Asbestos-Truth

War is the mother of invention and this is born out by the sudden increase in the use of asbestos during the Second World War. Environmental pressure forced laws through in the 70's the constrained the use of asbestos in industry.

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. There was much publicity about asbestos and many people today are aware of the dangers asbestos poses for the general public at large and also for the environment.

Asbestos bundles that occur naturally can be split into individual asbestos fibres. Asbestos looked like the wonder product for industry because of its heat and chemical resistance. The special properties of asbestos found many uses in manufacturing and construction.

Asbestos based products were used in most walks of life, from lagging boilers to brake pads for cars. Asbestos can be found in many buildings constructed up until the 1980's as a fire suppressant as well as in use in adhesives. 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.

The medical profession takes asbestos exposure very seriously because there are a number of possible health risks, which are untreatable with current medical technology. One of the best-known asbestos diseases is asbestosis, often called asbestos lung, which leads to shortness of breath and lung damage.

A second common ailment of asbestosis is mesothelioma, which is a form of cancer affecting the major organs of the body. Pericardial mesothelioma is a cancer that affects the heart; pleural mesothelioma affects the lining of the lung.

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. The term Mesothelioma was not used in medical literature until 1931, and was not associated with asbestos until sometime in the 1940s.

Due to litigation for asbestosis or mesothelioma industry has fallen out of favour with asbestos. 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.