Asbestos is the term used to refer to a group of six naturally occurring minerals and it has been widely used in various industrial applications as it is highly resistant to heat, chemicals and does not conduct electricity.
The use of asbestos has been regulated in 1970 by the Environmental Protection Agency because it has been found to be extremely dangerous for workers and their families, causing mesothelioma and other illnesses. Thus, most people think of it as a historical threat, without knowing that even nowadays a great number of workers are at risk of cancer from asbestos exposure.
Tom Carson, aged 61, is one of the few people suffering from an asbestos-related disease that managed to live more than one year after the diagnosis. Only
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However, after 2 weeks of investigating the patient’s medical history and performing various blood tests and imaging scans, cancer specialists have managed to establish a connection between Tom’s confusing symptoms and workplace. A tumor biopsy that has been taken and analyzed confirmed the doctors’ suspicions and on 22nd of November 2015, Tom has been diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma.
Even though no cure for this illness has been found, Tom undergoes a multimodal treatment in order to stay alive for as long as possible. This multimodal approach combines surgery, chemotherapy and radiation and has been proved to be more efficient than the mentioned treatments alone. Luckily for Tom, whose disease has been discovered pretty late, the surgery was still possible to perform.
Working with asbestos-containing products require appropriate protective equipment, something that Tom never had. The ELG has helped him get his rightful compensation from the company he dedicated his life to. He hopes that by sharing his story, he will raise awareness about the various possibilities of asbestos exposure amongst workers and help decreasing the exposure rate in the
When you build serious health issues as a result of previous exposure to asbestos a person search for your products and services of an expert asbestos mesothelioma lawyer. These kind of specific law offices undoubtedly are a particular edge to help your self for several reasons:
Daniel Jenkins, testified for the asbestos-insulation manufacturers for several years. Also, Dr. Leary, a physician specialized in chest diseases who worked for Travelers Insurance Company, diagnosed Tomplait with emphysema, and did not mention asbestosis. Leary’s finding was completely refuted when Dr. Selikoff reviewed Tomplait’s X-rays and said that his diagnosis of extensive pulmonary asbestosis is “as certain as anything can be in medicine”. Asbestos manufacturing companies and their lawyer similarly, denied knowledge of the association between asbestos exposure and lung disease, and argued consistently in every lawsuit that this association wasn’t known until Selikoff’s landmark article that was published in 1964. It was made conspicuous, however, that “literally hundreds of studies were published” in the 1920s and 1930s on the association between asbestos exposure and asbestosis. Stephenson was also able to compile a bibliography of 86 articles on asbestosis most of them published before 1938. Another example of the unethical conduct was what Dr. Cooper (an occupational health professor) said about not being able to have known that a 15% asbestos product would be unsafe in 1961, and that the early studies conducted in England, were on workers who were exposed to a lot heavier asbestos dust. Dr. Cooper also referred to a study conducted in 1945 by Fleisher et al that found low incidence (0.3%) of asbestosis among asbestos pipe covers (3 out of 1074). Despite the low incidence, the authors recommended the use of exhaust ventilation and to keep the total dust concentration low. In Fleisher’s study125, the majority (95%) of workers had been employed for less than 10 years, way less than the needed latency period to develop the disease. It is also a
Australia has the world’s second highest rate of mesothelioma. Each year about 700 people in Australia die from mesothelioma or asbestosis, according to Safe Work Australia, an Australian government statutory agency designated to improve work health and safety and workers’ compensation arrangements. Mesothelioma rates in Australia have climbed since the 1960s, initially from those exposed while working in mining and manufacturing professions, and now among home renovators, making it critical that better treatments are
Another explanation behind the expansion in these Mesothelioma litigation cases could be on account of numerous individuals who have been determined to have Mesothelioma or lung cancer because of asbestos introduction don't understand when or where they were presented to this unsafe synthetic, making it troublesome and to a great degree tedious to locate the definite guilty party of the
Asbestos related illnesses will continue to be a problem until all asbestos and asbestos-like materials are banned. Given the abatement processes are costly and require special training, this proves to be a very difficult process.
