The Dangers of Exposure to Asbestos

Before it was banned, asbestos was widely used in commercial products. According to studies, exposure to asbestos can cause cancer and many other health problems.

It is difficult to tell by looking at something if it is made up of asbestos. You cannot smell or taste it. It is only discovered when asbestos-containing materials are drilled, chipped or broken.

Chrysotile

At its height, chrysotile provided for 99percent of the asbestos that was produced. It was widely used in industries, including construction insulation, fireproofing, and insulation. If workers are exposed to asbestos, they can develop mesothelioma as well as other asbestos-related diseases. Since the 1960s, when mesothelioma was first becoming a concern the use of asbestos has been drastically reduced. It is still found in many of the products we use in the present.

Chrysotile is safe to use provided you have a comprehensive safety and handling program in place. Personnel handling chrysotile aren't exposed to an unreasonable amount of risk based on the current limit of exposure. Inhaling airborne fibers has been linked with lung fibrosis and lung cancer. This has been confirmed for both the intensity (dose) and duration of exposure.

In one study, mortality rates were compared between a manufacturing facility that primarily used Chrysotile for the production of friction materials and national death rates. It was found that, for 40 years of preparing asbestos chrysotile at low levels of exposure there was no significant additional mortality in this factory.

As opposed to other forms of asbestos, chrysotile fibers tend to be shorter. They are able to enter the lungs and pass into the bloodstream. This makes them more likely to cause health effects than fibrils with a longer length.

It is extremely difficult for chrysotile fibres to be a threat to the air or pose any health risk when mixed with cement. Fibre cement products are extensively used in a variety of locations around the world including hospitals and schools.

Research has demonstrated that amphibole asbestos, such as amosite or crocidolite is not as likely than chrysotile to cause diseases. These amphibole forms have been the primary cause of mesothelioma and various asbestos-related diseases. When the cement and chrysotile are combined, a durable and flexible product is created that can withstand extreme environmental hazards and weather conditions. It is also simple to clean after use. Asbestos fibers can be easily removed by a professional and safely eliminated.

Amosite

Asbestos is a category of fibrous silicates found in a variety of rock formations. It is divided into six groups including amphibole (serpentine) and the tremolite (tremolite), anthophyllite (crocidolite) and anthophyllite.

Asbestos minerals consist of long, thin fibers that range in length from fine to broad. They can also be straight or curled. They are present in nature as individual fibrils, or as bundles with splaying ends called fibril matrix. Asbestos can also be found in a powder form (talc) or mixed with other minerals to make talcum powder or vermiculite. These are commonly used in consumer products such as baby powder cosmetics, and even face powder.

Asbestos was used extensively in the first two thirds of the 20th century for shipbuilding, insulation, fireproofing, and various other construction materials. The majority of occupational exposures were asbestos fibres that were borne in the air, but certain workers were exposed to toxic talc or vermiculite and to pieces of asbestos-bearing rocks (ATSDR 2001). Exposures varied according to the type of industry, the time period and geographic location.

The majority of asbestos exposures at work were due to inhalation, but certain workers were exposed through contact with skin or by eating food contaminated with asbestos. Asbestos can be found in the environment due to the natural weathering of mined minerals and deterioration of contaminated products like insulation, car brakes, clutches, as well as floor and ceiling tiles.

There is evidence to suggest that amphibole fibers that are not commercially available could also be carcinogenic. These are fibres do not have the tight woven fibrils of the amphibole or bronxville asbestos lawyer serpentine minerals but instead are flexible, loose and needle-like. These fibers can be found in mountains, sandstones and cliffs of a variety of countries.

Asbestos may enter the environment in many ways, including as airborne particles. It is also able to leach into water or soil. This is caused by both natural (weathering of asbestos-bearing rocks) and anthropogenic sources (disintegration of asbestos-containing wastes as well as disposal in landfill sites). Asbestos contamination of ground and surface water is largely associated with natural weathering, however it has also been triggered by anthropogenic activities such as milling and mining, demolition and dispersal of asbestos-containing materials as well as the disposal of contaminated dumping soil in landfills (ATSDR 2001). Exposure to asbestos-containing airborne fibres remains the main cause of illness in people exposed to it occupationally.

Crocidolite

Inhalation exposure is the most popular method of exposure to asbestos fibres. The fibres can penetrate the lungs and cause serious health problems. This includes asbestosis and mesothelioma. Exposure to the fibres can occur in different ways, like contact with contaminated clothes or building materials. This type of exposure is particularly dangerous when crocidolite (the blue asbestos form) is involved. Crocidolite fibers are softer and less brittle and therefore easier to breathe in. They also can get deeper into lung tissue. It has been associated with more mesothelioma cancer cases than other types of asbestos.

The six major types of asbestos are chrysotile amosite, epoxiemite, tremolite anthophyllite, and actinolite. The most well-known Hoboken asbestos attorney types are epoxiemite as well as chrysotile which together make up 95% all commercial asbestos employed. The other four asbestos types aren't as well-known, but can still be present in older structures. They aren't as hazardous as amosite or chrysotile, but they can still pose a threat when mixed with other minerals, or when mined near other mineral deposits like vermiculite and talc.

Several studies have found an connection between asbestos exposure and stomach cancer. However there is no conclusive evidence. Some researchers have reported an SMR (standardized mortality ratio) of 1.5 (95% CI: 0.7-3.6) for all asbestos-related workers and others have reported an SMR of 1.24 (95% C.I. 0.76-2.5) for those working in chrysotile mines and mills.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classed all forms of asbestos as carcinogenic. All asbestos types can cause mesothelioma, however, the risk is dependent on the amount of exposure, what type of asbestos is involved and how long exposure lasts. IARC has declared that the best option for people is to stay clear of all forms of asbestos. If you have been exposed in the past to asbestos and suffer from a respiratory condition or mesothelioma then you should talk to your doctor or NHS111.

Amphibole

Amphibole is one of the minerals that form long prisms or needlelike crystals. They are an inosilicate minerals made of double chains of SiO4 molecules. They typically have a monoclinic crystal structure however some may have an orthorhombic structure. The general formula of an amphibole is A0-1B2C5T8O22(OH,F)2. The double chains contain (Si, Al)O4 tetrahedrons linked together in a ring of six tetrahedrons. The tetrahedrons are separated by strips of octahedral sites.

Amphiboles are present in metamorphic and igneous rock. They are typically dark-colored and tough. They can be difficult to differentiate from pyroxenes as they share similar hardness and color. They also share a corresponding the cleavage. Their chemistry can allow for a range of compositions. The different minerals within amphibole can be identified by their chemical compositions as well as crystal structures.

Amphibole asbestos is comprised of chrysotile as well as the five types of hanford asbestos lawyer amosite, anthophyllite (crocidolite), amosite (actinolite), and amosite. While the most frequently used form of asbestos is chrysotile. Each variety has distinct characteristics. Crocidolite is the most dangerous asbestos type. It contains sharp fibers which are easily inhaled into the lung. Anthophyllite has a brownish to yellowish color and is composed mostly of iron and magnesium. This variety was once used in products like cement and insulation materials.

Amphiboles are difficult to analyze due to their complex chemical structure and numerous substitutions. Therefore, a detailed analysis of their composition requires special techniques. EDS, WDS and XRD are the most commonly used methods for identifying amphiboles. However, these methods only provide approximate identifications. For instance, these techniques cannot differentiate between magnesio-hornblende and hastingsite. Moreover, these techniques do not distinguish between ferro-hornblende as well as pargasite.