What are the dangers of Asbestos Exposure

Mining and commercial use of asbestos began in the 1800s, and grew significantly during World War II. The United States was the first country to issue laws banning the use of asbestos after irrefutable evidence came to light that asbestos was finding it's way into the environment.

The EPA felt that more control was required over the use of asbestos in the 1980's as it issued it's own laws controlling how and where asbestos was used by industry. There was much publicity about asbestos and many people today are aware of the dangers asbestos poses for the general public at large and also for the environment.

Asbestos fibre occurs naturally as fibre bundles and it was these that were mined to create asbestos used in industry. 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. Construction and manufacturing were ready willing and able to put asbestos to work in a wide variety of applications.

Asbestos was widely used in the home as well as the factory with asbestos being used in crayons as well as fire blankets. The construction industry had many uses for asbestos and any building built before legislation banning the use of asbestos almost certainly contains asbestos. 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.

Asbestos exposure is taken very serious, as some of the diseases associated with asbestos are untreatable. Asbestosis is probably the most common asbestos related disease, it is often seen as a severe shortness of breath caused by the lining of the lings becoming inflamed by the asbestos fibres.

A second common ailment of asbestosis is mesothelioma, which is a form of cancer affecting the major organs of the body. Pleural mesothelioma is a cancer that affects the lining of the lungs, pericardial mesothelioma affects the heart.

The health hazards of using asbestos although well known now have only been around since the 1970's. Asbestos exposure symptoms may take up to 50 years to show, it is for this reason that the medical profession took so long to links asbestos to the diseases that it causes.

Asbestos has been in a marked decline as soon as victims of asbestos exposure began to take legal action for compensation. Follow the right safety guidelines and it is legal for manufacturers to use 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.

Exposure To Asbestos In Recreational Vehicles
Exposure To Asbestos Ready Mix Concrete
Failure To Diagnose Asbestos Injury
Failure To Diagnose Asbestos Lawsuit
Failure To Diagnose Asbestos Settlement
Federal Grants For Asbestos Removal
Feline Exposure To Asbestos