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The Dangers of Exposure to Asbestos

Before it was banned asbestos was used in a myriad of commercial products. Research shows that exposure to asbestos can cause cancer and other health problems.

It is impossible to tell just by taking a look at something if it is made of asbestos. You cannot smell or taste it. It is only visible in the event that asbestos-containing products are drilled, chipped or broken.

Chrysotile

At its peak, chrysotile made up for 99% of the asbestos produced. It was utilized in a variety of industries, including construction, insulation, and fireproofing. If workers are exposed to asbestos, they can develop mesothelioma as well as other asbestos-related diseases. Fortunately, the use this harmful mineral has diminished significantly since awareness of mesothelioma began to grow in the 1960's. It is still found in a variety of products we use today.

Chrysotile is safe to use provided you have a comprehensive safety and handling program in place. People who handle chrysotile do not at risk of being exposed to a high degree of risk at the current limit of exposure. Lung fibrosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma were all linked to breathing in airborne respirable fibres. This has been proven both for the intensity (dose) as well as the duration of exposure.

In one study, mortality rates were compared between a manufacturing facility which used largely Chrysotile for the production of friction materials and the national death rate. The study found that after 40 years of processing at low levels of chrysotile, there was no significant increase in mortality rates in this factory.

As opposed to other forms of asbestos, chrysotile fibers tend to be smaller. They are able to penetrate the lungs and pass into the bloodstream. They are more likely to cause health issues over longer fibres.

When chrysotile gets mixed with cement, it is extremely difficult for the fibres to air-borne and pose health risks. Fibre cement products are extensively used throughout the world, especially in buildings like hospitals and schools.

Research has shown that chrysotile is less prone to cause disease than amphibole asbestos such as crocidolite and amosite. These amphibole varieties are the primary cause of mesothelioma, and other asbestos-related diseases. When the cement and chrysotile are combined, a durable, flexible product is created that is able to withstand extreme weather conditions and environmental hazards. It is also easy to clean up after use. Professionals can safely dispose of Asbestos Attorney fibres after they have been removed.

Amosite

Asbestos is a category of silicate fibrous minerals that occur naturally in certain kinds of rock formations. It is divided into six groups that include amphibole (serpentine) and Tremolite (tremolite), anthophyllite (crocidolite) and anthophyllite.

Asbestos minerals consist of long, thin fibres that vary in length, ranging from very thin to broad and straight to curled. These fibers are found in nature as individual fibrils or bundles that have splaying ends, referred to as a fibril matrix. Asbestos minerals can be found in powder form (talc) or mixed with other minerals and sold as talcum powder and vermiculite, which have been widely used in consumer products such as baby powder cosmetics, face powder, and baby powder.

The greatest use of asbestos was in the early two-thirds of the twentieth century when it was utilized in insulation, shipbuilding, fireproofing, and other construction materials. The majority of asbestos exposures for work occurred in the air, but certain workers were also exposed to asbestos-bearing rocks and contaminated vermiculite. Exposures varied from industry to industry, era to and even geographical location.

Exposure to asbestos in the workplace is mainly because of inhalation. However there are workers who have been exposed via skin contact or by eating food items contaminated with asbestos. Asbestos is now only found in the air due to the natural weathering of mined ore and deterioration of contaminated products such as insulation, car brakes, clutches and ceiling and floor tiles.

There is growing evidence that non-commercial amphibole fibres may also be carcinogenic. These are the fibres that do not have the tight woven fibrils of the amphibole and serpentine minerals but instead are loose, flexible and needle-like. These fibers can be found in the cliffs, mountains and sandstones of a variety of countries.

Asbestos gets into the environment primarily as airborne particles, but it also leaches into water and soil. This happens both through natural (weathering and erosion of asbestos-bearing rocks) and ananthropogenic (disintegration and disposal of asbestos-containing wastes in landfill sites) sources. Asbestos contamination of surface and ground waters is primarily caused by natural weathering. However it is also caused anthropogenically, such as through milling and mining of asbestos-containing materials demolition and dispersal and the disposal of contaminated dumping material in landfills (ATSDR 2001). Exposure to asbestos-containing airborne fibres is the most common cause of illness in people who are exposed to asbestos on a daily basis.

Crocidolite

Exposure to asbestos through inhalation is the most common way people are exposed to dangerous fibres, which can then be inhaled and cause serious health issues. These include mesothelioma and asbestosis. Exposure to the fibres can occur in different ways, including contact with contaminated clothes or building materials. The risks of exposure are heightened when crocidolite, a blue form of asbestos is involved. Crocidolite fibers are thinner and more fragile and therefore easier to breathe in. They can also be lodged deeper inside lung tissues. It has been linked to more mesothelioma-related cases than other types of asbestos.

The six major types of asbestos are chrysotile, amosite as well as epoxiemite. Tremolite is anthophyllite and actinolite. Amosite and chrysotile are two of the most commonly used types of asbestos and make up 95% of all commercial asbestos in use. The other four types of asbestos haven't been as popularly used however they can be found in older buildings. They are less harmful than amosite and chrysotile, Asbestos Attorney but they could be a risk when combined with other asbestos minerals, or when mined close to other mineral deposits, like talc or vermiculite.

Numerous studies have revealed an connection between asbestos exposure and stomach cancer. Several studies have found a link between asbestos exposure and stomach. However the evidence isn't conclusive. Some researchers have reported an overall SMR (standardized mortality ratio) of 1.5 (95% CI: 0.7-3.6) for all asbestos-related workers as well as an SMR of 1.24 (95 percent C.I. 0.76-2.5) for workers in chrysotile mines and mills.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified all asbestos types as carcinogenic. All asbestos types can cause mesothelioma however, the risk is dependent on how much exposure, what kind of asbestos is involved, and how long the exposure lasts. IARC has declared that the best option for people is to avoid all forms of asbestos. However, if someone has been exposed to asbestos in the past and suffer from a condition such as mesothelioma and other respiratory diseases, they should seek guidance from their GP or NHS 111.

Amphibole

Amphibole is one of the minerals that form long prisms or needlelike crystals. They are a type of inosilicate mineral composed of double chains of SiO4 molecules. They typically have a monoclinic structure in their crystals, Asbestos attorney although some have an orthorhombic structure. The general formula of an amphibole is A0-1B2C5T8O22(OH,F)2. The double chains contain (Si, Al)O4 tetrahedrons linked together in rings of six tetrahedrons. Tetrahedrons are distinguished from each other by octahedral sites in strips.

Amphibole minerals are found in igneous and metamorphic rocks. They are typically dark and hard. Due to their similarity in hardness and color, they can be difficult for some to distinguish from the pyroxenes. They also share a corresponding design of cleavage. Their chemistry allows a wide range of compositions. The different minerals within amphibole can be identified by their chemical compositions as well as crystal structures.

Amphibole asbestos includes chrysotile and the five types of asbestos: amosite anthophyllite (crocidolite), amosite (actinolite), and amosite. Each type of asbestos comes with its own distinctive properties. The most dangerous form of asbestos, crocidolite is composed of sharp fibers that are easy to breathe into the lungs. Anthophyllite comes in a brownish-to yellowish hue and is comprised mostly of iron and magnesium. This kind of material was used to create cement and insulation materials.

Amphibole minerals are difficult to analyze because they have a an intricate chemical structure and many substitutions. Therefore, a detailed analysis of their composition requires special techniques. EDS, WDS and XRD are the most widely used methods of identifying amphiboles. These methods are only able to provide approximate identifications. For instance, they cannot differentiate between magnesio-hastingsite and magnesio-hornblende. These techniques also cannot distinguish between ferro-hornblende and pargasite.