Asbestos Side Effects

Side Effects of Asbestos Exposure

The side effects resulting from asbestos exposure have been a topic of great concern in recent years. Asbestos has been identified as a carcinogen (cancer-causing substance) by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. No level of exposure to asbestos is known to be safe, and in fact, inhaled asbestos fibers can have serious side effects on human health. Smoking or exposure to cigarette smoke, combined with exposure to asbestos, greatly increases the likelihood of developing lung cancer.

The greater the amount and time of exposure to asbestos, the greater the risk of developing serious side effects, such as malignant mesothelioma. The length of time between exposure to asbestos and the first signs of disease can be as much as 50 years.


Malignant Mesothelioma

Malignant mesothelioma is one of the more serious side effect of asbestos exposure. Mesothelioma is a very serious form of cancer affecting the smooth lining of the chest, lungs, heart and abdomen. Between 2,000 and 3,000 new cases of malignant mesothelioma are diagnosed in the United States each year - and this number continues to rise.

Mesothelioma often goes undetected until symptoms appear - typically decades after the initial asbestos exposure. While advances are being made almost daily in mesothelioma research and treatments, at this time malignant mesothelioma is considered to be a terminal disease. As in all cancers, early diagnosis and treatment offer the best hope for a favorable outcome in a patient with malignant mesothelioma.


Other Side Effects of Asbestos Exposure

Besides causing cancer, breathing asbestos can also cause a side effect called asbestosis, a slow accumulation of scar-like tissue in the lungs. Because the scar-like tissue does not expand and contract like normal lung tissue, breathing becomes difficult and blood flow to the lung may be decreased, causing the heart to enlarge. Changes in the lining of the lungs-such as thickening and fluid around the lungs-may be early signs of asbestos-related side effects.

The side effects from swallowing asbestos are less clear. Some people who have been exposed to asbestos fibers in their drinking water have higher-than-average death rates from cancer of the esophagus, stomach, and intestines; however, a definite link to asbestos exposure has not been determined in these cases.

When asbestos fibers penetrate the skin, non-malignant warts may emerge as another unpleasant side effect of asbestos exposure.

Harmful Exposure Of Asbestos

If you think you have had any asbestos exposure, you should contact a doctor immediately. Inhaling the small, sliver-like shards of this mineral, used in insulation in older homes and businesses can be extremely hazardous to your health, especially after prolonged exposure.

If you have only had one or two short exposures to this mineral, you should be able to breath easy, however, if you work in an office or have lived in a home that has been ridden with asbestos for decades, you may have already done some serious harm to yourself. Asbestos easily becomes airborne, especially friable asbestos. When inhaled, these small shards attach themselves onto the lining of your lungs and into your lung tissue as well as in your airways. Over time, with continuous asbestos exposure, these imbedded shards can become inflamed and turn into cancerous tumors called Mesothelioma or lung cancer. Both cancers are very difficult cancer to treat.

Clean up can occur to cease any more asbestos exposure. Companies are available that specialize solely in the removal of asbestos. This is a pricey conquest and certainly not an easy task, but it will prove to be invaluable when you are no longer subjecting yourself or others to this dangerous chemical. When a company comes in to remove the asbestos, it generally requires the removal of the insulation itself, which means tearing down the drywall.

The proper protective gear is worn during this time as well as well ventilated breathing masks. Most people employed by asbestos removal companies are asked to not have facial hair to lessen the risk of any asbestos "clinging" onto the hair and risking the chance of inhalation. It is imperative that the material remains wet at all times as friable asbestos, when dry, is the worst asbestos exposure. Once the asbestos is removed, it is placed inside a protective container and taken to a landfill that accepts asbestos disposal. Many landfills do not accept this chemical, so make sure to call ahead. It is possible to take on the task of removing the asbestos yourself, but trusting a reliable company to do the work for you will ensure that it is done correctly and will lessen your risk of asbestos exposure if you do not do it right the first time. Your health is not anything to play around with and it is important not to take any risks, especially when hazardous chemicals are involved.

Asbestos & Mesothelioma Lawyers

Before asbestos was found to be a potential cause for cancer, it was seen as a great building material. Therefore it was used a lot, and both workers who installed it and employees who worked in these buildings were unknowingly exposed to a cancerous element. These people are only now seeing the effects of their exposure to asbestos, and are bringing cases against the companies that either installed it or owned the buildings. The cases are increasing, causing a need for a specialized brand of lawyer - the mesothelioma lawyer.

Some types of asbestos that can cause cancer:

• Amosite
• Anthophyllite
• Chrysotile
• Crocidolite

Mesothelioma Lawyers and the Courtroom

Though has not yet been definitively proven that asbestos cause Mesothelioma, many studies have been done to prove a link between the two... enough studies to make mesothelioma lawyers very busy. The asbestos is made of loosely bonded fibers, which can easily be separated. These fibers can float in the air and easily get into your respiratory system. Before these studies, when asbestos was used as a common material, no one suggested the need for proper safety procedures - a fact that mesothelioma lawyers point to as a reason their clients now have this form of cancer.

