The Dangers of Exposure to Asbestos

Before it was banned asbestos was widely used in commercial products. Research suggests that exposure to asbestos can cause cancer as well as other health issues.

You cannot tell if something contains asbestos by looking at it and you cannot taste or smell it. It is only found when materials containing asbestos are drilled, chipped or broken arrow asbestos.

Chrysotile

At the height of its use, chrysotile made the majority of asbestos production. It was widely used in industries such as construction, fireproofing, and insulation. If workers are exposed to asbestos, they are likely to develop mesothelioma as well as other asbestos-related diseases. Since the 1960s, when mesothelioma first became a concern, the use of asbestos has been reduced significantly. It is still present in a variety of products we use today.

Chrysotile is safe to use in the event that you have a complete safety and handling plan in place. It has been discovered that, at today's controlled exposure levels, there isn't an undue risk to the workers handling it. The inhalation of airborne particles has been linked with lung fibrosis and lung cancer. This has been proven in terms of intensity (dose) as well as duration of exposure.

One study that studied a facility that used nearly exclusively chrysotile in the production of friction materials, compared mortality rates in this factory with national mortality rates. The study revealed that after 40 years of converting low levels of chrysotile, there was no significant increase in mortality at this factory.

Chrysotile fibres are usually shorter than other forms of asbestos. They can pass through the lungs and then enter the bloodstream. This makes them more likely to cause ill-health effects than longer fibres.

When chrysotile is mixed with cement, it's extremely difficult for the fibres to air-borne and cause health hazards. Fibre cement products are used extensively throughout the world particularly in structures like hospitals and schools.

Research has proven that chrysotile is less likely to cause disease than amphibole asbestos like crocidolite and amosite. These amphibole varieties are the primary source of mesothelioma as well as other asbestos-related diseases. When chrysotile gets mixed with cement, it forms a strong, flexible construction product that can withstand the most extreme weather conditions and other environmental dangers. It is also simple to clean after use. Professionals can safely dispose of asbestos fibres after they have been removed.

Amosite

Asbestos refers to a set of silicate fibrous minerals that occur naturally in certain types of rock formations. It is comprised of six main groups: serpentine, amphibole anthophyllite, tremolite, anthophyllite, crocidolite (IARC 1973).

Asbestos minerals are made up of long, thin fibres that range in length from very fine to wide and straight to curled. They are found in nature as individual fibrils or as bundles with splaying ends referred to as fibril matrix. Asbestos minerals are also found in powder form (talc) or mixed with other minerals and sold as vermiculite and talcum powder which are widely used in consumer products like baby powder cosmetics, face powder and other.

Asbestos was extensively used in the early two-thirds of the 20th century for construction of ships insulation, fireproofing and various other construction materials. The majority of occupational exposures involved asbestos fibres that were borne in the air, but some workers were exposed vermiculite and talc that had been contaminated and to pieces of asbestos-bearing rocks (ATSDR 2001). Exposures varied according to industry, time period and geographic location.

Exposure to asbestos in the workplace is mainly due to inhalation. However certain workers have been exposed through skin contact or by eating food items contaminated with asbestos. Asbestos is only present in the air due to the natural weathering of mined minerals and the degrading of contaminated materials such as insulation, car brakes, clutches, as well as floor and ceiling tiles.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that non-commercial amphibole fibers could also be carcinogenic. These fibers aren't tightly woven like the fibrils found in amphibole and serpentine, they are loose as well as flexible and needle-like. These fibres can be found in the cliffs, mountains and sandstones of many countries.

Asbestos can enter the environment in a variety of ways, such as in airborne particles. It can also be absorbed into water or soil. This can be triggered by both natural (weathering of asbestos-bearing rock) and anthropogenic sources (disintegration of asbestos-containing wastes as well as disposal in landfill sites). Asbestos contamination of surface and ground water is largely associated with natural weathering, but has also been caused by anthropogenic activities such as mining and milling demolition and dispersal asbestos-containing materials and the disposal of contaminated dumping soil in landfills (ATSDR 2001). Asbestos fibres that are emitted from the air are the most significant reason for illness among those exposed to it in their job.

Crocidolite

Inhalation exposure is the most frequent method of exposure to asbestos fibres. These fibres can get into the lung which can cause serious health issues. This includes asbestosis and mesothelioma. The exposure to asbestos fibres could occur in different ways, including contact with contaminated clothes or building materials. The dangers of exposure are greater when crocidolite, the asbestos in the blue form is involved. Crocidolite is smaller and more fragile fibers, which are easier to breathe and can be lodged deeper into lung tissue. It has been linked to a larger number of mesothelioma related cases than any other type of asbestos.

The six major types of asbestos are chrysotile, amosite and tremolite. They are epoxiemite, tremol anthophyllite and actinolite. Amosite and chrysotile are two of the most commonly used types of asbestos, and comprise 95% of the asbestos used in commercial construction. The other four types haven't been as popularly used however they can be found in older buildings. They are less harmful than amosite and chrysotile, but they may pose a danger when mixed with other asbestos minerals or mined in close proximity to other mineral deposits, like vermiculite or talc.

A number of studies have demonstrated an connection between North palm beach asbestos lawsuit exposure and stomach cancer. However, the evidence is contradictory. Some researchers have cited a SMR (standardized death ratio) of 1.5 (95% confidence interval: 0.7-3.6), for all asbestos workers. However, others report an SMR of 1,24 (95 percent confidence interval: 0.76-2.5), for those working in chrysotile mines or chrysotile mills.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classed all asbestos types as carcinogenic. All asbestos types can cause mesothelioma however, the risk is dependent on the amount of exposure, what type of asbestos is involved, and how long exposure lasts. The IARC has advised that avoiding all forms of asbestos should be the top priority because this is the best option for Vimeo people. However, if a person has been exposed to asbestos in the past and suffer from an illness such as mesothelioma and other respiratory diseases and require advice, they should seek out guidance from their physician or NHS 111.

Amphibole

Amphibole is a group of minerals that form long prism or needle-like crystals. They are an inosilicate mineral made up of double chains of SiO4 molecules. They usually have a monoclinic structure in their crystals but some also have an orthorhombic structure. The general formula of an amphibole is A0-1B2C5T8O22(OH,F)2. Double chains contain (Si, Al)O4 tetrahedrons linked together in rings of six tetrahedrons. The tetrahedrons can be separated by strips of octahedral site.

Amphiboles occur in both igneous and metamorphic rock. They are typically dark and hard. Due to their similarity in hardness and colour, they can be difficult for some to differentiate from the pyroxenes. They also have a similar cleavage. However their chemistry permits a wide range of compositions. The chemical compositions and crystal structures of the different mineral groups in amphibole can be used to determine their composition.

The five asbestos types that belong to the amphibole group include chrysotile, anthophyllite, amosite, crocidolite, and actinolite. Each kind of asbestos has distinct characteristics. The most dangerous type of asbestos, crocidolite is composed of sharp fibers that are simple to inhale into the lungs. Anthophyllite is brown to yellowish in color and is made up of iron and magnesium. This kind of stone was used to create cement and insulation materials.

Amphiboles are difficult to analyse because of their complex chemical structure and numerous substitutions. A thorough analysis of the composition of amphibole minerals is a complex process that requires specialized methods. The most popular methods for identifying amphiboles are EDS, WDS, and XRD. These methods are only able to provide approximate identifications. These techniques, for instance, cannot distinguish between magnesio hornblende and magnesio hastingsite. These techniques also cannot distinguish between ferro-hornblende and pargasite.