Asbestos-Truth

Industry's adoption of asbestos began during the 19th century and slowly increased until the second world was when it's use rose dramatically. During the 1970's the United States Consumer Product and Safety Commission issued the first laws banning the use of asbestos due to evidence that the fibres were finding their way into the environment.

The 1980's saw the Environmental Protection Agency take asbestos to task and issued laws stating that asbestos could only be used in uses, which it could be proven that asbestos had been used prior to the laws being passed. If you ask people today, most of them are aware of the harmful nature of asbestos to those who are exposed to the fibres.

Asbestos is a mineral that occurs naturally in nature in fibre bundles. The reason why asbestos was so widely adopted by industry was because of the heat and chemical properties it possessed. Adoption of the use of asbestos was wide spread in many industries eager make use of it's special properties.

Asbestos was widely used in the home as well as the factory with asbestos being used in crayons as well as fire blankets. In the construction industry, asbestos fibers are used in ceiling tiles; paint that is lead based, plastics, adhesives, soundproofing material and insulation. As long as it can be ensured that the asbestos fibres are unable to become exposed to the environment, then their use is legal.

Unfortunately, asbestos exposure can carry significant health risks, some of which are untreatable and incurable at the present time. One of the most common diseases resulting from exposure to it is asbestosis, sometimes called asbestos lung, which is a chronic inflammation of the lungs that leads to shortness of breath, coughing, and even permanent lung damage.

Shortness of breath, cough, and pain in the chest due to an accumulation of fluid in the pleural space are often symptoms of another asbestos related ailment called mesothelioma. If the mesothelioma cancer has spread beyond the mesothelium to other parts of the body, symptoms may include pain, trouble swallowing, or swelling of the neck or face.

Asbestos became more widespread during the industrial revolution; in the 1860s it was used as insulation in the U.S. and Canada, this is long before the modern world recognised the hazards of asbestos. In the late 1970s court documents proved that asbestos industry officials knew of the dangers of asbestos exposure and tried to conceal them.

The use of asbestos by industry dropped dramatically once the levels of litigation from its victims began to increase. Despite knowing g the risks of asbestos it is still legal if the right safety guidelines are followed.

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.