Asbestos-Truth

Industry first began to use asbestos during the 19th century and its use rose substantially during the period of the Second World The United States was the first country to issue laws banning the use of asbestos after irrefutable evidence came to light that asbestos was finding it's way into the environment.

More laws were passed during the 80's by the EPA controlling how and where asbestos could be used by industry. Mounting environmental pressure forced people to become better educated about the effects and harm that asbestos poses.

Asbestos occurs naturally as a mineral that is mined and processed into asbestos. The reasons why asbestos was so popular with industry was that it has amazing resistance to heat and chemicals and it dose not conduct electricity. Construction and manufacturing were ready willing and able to put asbestos to work in a wide variety of applications.

The applications that asbestos found its way into is long and varied. The construction industry had many uses for asbestos and any building built before legislation banning the use of asbestos almost certainly contains asbestos. Industry can still use asbestos but only if it can be proven that it is not possible for the asbestos to come into contact with people or the environment.

Asbestos exposure is taken very serious, as some of the diseases associated with asbestos are untreatable. Lung damage caused by breathing in asbestos fibres is called asbestosis; it causes permanent lung damage resulting in a shortness of breath.

A second common ailment of asbestosis is mesothelioma, which is a form of cancer affecting the major organs of the body. Mesothelioma usually affects the lungs or the heart of the victim.

The health hazards of asbestos have only been realised in the last 30 years by the legal and medical profession. It has taken the medical profession many years to tie asbestos exposure to the disease; this is because it can take from 10 to 50 years for the symptoms to become apparent.

The use of asbestos by industry dropped dramatically once the levels of litigation from its victims began to increase. Follow the right safety guidelines and it is legal for manufacturers to use asbestos.

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.