Asbestos and Health
The Ill Effects of this Naturally Occurring Mineral
Learn the different types of asbestos used in industry, its effects on health and asbestos removal methods.
Asbestos is naturally occurring mineral that has excellent heat resistance and sound proofing qualities. Because of this it has been widely used in construction throughout the last hundred years. It was not until the latter part of the last century that exposure to asbestos was related to serious health dangers.
What is Asbestos
Asbestos is the name given to a number of fibrous silicate minerals with useful properties such as thermal insulation, chemical and thermal stability, and high tensile strength. Asbestos was commonly used as an acoustic insulator, and in thermal insulation, fire proofing and other building materials. It was also used in many household items such as ironing boards and cooking utensils.
There are a number of types of asbestos. Chrysotile asbestos is a curly twisted type of fiber, most commonly used for industrial purposes and is also known as white asbestos. Amosite (brown asbestos) and Crocidolite (Blue Asbestos) are the two other most common forms of asbestos and they tend to have straight and needle like fibers.
How Asbestos Affects Health
Asbestos of itself is not dangerous, it is only when asbestos fibers are released and enter the airways that serious asbestos health effects can occur. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “The most dangerous asbestos fibers are too small to be visible. After they are inhaled, they can remain and accumulate in the lungs. Asbestos can cause lung cancer, mesothelioma (a cancer of the chest and abdominal linings), and asbestosis (irreversible lung scarring that can be fatal).”
Asbestosis is usually associated with people who worked in the asbestos industry itself or with those that used asbestos as lagging or as a covering for girders. According to the Mayo Clinic, “People most likely to develop asbestosis are those who've been exposed to asbestos for a long time. Most people with asbestosis acquired it on the job before the federal government began regulating the use of asbestos and asbestos products in the mid-1970s.”
Mesothelioma, according to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, “is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by previous exposure to asbestos”. According to an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 353, in Oct. 2005, titled "Advances in Malignant Mesothelioma" by B.W. Robinson and R.A. Lake, the latency period of Mesothelioma from first exposure to clinical disease can be from 10 to 50 years. It is this type of exposure that is most worrisome to people who do not have any connection with the asbestos industry. When asbestos fibers are breathed into the airways, they can pierce the cells that line the lungs and the airways. Because asbestos does not decay, these fibers can remain for years in the body, forcing the immune system to produce chemicals to try to dissolve these fibers. Such chemicals, produced by the body itself can cause Mesothelioma.
Where Asbestos is Found
Because of its previous widespread use, asbestos can be found in many places. The EPA advises that it is not possible to identify asbestos without microscopic examination so asbestos inspection should be done by qualified people. Most developed western countries have now banned or restricted severely the use of asbestos, but it can still be found in older homes and in some old public buildings and even in some schools and hospitals.
Asbestos Removal
According to the US EPA, asbestos in the home that is undamaged, in good condition and not likely to be interfered with is best left alone. Should a homeowner need to remove asbestos it is best to get in a qualified contractor to do so or to get in contact with their local authority who will have a list of approved asbestos removal firms available. Asbestos removal from industrial premises is another matter altogether and most governments have strict rules on the people who can do such work and on the methods used.
Many developed nations have banned the mining and use of asbestos including the European Union and a handful of other countries, such as Chile, Croatia, Australia, Argentina, and Saudi Arabia. The United States has severely restricted the use of asbestos, but has not yet banned it outright. Several countries, especially those who continue to make money from the mining of asbestos, consistently fight against asbestos bans.
