warnings that the cancer has spread can be: a swollen neck, face and sometimes engorged arms. If this were the case in developed countries, then the situation in developing countries, which have neither banned asbestos nor given any occupational safety or precaution, is frightening. Many of the corporations that manufacture and make profit from the sale of asbestos-containing products are aware of the hazards of asbestos.