What are the dangers of Asbestos Exposure

The Second World War was the time when asbestos was used the most by industry since it's introduction in the 19th century. The popularity of asbestos took a sudden dive when laws were passed in the 1970's in the USA that stopped the use of asbestos in certain consumer products.

The 1980's saw new laws passed on the use of asbestos in the US, further restricting the ways in which it could be used. There are probably not many people in the modern world who are not aware of the dangers of inhaling asbestos.

Asbestos bundles that occur naturally can be split into individual asbestos fibres. The reasons why asbestos was so popular with industry was that it has amazing resistance to heat and chemicals and it dose not conduct electricity. Manufacturing and construction were most willing to put asbestos to use in industry.

Stage curtains, caulk, joint compound as well as less obvious uses such as crayons are just some of the uses for asbestos. In the construction industry, asbestos fibers are used in ceiling tiles; paint that is lead based, plastics, adhesives, soundproofing material and insulation. The use of asbestos is legal as long as that use means that the asbestos will not come into contact with people or the environment.

Exposure to asbestos is serious; the health risks associated with asbestos are high because some of the illnesses caused by asbestos are incurable. Lung damage caused by breathing in asbestos fibres is called asbestosis; it causes permanent lung damage resulting in a shortness of breath.

After Asbestosis, the second major ailment resulting from asbestos exposure is mesothelioma, this is a cancer of the lining of the major organs. Symptoms of mesothelioma include weight loss and abdominal swelling and pain due to ascites (a build-up of fluid in the abdominal cavity).

Asbestos became more widespread during the industrial revolution; in the 1860s it was used as insulation in the U.S. and Canada, this is long before the modern world recognised the hazards of asbestos. The term Mesothelioma was not used in medical literature until 1931, and was not associated with asbestos until sometime in the 1940s.

A complete ban on asbestos containing material in Australia was introduced in 1991 although some building materials in storage were still being used in the years that followed. The legal case between Corrosion Proof Fittings v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency leaves many consumer products that can still legally contain trace amounts of asbestos.

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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