Mesothelioma: What is asbestos?

Asbestos (pronounced  /æsˈbɛstəs/ or /æzˈbɛstəs/) is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties.^[1] They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, (1:20) thin fibrous crystals. The inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause serious illnesses, including malignant lung cancer, mesothelioma (a formerly rare cancer strongly associated with exposure to amphibole asbestos), andasbestosis (a type of pneumoconiosis). Long exposure to high concentrations of asbestos fibers is more likely to cause health problems. This is most common among the miners of asbestos, since they have the longest exposure to it. The European Union has banned all use of asbestos^[2] and extraction, manufacture and processing of asbestos products.^[3]

Asbestos became increasingly popular among manufacturers and builders in the late 19th century because of its sound absorption, average tensile strength, its resistance to fire, heat, electrical and chemical damage, and affordability. It was used in such applications as electrical insulation for hotplate wiring and in building insulation. When asbestos is used for its resistance to fire or heat, the fibers are often mixed with cement (resulting in fiber cement) or woven into fabric or mats.

Asbestos mining began more than 4,000 years ago, but didn't start large scale until the end of the 19th century. The world's asbestos mining peaked around 1975, when asbestos was being mined in some 25 countries, but is today less than half of what it was in the mid 1970s. For a long time, the world's largest asbestos mine was the Jeffrey mine in the town of Asbestos, Quebec.^[4]

Primary malignant Tumor of the pleural is rare. Thirty-three cases (22 males, 11 females, ages 31-68) diffuse pleural mesothelioma is described; all except one has the possibility of exposure to asbestos is crocidolite (blue Cape). The majority of these exposures to asbestos hill located to the West of Kimberley in the Northern Cape province to the West. Tumors are rarely seen elsewhere in South Africa. 

Suffers From Mesothelioma Videos - Asbestos and the law

Legal issues


Main article: Asbestos and the law
The first lawsuits against asbestos manufacturers were in 1929. Since then, many lawsuits have been filed against asbestos manufacturers and employers, for neglecting to implement safety measures after the links between asbestos, asbestosis, and mesothelioma became known (some reports seem to place this as early as 1898). The liability resulting from the sheer number of lawsuits and people affected has reached billions of dollars.[48] The amounts and method of allocating compensation have been the source of many court cases, reaching up to the United States Supreme Court, and government attempts at resolution of existing and future cases. However, to date, the US Congress has not stepped in and there are no federal laws governing asbestos compensation.[49]
History


The first lawsuit against asbestos manufacturers was brought in 1929. The parties settled that lawsuit, and as part of the agreement, the attorneys agreed not to pursue further cases. In 1960, an article published by Wagner et al. was seminal in establishing mesothelioma as a disease arising from exposure to asbestos.[50] The article referred to over 30 case studies of people who had suffered from mesothelioma in South Africa. Some exposures were transient and some were mine workers. Prior to the use of advanced microscopy techniques, malignant mesothelioma was often diagnosed as a variant form of lung cancer.[51] In 1962 McNulty reported the first diagnosed case of malignant mesothelioma in an Australian asbestos worker.[52] The worker had worked in the mill at the asbestos mine in Wittenoom from 1948 to 1950.
In the town of Wittenoom, asbestos-containing mine waste was used to cover schoolyards and playgrounds. In 1965 an article in the British Journal of Industrial Medicine established that people who lived in the neighbourhoods of asbestos factories and mines, but did not work in them, had contracted mesothelioma.


Despite proof that the dust associated with asbestos mining and milling causes asbestos-related disease, mining began at Wittenoom in 1943 and continued until 1966. In 1974 the first public warnings of the dangers of blue asbestos were published in a cover story called "Is this Killer in Your Home?" in Australia's Bulletin magazine. In 1978 the Western Australian Government decided to phase out the town of Wittenoom, following the publication of a Health Dept. booklet, "The Health Hazard at Wittenoom", containing the results of air sampling and an appraisal of worldwide medical information.


By 1979 the first writs for negligence related to Wittenoom were issued against CSR and its subsidiary ABA, and the Asbestos Diseases Society was formed to represent the Wittenoom victims.
In Leeds, England the Armley asbestos disaster involved several court cases against Turner & Newall where local residents who contracted mesothelioma claimed compensation because of the asbestos pollution from the company's factory. One notable case was that of June Hancock, who contracted the disease in 1993 and died in 1997.[53]

Spodden Valley, Rochdale's asbestos scandal

Six minerals are defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as "asbestos" including those belonging to the serpentine class chrysotile and those belonging to the amphibole class amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite and actinolite. There is an important distinction to be made between serpentine and amphibole asbestos due to differences in their chemical composition and their degree of potency as a health hazard when inhaled. However asbestos and all commercial forms of asbestos (including chrysotile asbestos) are known to be human carcinogens based on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans.[4][5]