Mesothelioma

Mesolthelioma is a form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Asbestos is made up of tiny fibers, often used to make insulation in homes, schools and other buildings. This disease attacks the lining of the heart, lungs and abdomen.

Since asbestos can be found in basic building materials, those at risk for mesolthelioma are largely, but not limited to, construction workers who built our buildings through the seventies. The danger of using this natural occuring mineral was either unkonwn or ignored by health officals. One danger of the disease is that the symptoms are similar to those of general aging, and many people tend to ignore them until more severe, and potentially fatal symptoms occur.

Asbestos Oddities Found in the Home and on eBay

by: amianthus

Since 1873 asbestos research and application began bringing safety, comfort and economy to millions of people. By the 1950's and 60's nearly an alphabet of products contained asbestos. Like asbestos, a natural oddity, this guide will deal with some of the more peculiar asbestos-containing materials that found there way into our everyday life.

Asbestos, to start, is derived from the Greek word 'unquenchable' or 'inextinguishable'. Asbestos is actually a commercial term for a naturally occuring mineral that could be one of six minerals that are fibrous, resistant to acid and alkaline solutions and stable at high temperatures.

Commercially, the asbestos mineral could be seperated by fibers to produce a mass of fibers that could be used in weaving cloth or be added to other building products such as cement to create an estimated 3,000 different materials.

From those 3,000 a few oddoties have been available on eBay. These oddoties are as follows:

* Sports Equipment Padding
* Books and Pages
* Cigarette Filter
* Home Hot Pads
* Artificial Snow
* Modeling Clay
* Sad Irons
* Tokens, Tags and Poker Chips

Sports Equipment Padding - Padding for sports equipment has evolved from bulk cotton and bulk wool to wool tubing, jute, pressed wool felt, and asbestos felt. Padding was used in baseball gloves and football helmets.

Books and Pages - Asbestos in book making has a long history as paper that resists high temperature, humidity, chemicals, micro-organisms, rodents and the sun rays. Also two books have been bound in asbestos cloth as promotional items.

Cigarette Filters - The P. Lorillard Company produced Kent cigarettes between 1952 and 1956 with a 'Micronite' filter. This filter was made of Crocidolite asbestos.

Home Hot Pads - Modern comfort and convenience in the home would be inconceivable without this mineral curiosity. Iron holders, mats and pads are just a few of the items lined or made with asbestos. These household items proved to be indispensable in protecting from heat and fire.

Modeling Clay - As a home made 'Asbestos Meal' in the children's craft book published in 1949 by the Children's Press Inc. of Chicago, Il. to a manufactured product called 'Fibro-Clay' by Milton-Bradley Company in 1967.

Sad Irons - Old style of iron placed on the top of a wood or coal stove and heated. The most common style of 'asBESTos' sad irons were manufactured by Dover Manufacturing Co. and consisted of a solid iron core with an asbestos-lined hood. The hood was also the handle that would clamp over the heated iron.

Tokens, Tags and Poker Chips - Carnival tokens, army dog tags and poker chips were all made out of a asbestos vulcanite material in various colors and numerous advertisements.

These oddoties and more can and have been found for sale on eBay. Use the Asbestos Historical Products and Literature guide for help searching.

Asbestos: A Lesson in Shame

Cancer Monthly, LLC

How can a tiny mineral kill tens of thousands of people and cost industry billions of dollars?

It's actually pretty simple when the mineral is a carcinogen called asbestos and companies tried to hide its dangers.

Outrageous Behavior Leads to Death Sentences

We are all vulnerable when companies act outrageously. If a corporation discovers that its products contain a substance that is dangerous to human health we want companies to do the right thing and warn employees and consumers and get the danger out of the product fast. But history has shown that such expectations are often unrealistic.

We have all heard about the exploding Ford Pinto and the more recent children's toys from China filled with lead, but asbestos is the classic example of industry's greed, belligerence, and criminal behavior that kills innocent people.

Asbestos was put into thousands of products - cigarette filters, hair dryers, brakes, basement and roof materials, pipes, boilers, insulation, and many other products found throughout the home and at work. Millions of people were exposed to this carcinogen and, as a result, many have been diagnosed with asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. These diseases tend to be incurable and deadly. For example, people with mesothelioma generally have a life expectancy of less than a year.

"Deadly Hug" from Parents to Children

Children were also vulnerable especially if the parent worked with or near asbestos. Parents would often bring the dust home on their clothes. The so-called "deadly hug" would follow. Children greeted their parents with a hug and the dust would be transferred from parent to child. Many of these children are also diagnosed with asbestos caused diseases years later.

Chronology of Shame

The following are just a sample of events that occurred that provided companies with knowledge that asbestos was dangerous. This information comes primarily from two books: "Outrageous Misconduct: The Asbestos Industry on Trial," written by Paul Brodeur and "Asbestos: Medical and Legal Aspects," written by Barry I. Castleman.

