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. The popularity of asbestos took a sudden dive when laws were passed in the 1970's in the USA that stopped the use of asbestos in certain consumer products.

The 1980's saw new laws passed on the use of asbestos in the US, further restricting the ways in which it could be used. 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 occurs naturally as a mineral that is mined and processed into asbestos. The reason why asbestos was so widely adopted by industry was because of the heat and chemical properties it possessed. With it's unbeatable properties of heat and chemical resistance many uses for asbestos were found in the home and industry.

Asbestos was used in thermal pipe insulation; fireproof clothing for fire fighters and fire doors. The fire retardant nature of asbestos as well as its sound proofing qualities made it an ideal material for the construction industry. It is legal to use asbestos in ways where it is guaranteed that they cannot come into contact with humans or animals.

Unfortunately, asbestos exposure can carry significant health risks, some of which are untreatable and incurable at the present time. Lung damage caused by breathing in asbestos fibres is called asbestosis; it causes permanent lung damage resulting in a shortness of breath.

Mesothelioma is often reported as a disease resulting from asbestos exposure that is listed in many asbestos litigation cases. The two common forms of the cancer are pleural mesothelioma, which affects the heart and pericardial mesothelioma, which affects the heart.

With centuries of the use of asbestos it may surprise many people to realise that it's health implications have only been known for a few decades. The term Mesothelioma was not used in medical literature until 1931, and was not associated with asbestos until sometime in the 1940s.

A complete ban on asbestos containing material in Australia was introduced in 1991 although some building materials in storage were still being used in the years that followed. In 1989 the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule, which was overturned in 1991.

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.