How Real Are Asbestos Health Risks?

 

 

The lungs are some of the most indispensable organs in the human body. Without them, it would be impossible to take in the life giving oxygen that makes human life possible.

 

Unfortunately, there are many diseases and even substances which can seriously impact the health of the lungs. One of the more well known of these dangerous products is known as Asbestos, and its health risks have been well documented for at least the past half century.

 

This article will provide information on the subject for those that may not have heard much about the many dangers of Asbestos. Along the way, questions that are relevant to the subject will be answered. These are, what is asbestos? How do asbestos health risks tend to develop? What are some of the dangerous medical conditions that have been linked to asbestos exposure?

 

What Is Asbestos?

Asbestos is an extremely fibrous rock forming mineral that is found in at least 6 varieties. These are often identified by their color, including blue, brown, white, and green asbestos.

 

Asbestos has been mined for thousands of years due to its many valuable properties. These include resistance to fire, high tensile strength, sound absorption, and relative inexpensiveness.

 

How Do Asbestos Health Risks Tend To Develop?

Asbestos fibers come in two basic classes: serpentine, and amphibole. Serpentine fibers are curly in shape, while amphibole type fibers are needle-like in shape.

 

Macroscopic asbestos fibers are visible to the naked eye, but each individual visible fiber is made up of millions of smaller fibers that cannot be seen with the naked eye. If the asbestos in question is disturbed in some way such as being abraded or torn, millions of these microscopic asbestos fibrils are released into the air. They are capable of hanging in the air for long periods of time, all the while being inhaled or swallowed by anyone present.

 

Microscopic and razor sharp asbestos fibrils that are ingested tend to become deeply lodged in the tissues of organs such as the lungs, stomach, and intestine. Here, they continually cut into the surrounding tissues, causing damage and ushering in the arrival of several deadly illnesses.

 

There are actually a significant number of class action lawsuits involving victims of asbestos exposure in litigation at this moment, so people with asbestos related illnesses would do well to contact their attorney, like those at Cohen, Placitella, Roth, for an immediate consultation.

 

What Are Some Dangerous Illnesses Related To Asbestos Exposure?

There are several potentially fatal illnesses that are related to exposure to asbestos. The most common ones are Asbestosis, Mesothelioma, and Lung Cancer.

 

Asbestosis is the least serious of these diseases. This condition causes inflammation of the lungs, and is characterized by symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing, and even permanent lung damage.

 

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that is distinct from lung cancer. It can affect the lining of the lungs, heart, abdomen, and the testes. Lung Cancer is a disease that needs no introduction. Sustained exposure to high levels of airborne asbestos has been shown to greatly increase the odds of contracting this disease.

 

While asbestos has been removed from many structures, its use was so widespread that there is still a lot of it lurking around. This means that for the time being, the risks of exposure remain. Anyone who has been exposed to airborne asbestos and is experiencing symptoms consistent with any of the aforementioned illnesses should contact their doctor immediately.

 

Categories: airborne asbestos, asbestos, asbestos exposure, asbestos fibers, asbestos fibrils, asbestos health, health, Health Risks, lung cancer, naked eye, Risks, risks tend

What is the link Between Asbestos and Lung Cancer?

Former England football player Ian Wright is the face of a new campaign to reduce the number of asbestos-related deaths, which have been increasing in numbers over the past few years. The campaign is being carried out by the Health and safety Executive, labelled Asbestos: The Hidden Killer, and has found that 20 tradesmen a week die in the UK from asbestos damaging the lungs. This is the biggest cause of work-related deaths in the UK, with more than 4000 deaths a year attributed to this toxic substance. The diseases caused by it include mesothelioma, which is a type of cancer that attacks the membrane around the lung, and the same form of lung cancer that’s caused by smoking. Many of these deaths are amongst tradesmen such as builders, plumbers and electricians, who are exposed to it in homes around the country. The campaign hope to raise awareness of the issue and help to limit the risk of this happening more.

 

According to the HSE there are many workers who don’t realise the risk they are exposed to each day, mainly because asbestos was banned many years ago. However, there are many buildings which still have it present – this poses a significant risk to people’s health. If buildings were constructed or refurbished before 2000, then it is likely that they may have asbestos in them. It’s thought that around half a million buildings have it present in them. If a home or building has asbestos in it, and the fibres are disturbed by building work, for example, then the deadly dust could be inhaled either by tradesmen or by the people living in the building. The campaign states that the importance lies in educating tradespeople on the dangers of asbestos and how it is relevant to them. Changing the way they work could save their lives – campaigners hope that promoting the issue could help this take place. Tom King, 64, developed the life-threatening mesothelioma when his lungs were exposed to the dangerous asbestos on a job when we was working as a carpenter. He’d had no training in how to remove it, so he used to just throw it in skips when he found it in buildings. After having terrible chest pains and breathlessness in 2006, he visited his doctor – after having x-ray, it was diagnosed that he had mesothelioma. There is no cure for this form of cancer, but chemotherapy and radiotherapy can prolong life and improve your symptoms.

If you work in places that could be more at risk, then there are ways to reduce your risk. To begin with, you should contact the HSE for advice. You should avoid working with asbestos where you can, and if you’re not sure if it is present you should find out before beginning the job. Your boss or client should tell you if there is asbestos present before you begin work. Only a licensed contractor should deal with asbestos that’s present in sprayed coating, board or on pipes and boilers. You can only continue to work where asbestos is present if you’ve had training and you’re using the right equipment. To ensure that you minimise the dust from asbestos, use hand tools instead of power tools, and keep your materials damp but not wet. Cleaning up as you go with a vacuum cleaner can help to minimise the dust in the air and on your equipment, too. Proper masks that are suited to this kind of work are best used at all times as well.

Categories: asbestos, asbestos exposure, buildings, Campaigns, lung cancer, present, related deaths, risk, work