• 1922: Louis Dublin, a statistician for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, writes that asbestos workers are at risk of injury to the lungs.


• 1930: One major asbestos company, Johns-Manville, produces a report, for internal company use only, detailing the fatalities and medical injuries of asbestos workers.


• 1932: A letter from the United States Bureau of Mines to asbestos manufacturer Eagle-Picher states, "It is now known that asbestos dust is one of the most dangerous dusts to which man is exposed."
  
• 1933: Metropolitan Life Insurance Company doctors find that 29% of the workers at one Johns-Manville plant are suffering from asbestosis. Johns-Manville settles lawsuits by eleven employees on the condition that the lawyer for the employees agrees that he will not bring any new actions against Johns-Manville.


• 1934: Officials at Johns-Manville and Raybestos Manhattan, rewrite an article about the diseases of asbestos workers written by a Metropolitan Life Insurance Company doctor to minimize the danger of asbestos dust.


• 1935: Johns-Manville and Raybestos Manhattan instruct the editor of Asbestos Magazine to publish nothing about asbestosis.
  
• 1936: A group of asbestos companies agree to sponsor research on the health effects of asbestos dust, but require that the companies have complete control over the disclosure of the results.
  
• 1942: An Owens Corning corporate memorandum refers to "medical literature on asbestosis . . . [and] scores of publications in which the lung and skin hazards of asbestos are discussed."
  
• 1942-43: The president of Johns-Manville says that the managers of another company were "a bunch of fools for notifying employees who had asbestosis." When one of the people in attendance ask, "Do you mean to tell me you would let them work until they drop dead?" According to deposition testimony, the response was, "Yes. We save a lot of money that way."
  
• 1944: Metropolitan Life Insurance Company finds 42 cases of asbestosis among 195 asbestos miners.
  
• 1944: The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that asbestos is one of the "agents known or suspected to cause occupational cancer."
  
• 1951: Asbestos companies remove all references to cancer before allowing publication of research they sponsor concerning exposure to asbestos.
  
• 1953: National Gypsum's safety director wrote to the Indiana Division of Industrial Hygiene, recommending that acoustic plaster mixers wear respirators "because of the asbestos used on the product." Another company official notes that the letter was "full of dynamite," and urges that the letter be retrieved before reaching its destination. A memo from those files notes that the company "succeeded in stopping" the letter which "will be modified."
  
• 1964: Dr. Irving Selikoff publishes a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, proving that people who work with asbestos containing materials have an abnormal incidence of asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma.
  
• 1989 and 1991: In 1989, the United States Environmental Protection Agency bans asbestos and most of its uses, but, in 1991, asbestos companies win a federal lawsuit which overturns the EPA's asbestos ban.

Civil Liability "Hits Them Where They Hurt"

You can only keep a secret so long. These facts and many others finally did come out. Because workers and consumers were exposed to asbestos thanks to the outrageous behavior of these companies, these corporations were now exposed to civil liability costing billions of dollars. But money, no matter how much, does not reimburse for a dead father or mother or brother or sister. More than anything, the money hits corporations where they hurt. It punishes them because for decades they placed profits above human life.

Lessons in Shame?

But, you will note that while the EPA tried to ban asbestos in this country, some asbestos companies were able to overturn the ban. This means that asbestos, albeit in much smaller concentrations, is still used in some products in the U.S. especially products imported from countries with lax environmental rules.

So what are the lessons? They are not new. One is that companies will act belligerently, irresponsibly and dangerously if they decide it is in their best interest to do so. Another lesson is that even when the truth comes out, it does not mean that the problem goes away. Asbestos is still here and people are being diagnosed with asbestos caused disease, including deadly cancers, from exposure decades before.

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How many will die before the mesothelioma dust settles?

Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Connie Schultz
Plain Dealer Columnist

It happens in large families all the time: Parents organize kids by age and ability and divvy up the chores.

Kati Maloney was the second-oldest daughter of eight, and her job was the laundry. Week after week, she gathered and sorted the clothes in the family's basement on Cleveland's West Side.

Her father's work clothes took extra effort. She'd grab one shirt at a time, turn her head and shake. With every snap, dust particles from asbestos filled the air.

Week after week, Kati breathed in the dust.

Four decades later, Kati couldn't breathe anymore.

Kathleen Maloney LoPresti died at 55 from mesothelioma, the same asbestos-related disease that killed her father and her uncle. Unlike her dad, she never worked directly with the deadly "magic mineral."
But she took good enough care of him for it to kill her anyway.

The question looms: How many more Kati's are there?

"We know the secondary victims of asbestos are out there," said Dr. Pasi Janne, a thoracic oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and one of Kati's doctors. "We don't know how many there are, and we don't know yet if they're mostly women."

It may be getting easier to connect the dots from what we do know.

So far, mostly white, male laborers get mesothelioma, Janne said. They were the guys who got the better-paying, often union, jobs that exposed them to asbestos, which also increased their chances of lung cancer.

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