What are the dangers of Asbestos Exposure

Industry's adoption of asbestos began during the 19th century and slowly increased until the second world was when it's use rose dramatically. Asbestos became a hot topic during the 1970's in the US when evidence of asbestos appearing in the environment caused legislation to control it's use in industry came into force.

The 1980's saw the Environmental Protection Agency take asbestos to task and issued laws stating that asbestos could only be used in uses, which it could be proven that asbestos had been used prior to the laws being passed. Although there has been much publicity about asbestos and many regulations passed either banning or controlling it's use many people are unaware of how harmful asbestos can be.

It is a mineral that occurs naturally in fibre bundles, and the bundles can be separated into individual fibers. It is the resistance to heat and chemicals that make asbestos so appealing to industry. The wide spread use of asbestos was because of the almost magical properties it possessed, gaining it many uses in manufacturing.

Asbestos was used to make joint compound, gaskets and various fire proofing aids. Asbestos can be found in many buildings constructed up until the 1980's as a fire suppressant as well as in use in adhesives. There are legal uses of asbestos, where it can be proven that asbestos will not be able to contaminate the environment then that use is considered legal.

Exposure to asbestos can be fatal as there are several possible asbestos related ailments, which are incurable. One of the most common diseases resulting from exposure to it is asbestosis, sometimes called asbestos lung, which is a chronic inflammation of the lungs that leads to shortness of breath, coughing, and even permanent lung damage.

Another disease caused by asbestos is a cancer of the lining around the major organs of the body called mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is often found around either the heart or lungs.

With centuries of the use of asbestos it may surprise many people to realise that it's health implications have only been known for a few decades. Because symptoms of exposure can take 10 to 50 years to show up, it took medical professionals a great deal of time to connect the disease to it.

Production of asbestos in Japan peaked in 1974 and went through ups and downs until about 1990, when production began to drop severely after is was proven that asbestos was dangerous to human health. Asbestos fibers are still legal, despite the hazards of exposure, only if manufacturers follow all legally required safety standards.

The author of this web articles has written many other articles about asbestos. If you are interested you can find links to some of their other work below.

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