Asbestos-Truth

Dramatic increased of the use of asbestos were seen during the second world war, up until this time asbestos had been used sparingly since it's first application by industry in the 1800's. 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 EPA strengthened the laws on the use of asbestos in the 80's, banning the use of asbestos in any new use. Mounting environmental pressure forced people to become better educated about the effects and harm that asbestos poses.

Asbestos fibre occurs naturally as fibre bundles and it was these that were mined to create asbestos used in industry. Asbestos has amazing fire and chemical resistance, coupled with the fact that it is not a conductor of electricity. Products containing asbestos were wide spread throughout most industries.

The list of uses for asbestos goes on and on but here are a few of the more well known uses it was put to vinyl floor tiles, sheeting, adhesives, clutch plates and stage curtains. Wall and ceiling tiles, adhesives and joining compounds all contained asbestos and were used by the construction industry up until they were banned. The use of asbestos is legal as long as that use means that the asbestos will not come into contact with people or the environment.

Asbestos exposure is taken very serious, as some of the diseases associated with asbestos are untreatable. Inhaling asbestos fibres commonly results in asbestosis, an inflammation of the lungs caused by the asbestos fibres aggravating the lining of the lungs.

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by previous exposure to asbestos. Pericardial mesothelioma is a cancer that affects the heart; pleural mesothelioma affects the lining of the lung.

History notes that Greek and roman slaves whose job it was to weave asbestos fibres into cloth often suffered from damaged lungs. It can take up to 50 years for mesothelioma or asbestosis to become apparent in the victim; this is the reason why it has taken so long for the link between the diseases and asbestos to be made.

Asbestos has been in a marked decline as soon as victims of asbestos exposure began to take legal action for compensation. 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.