Asbestos Exposure
Below is some information about how asbestos exposure happens and who is at risk. You can also read mesothelioma information or see the list of mesothelioma asbestos attorneys.
Veterans' Exposure to Asbestos
Long ago has the time passed when the U.S. Veterans, especially of the Navy, had rendered service and had worked on the new phases of their lives as regular citizens of the country trying to have normal lives. However, a silent hazard was faced unaware by various military veterans around the world during decades’ use of asbestos. These devoted individuals with their families are at present left to find ways to cope emotionally and physically with adverse effects the diseases caused to their quality of lives due to their exposure to asbestos.
Prior to the 1970s, asbestos was extensively used in shipbuilding where it can be found anywhere aboard Navy ships may it be the boiler room up to the sleeping quarters. Former Navy shipyard workers have a direct and prolonged contact with the toxic mineral making them particularly prone to developing mesothelioma. However, second hand exposure may occur to the children and families of those who worked on a Navy warship through the fibers and dust they may carry in their hair and clothes.
Since the disease takes decades to develop, Navy veterans are faced with dealing with mesothelioma instead of enjoying a peaceful retirement. They have all the rights to sue the manufacturers that produced and sold the asbestos used on naval ships. For over a century, the hazards of asbestos was known by both manufacturing and insurance companies. It is through incurring high costs of changing procedures that they instead opted to continue using asbestos in their products.
NNavy veterans' mesothelioma claims are in a unique situation. The U.S. government keeps meticulous records that can provide substantial evidence of their exposure to asbestos. However, the veterans are not permitted to seek compensation directly with the U.S. government but they can request the Veteran’s Administration for benefits.
Asbestos Exposure in Iraq
Although it is not often discussed, the issue of asbestos exposure in Iraq is a very serious concern for U.S. military personnel. Occupational hazards of the brave men and women serving their country in Iraq may not be only limited to the known the threat of enemy attack, uncomfortable living conditions, extreme heat and weather circumstances. The government is encouraging the import of asbestos in making ground for construction of various structures that it has promised as rehabilitation of Iraq. This is tantamount to nothing is being done to prevent the toxic exposure of highly dangerous minerals.
Compared to the other occupational dangers faced by U.S. troops, asbestos exposure has received little attention, and although it may not seem as dangerous as an immediate strike of an enemy attack but the long-term health consequences of asbestos exposure may just be equally as deadly.
In 2003, an estimated US$194,000 worth of chrysotile, a white asbestos, arrived in Iraq. No current figures are available but because there is no asbestos regulation concerning health and safety for those working in Iraq that are processing and handling asbestos thus no ban related to importing the substance, asbestos is most likely still imported to Iraq.
In the entire Middle East, only two countries, namely Egypt in 2005 and Saudi Arabia in 1998, had taken the initiative to ban asbestos due to the health threats it poses. It is, however, sad to note that there has been steadily increasing incoming asbestos supply in this part of the world. As a matter of fact, Iran alone has been reported to import 30,000 tons of asbestos each year.
At the 1986 Asbestos Convention, the International Labour Organization (ILO) drafted asbestos guidelines in an effort to protect and form safety measures those who may be exposed in their occupations to the toxic substance leading to eventual health problems. It is just unfortunate that no single Middle Eastern nation has adopted the ILO Number 162 and the citizens of these countries remain unprotected from asbestos exposure.
U.S. Military Health Consequences
Destruction of buildings is not uncommon in a time of war, where possibly asbestos has been predominantly used, has been bombed resulting to the crumbled asbestos particles to mix in the air. Many of these structures are abandoned and left in dilapidated conditions; the asbestos products in the insulation, drywall, stucco, and plaster may become loose, releasing asbestos fibers and dust into the air.
Even soldiers that are stationed nearby can be exposed to asbestos because the fierce winds in Iraq can carry dessert sands with asbestos dust for miles. Once inhaled, asbestos fibers can lodge in the lining of the lungs and remain there for decades that could result to eventual malignancy. Initially after inhalation, the soldier may not comprehend the serious effects that were left for him to face. It would take as long as 40 years for the symptoms to be remembered.
