Asbestos-Truth

The Second World War can be traced back to the reason why industry suddenly began to use asbestos in large quantities. Laws on how asbestos could be used were introduced in the US during the 70's that restricted how asbestos was used by industry.

Industry was faced by more tightening of the regulations in the way in which it could use asbestos after the EPA issued more laws curtailing the use of asbestos in the 1980's. Although there has been much publicity about asbestos and many regulations passed either banning or controlling it's use many people are unaware of how harmful asbestos can be.

Asbestos bundles that occur naturally can be split into individual asbestos fibres. Resistance to chemical attack and heat made asbestos irresistible to industry. 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 fire retardant nature of asbestos as well as its sound proofing qualities made it an ideal material for the construction industry. 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.

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 commonest ailments caused by exposure to asbestos is asbestosis, which is inflammation of the lungs caused by inhaling asbestos fibres.

Another disease caused by asbestos is a cancer of the lining around the major organs of the body called mesothelioma. Pericardial mesothelioma is a cancer that affects the heart; pleural mesothelioma affects the lining of the lung.

It is estimated that approximately 100,000 people in the United States have died, or will die, from asbestos exposure related to ship building, such is the hazards of the material. Because symptoms of exposure can take 10 to 50 years to show up, it took medical professionals a great deal of time to connect the disease to it.

The use of asbestos by industry dropped dramatically once the levels of litigation from its victims began to increase. Asbestos fibers are still legal, despite the hazards of exposure, only if manufacturers follow all legally required safety standards.

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.