| By :
Wendy Moyer
Asbestos is the name for a group of six naturally occurring silicates that are composed of bundled fibers. Asbestos doesn't conduct electricity and the asbestos threads are resistant to fire, chemicals and heat. For many years these fibers were commercially separated into threads that were then used in the manufacture of building materials. Although on the surface asbestos solves many challenges associated with building construction, it has a very major downside. That is when asbestos fibers are inhaled or swallowed they can cause life-threatening diseases. When materials that contains asbestos are disturbed, the disturbance has the potential to cause the release asbestos dust and miniscule asbestos fibers into the air. Then, if these nearly indestructible fibers lodge themselves in a person's body, they ultimately can cause inflammation, scarring, and a number of nonmalignant as well as malignant conditions. Some diseases that are caused by asbestos are asbestosis, pleural disease, and mesothelioma. There is a very good chance that almost everyone who lives in an industrialized country has been exposed to asbestos at one point or another in their lives. Yet many of them have not become ill from their exposure. That's because the health risks associated with asbestos inhalation are usually (but not always) amplified by increased lengths of time and increased concentrations of exposure to the fibers. It is also worth noting that if a person smokes, the likelihood that asbestos exposure will harm them is significantly increased. The first link of asbestos inhalation to lung disease was found in 1890. By 1907, asbestos exposure related deaths were already being reported. By the end of the twentieth century asbestosis and lung cancer that was related to asbestos inhalation was dramatically on the rise in the United States. And now instances of malignant mesothelioma are increasing in many countries throughout the world. Malignant mesothelioma is a type of asbestos cancer that usually develops from fifteen to fifty years after asbestos fibers have been inhaled. Many people think that there are laws that prevent asbestos from being used in any products that are manufactured in the United States. However, that is not the case. There are still many industries in the US that expose their employees to the potential of asbestos inhalation. People who work in shipyards, auto mechanics, in aircraft manufacturing, refineries, on railroads, in construction, or as firefighters or rescue personnel are all potentially being exposed to asbestos every day that they work. In addition, building demolition workers, employees of textile mills that weave asbestos into cloth, asbestos mines, asbestos millers, asbestos transport workers, and more are exposed to this potentially deadly mineral whenever they "punch the time clock". Even people who do not work in an asbestos related industry are still at risk. Although some materials that contain asbestos are now regulated or banned, a lot of it is still present in old buildings. The asbestos in these buildings can be released during repair, maintenance, or renovation, subjecting both workers and the building's occupants to exposure to asbestos dust. And if the building is demolished asbestos may be released into the air. If that happens both passersby as well as all of the residents of nearby buildings could be at risk of asbestos exposure .
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