Exposure in Old Structures
Since there was a time in early of the 20th century that asbestos use was unlimited, older buildings, nowadays, are silent threats until the time decay will be harmful if inhaled or ingested. If asbestos-laden structures are damaged, asbestos dust are made airborne, putting individuals nearby at risk of inhalation. Individuals who were exposed may not experience symptoms of asbestos disease for decades which often make it difficult to determine and be studied when and where the individual was actually exposed. Many of the building materials used in both public and domestic structures may contain asbestos prior to the banning of the toxic mineral.
Foremen and plumbers performing renovation works or regular folks in do-it-yourself activities may expose themselves to asbestos dust. As discussed earlier, pleural contamination with asbestos or other mineral fibers has been shown to cause cancer. Long thin asbestos fibers from blue asbestos and amphibole fibers are more potent carcinogens than feathery fibers from Chrysotile or white asbestos.
During the U.S World Trade Center bombing nearby structures also collapsed. From then, it was found out that smaller particles, comprising most of the materials used in construction of old New York buildings, may be more dangerous than the larger fibers. They can remain suspended in the air where if inhaled can penetrate more easily and deeper into the lungs. Dr. Alan Fein, a pulmonary expert at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System was involved in the treatment of the several patients that were exposed for 1-2 days in the collapsed area. It is with great hope that a lot will be find out about the health aspects of asbestos from the World Trade Center attack.
Exposure at Natural Sites
Asbestos is an abundant natural resource and can be present in the air outdoors and in some drinkable water. Studies have shown that members of the general population, those non-occupationally exposed, have significant number of asbestos fibers, which is tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of asbestos fibers in each gram of dry lung tissue that is equivalent into millions of fibers and tens of thousands of asbestos fibers in every person's lungs. In a particular study conducted in 3,000 mesothelioma patients in California and 890 men with prostate cancer, a malignancy not known to be related to asbestos showed collaborative data. Risk of mesothelioma moves downward by 6 percent for every 10 kilometers an individual lives away from known concentrated source of asbestos. The study directly associated the incidence of mesotheliomas and the distance a patient lived from known deposits of rock most probably to include asbestos but such result was not the same when the incidence of prostate cancer was compared with the same distances.
Naturally Occurring Asbestos (NOA) is the name given to asbestos from natural geologic deposits. Health risks associated with exposure to NOA are still being studied and current U.S. federal regulations do not address exposure from NOA. Many populated areas, such as in 20 U.S states are in proximity to shallow, natural deposits.
In California, portions of El Dorado County are known to contain natural asbestos formations near the surface where a study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that many amphibole particles in the area meet the counting rule criteria used by the EPA for chemical and morphological limits, but do not meet morphological requirements for commercial-grade-asbestos. However, further test are still required to fully understand the health risks associated tithe particles that do not meet requirements for commercial-grade-asbestos but may be equally a health threat.
In Virginia, large portions of Fairfax County were also found to be ground laden with tremolite. The county performed monitoring of air quality at construction sites, regulated the soil activity from affected areas, and required sites to be developed to lay 6 inches of clean, stable material over the ground.
See the list of mesothelioma asbestos attorney in your state.
Resources
Asbestos.com, Mesothelioma Center, Mesothelioma and Other Asbestos-Related Illnesses, http://www.asbestos.com/news/2009/08/, August 2009
Meso Blog, Asbestos Exposure and US Army in Iraq, http://mesoblog.org/blog/asbestos-exposure-us-army-iraq/, 18 March 2010
Wikipedia, Mesothelioma: Cause, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesothelioma, 2010
Mesothelioma/Cancer Help, Mesothelioma: Pathophysiology, http://www.mesothelioma-cancerhelp.com/pathophysiology.php, 2007
Wikipedia, Mesothelioma: Pathophysiology, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleural_plaque, 2010
Janet Raloff, Science News, Dirty Little Secret: Asbestos laces many residential soils, http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20060708/bob9.asp, 8 July 2006
Wikipedia, Asbestos: Environmental Asbestos, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturally-occurring_asbestos, 2010