Chrysotile, CAS No. 12001-29-5, is obtained from serpentinite rocks which are common throughout the world. Its idealized chemical formula is Mg3(Si2O5)(OH)4. Chrysotile fibers are curly as opposed to fibers from amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, actinolite, and anthophyllite which are needlelike.[6] Chrysotile, along with other types of asbestos, has been banned in dozens of countries and is only allowed in the United States and Europe in very limited circumstances. Chrysotile has been used more than any other type and accounts for about 95% of the asbestos found in buildings in America.[7] Applications where chrysotile might be used include the use of joint compound. It is more flexible than amphibole types of asbestos; it can be spun and woven into fabric. The most common use is within corrugated asbestos cement roof sheets typically used for outbuildings, warehouses and garages. It is also found as flat sheets used for ceilings and sometimes for walls and floors. Numerous other items have been made containing chrysotile including brake linings, cloth behind fuses (for fire protection), pipe insulation, floor tiles, and rope seals for boilers.[citation needed]


Amosite, CAS No. 12172-73-5, is a trade name for the amphiboles belonging to the cummingtonite-grunerite solid solution series, commonly from South Africa, named as an acronym from Asbestos Mines of South Africa. One formula given for amosite is Fe7Si8O22(OH)2. It is found most frequently as a fire retardant in thermal insulation products and ceiling tiles.[7]


Did you know that…..? 
According to a recent study (Dec. 2010) that a woman diagnosed erroneously breast cancer has a great negative effect on your quality of life?. This research, published in the British Journal of Surgery, on the effect of false positives of mammograms in the quality of life for women has been directed by A.F.W. van der Steeg. 


While it is true that through mammography breast cancer screening reduces mortality to detect in most early stages, never so far is had studied psychic on the woman in false positives, i.e. the emotional consequences in women which were diagnosed with breast cancer without it. This research was carried out between September 2002 and January 2007 and covered a sample of 152 women who were diagnosed with breast cancer and 233 who had a false positive result. Women answered a questionnaire that average anxiety and another on the quality of life, these questionnaires responded them before mammography and the 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after the same. 


The conclusion was that women with a false positive diagnosis of breast cancer detected by mammography had a quality of low life and high scores on the anxiety trait.

Spodden Valley, asbestos scandal the history

Did you know that….? do recently (November 2010) scientists from the University of Chicago, United States of America, have published the results of an experiment murine (with rats) which have seen that the risk of developing breast cancer is three times greater if there is social isolation?. So they isolated rats and became smell a predator (for example, a cat). 


They did this experiment after observing that women in certain troubled neighborhoods in the city, and who also lived in a certain situation of social isolation, were more prone to develop tumors. 


Spodden Valley, asbestos scandal...


Rochdale, North west England 1982.
A scandalous company cover up in a site that processed Canadian chrysotile asbestos from the 1870s thru to the 1990s.
Local Council shenighans in re-zoning the asbestos factory an "Area of 0pportunity" for the principle of an "Urban Village" -hundreds of homes and a kids day care center on the site of the world's largest asbestos factory?


Asbestos became increasingly popular among manufacturers and builders in the late 19th century because of its sound absorption, average tensile strength, its resistance to fire, heat, electrical and chemical damage, and affordability. It was used in such applications as electrical insulation for hotplate wiring and in building insulation. When asbestos is used for its resistance to fire or heat, the fibers are often mixed with cement (resulting in fiber cement) or woven into fabric or mats. Commercial asbestos mining began in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada and the world's largest asbestos mine is located in the town of Asbestos, Quebec.


The developers stated "of particular note is the absence of any asbestos contamination"...


After seeing the behavior of T&N in 1982, it looks as though the new owners have been operating from T&N's old PR tactics.


Don't let history repeat itself.

Miners of asbestos

Asbestos (pronounced /æsˈbɛstəs/ or /æzˈbɛstəs/) is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties.[1] They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, (1:20) thin fibrous crystals. The inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause serious illnesses, including malignant lung cancer, mesothelioma (a formerly rare cancer strongly associated with exposure to amphibole asbestos), and asbestosis (a type of pneumoconiosis). Long exposure to high concentrations of asbestos fibers is more likely to cause health problems. This is most common among the miners of asbestos, since they have the longest exposure to it. The European Union has banned all use of asbestos[2] and extraction, manufacture and processing of asbestos products.[3]

Did you know that….? in a recent work with cancer patients who lived in villages scattered geographically, was found that these patients improved their depression and pain when in addition to the usual treatment performed them a telephone follow-up of the same a year?. This study has been published recently (July 2010) in the scientific journal JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association) and has been at Indiana University under the direction of Kurt Kroenke.