Mesothelioma Risk:  Asbestos is Bad for Your Health

You have probably heard about the mass torts against manufacturing companies that extensively used asbestos in their production.  The issues may seem vague and irrelevant to you, thus you may not pay attention to the current asbestos-related noise.  However, these asbestos controversies are very real and are more than relevant to you.  Asbestos contamination is not limited to the factories and communities immediately around them.  At this very moment, you and your family may be living in an asbestos-contaminated home.

Asbestos

Asbestos is a mineral composed of minute fibers that are discernible only through the use of a microscope.  Asbestos is a very popular building material because it is naturally resistant to heat and fire.  It is also naturally resistant to most chemicals.  As such, asbestos has found its way to almost all building materials known to man.

Applications and Uses of Asbestos

Asbestos was widely used in shipbuilding activities.  Boilers which are subject to extreme temperatures were improved and insulated through the use of asbestos.  The same was done for hot water and steam pipes.  The construction industry found out that addition of asbestos strengthened concretes.  As such, asbestos was used to make roads, concrete walls, and concrete roof shingles and sidings.

The manufacturers of building materials enhanced vinyl floorings, tiles and fireproofing products with the addition of asbestos.  The automotive industry used asbestos in their gaskets, clutch facings and brake linings.  The makers of appliances used asbestos to insulate the doors of ovens and furnaces.  The manufacturers of electrical products utilized asbestos in insulating their electrical wires and switchboards.

These are just some of the current applications of asbestos. Asbestos is also found in gardening materials, paints, adhesives, heat-resistant table pads and mats, and crayons.  Asbestos consistently and unerringly found its way to every type of product currently known to man.

Asbestos Risks

Asbestos, by its very nature, carries a grave health hazard.  Its fibers are very easily inhaled.  These microscopic fibers find their ways to the lungs and to some other cavities (when it is inhaled, coughed up and subsequently swallowed) and wreak havoc there.

Mesothelioma is the cancer of the mesothelial cells caused by asbestos.  The mesothelial cells make up the inner lining of the lungs among other cavities.  Mesothelioma is a fatal disease that generally has a very poor prognosis.  The fact that this cancer lays dormant for years before making its presence felt makes it very deadly.  A person could go through 10-15 years of his life without knowing that he has mesothelioma.  The symptoms exhibited do not indicate the necessary diagnostic examinations.  In consequence, diagnosis is almost always late.

Lung cancer is another risk associated with asbestos inhalation.  In this case, instead of affecting the inner membrane of the lungs asbestos causes the formation of cancerous lung cells.  The same difficulties with the diagnosis of mesothelioma are inherent in lung cancer.

Asbestosis is another asbestos-caused disease and it is a direct effect of asbestos fiber accumulation in the lungs.  The lungs react to the asbestos fiber and the human body tries to neutralize them.  The result is scar and fibrous tissue which blocks oxygen passage.

How to Avoid the Mesothelioma  Risks

If you want to avoid the health hazards that asbestos presents, the first thing you have to do is avoid working in asbestos-contaminated environments.  Factories that use asbestos in their production of insulation sheets and such should be avoided at all costs.

Your home is another place you can try to free of asbestos.  If you are going to build one, steer clear of building materials that have asbestos components.  You must also try to avoid buying appliances and other home accessories and furnishings that make use of asbestos.  This should not be so hard to do since the government has already banned new uses of asbestos.  The companies who previously used asbestos in construction are trying to avoid litigation by reforming their production methods and processes to exclude asbestos.

For those who already own a home, you can try to minimize asbestos-related hazards by asking for professional help when repairing or replacing materials that may have asbestos.  You must not abrade, drill, scrape, strip floorings and walls and other parts of your house which may have asbestos in their make up since doing any of these may damage the material and release asbestos into the air.

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