Despite being banned in Australia nowadays, asbestos can still be found in most of older construction, residential and commercial area as well as abandoned mining site. Studies show that the building workers, specifically the plumbers, gas fitters, carpenters and electricians the highest risk of getting mesothelioma, disease from asbestos fibres (Peto, J., Hodgson, J.T., Matthews, F.T., & Jacqueline, R., 1995). According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the number of mesotheliomas ' cases are increasing and expected to reach 18000 in recent. Though the asbestos is known as hazardous material, it can only affect the health if the asbestos fibres become airborne and are inhaled. The primary route for the asbestos to enter the body is through the inhalation processes of the contaminated air (Safework Australia, 2011). Unusually, small fibrous particles of
Before we come to possible treatments and palliative care, let's have a look at what causes it and why we are still seeing new cases today after asbestos was banned for construction use in the 1970s.
People working in mining, plumbing, insulating and electronic are at risk. Asbestos are made of up fibers found in soil and rock which when inhaled cause inflammation and alveolitis. The macrophages that release, “toxic oxygen free radicals and cause cellular apoptosis, leading to both fibrosis and malignancy” (McCance & Huether, 2014).
Veterans are a special group. Unfortunately, today men and women are at higher risk than the general population for developing asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma cancer. Of this group rely on asbestos past, the main cause of the disease, and the results of these operations as they leave the VA do private service. Asbestos is making it a useful tool for all branches of the military so once was considered for the heat-resistant and fire correction. Ships, tanks, cars, all modes of transportation, such as military aircraft are contained asbestos.
Mesothelioma is a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos without sufficient protection over one’s mouth and nose. Asbestos is a fibrous mineral which was discovered in the 1860s but not properly used until the 1930s. Asbestos was used hugely in construction due to its property of being fireproof even at high temperatures. It was not until the 1960s that it became clear that asbestos was causing a number of diseases. These diseases include mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer.
On July 12, 1989 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its final rule banning most asbestos-containing products. Later, it was overturned in court two years.
Despite all those uses, asbestos remains a danger to human health. Breathing in these microscopic fibers can cause a variety of respiratory illnesses like asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer. Asbestos fibers become easily airborne, especially during regular maintenance of machinery or materials containing the mineral, construction and repair work or demolition.
Asbestos in the home can be very dangerous. It is very common for homes built or remodeled before the 1970’s to have asbestos-containing materials in them. During the twentieth century, about 30 million tons of asbestos fibers were used in the United States, and some of this asbestos ended up in residential buildings. If you have purchased a home or are considering the purchase of one, the presence of asbestos is nor necessarily a problem. The majority of individuals with asbestos related diseases have been in the business of manufacturing, installing and/or removing asbestos products. Fortunately, most people exposed to small amounts of asbestos do not develop asbestos related health problems. However, there is no known “safe” level of exposure, therefore, all exposure to asbestos should be avoided.
Despite its popular qualities, it was discovered that when asbestos is airborne and inhaled, it could cause lung cancer. Today, there are regulations in place that attempt to ban the substance, limit its exposure, and safely remove the substance from existing structures. According to Larson in Table 6.1 “Chemical Carcinogens in the Workplace”, asbestos is a chemical carcinogen that can be found in the workplace and poses a great danger to workers:
In the movie “Libby, Montana”, I learned a lot about asbestos that I had no clue of in the past. Asbestos is a “is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals, which all have in common their eponymous asbestiform habit: long (roughly 1:20 aspect ratio), thin fibrous crystals, with each visible fiber composed of millions of microscopic "fibrils" that can be released by abrasion and other processes. They are commonly known by their colors, as "blue asbestos", "brown asbestos", "white asbestos", and green asbestos. Asbestos mining began more than 4,000 years ago, but did not start large-scale until the end of the 19th century, when manufacturers and builders began using asbestos because of its desirable physical properties sound absorption, average tensile strength, its resistance to fire, heat, electrical and chemical damage, and affordability. It was used in such applications as electrical insulation for hotplate wiring and in building insulation. When asbestos is used for its resistance to fire or heat, the fibers are often mixed with cement or woven into fabric or mats. These desirable properties made asbestos a very widely used material, and its use continued to grow throughout most of the 20th century until the carcinogenic effects of asbestos dust caused its effective demise as a mainstream construction and fireproofing material in most countries. However, around 2 million tons of asbestos were still mined per year as of 2009, half in Russia.” Asbestos was found