Asbestos: a deadly substance

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that can be found in a variety of forms. It has some very special properties that have been put to use for thousands of years.

Nowadays it is rarely used in the developed world because of its toxicity.

Exposure to the material can cause a number of serious diseases some of which are mostly fatal. When the dust is inhaled, fibres of asbestos become lodged in the bronchioles of the lung and are not expelled by breathing or by coughing. Over time they can penetrate the cells that form the lung tissue. Once they have penetrated a cell they can react with the cell DNA. In the worst cases the cells become cancerous. Even if the cells to not become cancerous, serious scaring of the tissue can occur and the cells are no longer able to perform their function.

The cancers caused by asbestos are mesothelioma, which is a fatal cancer of the lining of the lung, and lung cancer, which is the same kind of cancer associated with smoking. Asbestosis and pleural thickening are generally non-fatal conditions, though deaths have been associated with the first one. Either of these diseases can lead to the eventual development of malignant cancer.

The first serious recognition that asbestos posed a health risk came about at the close of the nineteenth century. The first official investigation into the potential dangers of asbestos was published in a 1930 document that has become called the Merewether report. This prompted the industry to clean up its act somewhat. In one factory about half the employees were found to be suffering from asbestos related diseases.

Asbestos compensation claims began to be filed in the following few years, though the asbestos industry continued to attempt to stave off further regulation. Nowadays the use of asbestos is heavily regulated, and the material can only be disposed of under special arrangements.

Sometimes it takes forty years between exposure and the manifestation of symptoms of related diseases.

Anyone concerned about this should talk to their doctor without delay. There are things that can be done, and people who were exposed in their job are likely to be entitled to asbestos compensation.