What is Asbestos and Why is it Dangerous? By P T Andrews

Until 20 years ago most of hadn't even heard of Asbestos until its hazardous properties were highly publicised in the mid 1980s.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral with long fibrous crystals. It is these fibres that cause Asbestos's toxicity due to the harm they cause when inhaled into the lungs. Inhalation of Asbestos can cause a number of very serious illnesses such as lung cancer and Pneumoconiosis.

Historically Asbestos has been used for many different purposes. In fact the Greeks nicknamed Asbestos the miracle mineral due to its versatility and ability to withstand extreme heat. Most famously Asbestos was utilised in construction but its uses were far more widespread - the material's heat resistance made it an ideal electrical insulator for wires and cabling for ovens and its strength was appreciated in the weaving of fabrics for clothing and table cloths etc. By the mid 20th century Asbestos was being used everywhere, examples of products utilising Asbestos are as follows: roof tiles, flooring, pipe insulation, ceiling insulation, lawn furniture, cement for fire places, brake pads for vehicles, protective clothing for firemen etc.

Unfortunately the real dangers of Asbestos were not fully understood until recently, by which time a high percentage of buildings, particularly those erected in the late 1800s and early 1900s, already contained a significant amount in their walls and roofs. Before Asbestos's toxicity was brought to light it had been considered an ideal building material - it was known to be highly fire retardant, have high electricity resistance and, most importantly, was easy and cheap to use.

Sadly heavy use of asbestos in years gone by has exposed past generations of construction workers, carpenters and roofers to asbestos and many now suffer lung disease as a result. Asbestos is only hazardous when the fibres become airborne because it is then that they can be inhaled. Once inhaled the fibres cannot be expelled due to their size, so they become lodged in the lung tissue.

Asbestos is now banned, either in whole or in part, in 60 countries worldwide including all of those in the European Union.

Asbestos Regulation

In 1970 the Asbestos industry maintained a voluntary ban on Blue Asbestos (the most harmful type of Asbestos) in its raw form. The ban did not, however, cover products containing the material. This ban was extended to Brown Asbestos (considered the 2nd most dangerous type) in 1980.

It wasn't until 1986 that the UK Government imposed an official ban on the two most harmful forms of Asbestos, and any products that contained them. The official policy was introduced to: "Prohibit the most hazardous forms and activities, namely the importation, supply and use of blue and brown (crocidolite and amosite) asbestos, asbestos spraying and the installation of asbestos insulation, License most work with asbestos insulation or coatings and Strictly control the remaining risks to anyone working with asbestos (and others affected by them)".

In 2006 the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 came into force. These new regulations combine the three previous sets of regulations covering the prohibition, control and licensing of Abestos.

The regulations prohibit the importation, supply and use of all three forms of Asbestos - Blue, Brown and white.

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Asbestos Related Lung Cancer - Facts You Should Know

The link between asbestos and lung cancer is well established today. However, this was not always the case. For many decades, asbestos was considered to be a miracle mineral. It is an excellent insulator and this was one of its primary uses. Asbestos was also incorporated into a wide range of products manufactured.

Suspicions that asbestos exposure could cause serious health problems existed as far back as the last decade of the nineteenth century. It is thought that those interested in promoting asbestos consumption acted to discredit such reports.

By 1931, the British government had concluded that asbestos was possibly harmful to the body and took steps to ensure safety of those handling asbestos. The US government undertook similar actions during the 1970s.

Unfortunately, by that time, many thousands of people had their lives seriously affected by asbestos related lung cancer and other health problems. Asbestos was widely used in factories, homes and elsewhere.

Asbestos causes problems like scarring in the lungs, lung cancer, asbestosis and pleural plaques. It also causes a deadly, aggressive type of cancer called mesothelioma.

Unlike normal lung cancer which affects the tissues of the lung itself, mesothelioma affects the lining around the lungs called the pleura. This type of cancer arises almost only due to asbestos exposure.

Even a short exposure to asbestos can cause mesothelioma. Further, the cancer can show up several decades after the asbestos exposure.

As with most lung-related cancers, smoking increases the odds of contracting mesothelioma significantly. Some studies indicate that a smoker who has been exposed to asbestos has 50 to 90 times the chances of developing mesothelioma and other cancers of the lung, when compared to a non-smoker with similar asbestos exposure. A non-smoker who has been exposed to asbestos has about 5 times higher chance of developing mesothelioma compared to people who were never exposed to asbestos.

If you have had any exposure to asbestos either in the workplace or elsewhere, you should have regular screenings to detect any abnormalities in the lung. And this should be continued because lung cancer can show up as late as 50 years after the asbestos exposure. Early diagnosis of lung cancer offers the best hope for survival.

Diagnostic methods for detecting asbestos related lung cancers include going through a patient's medical history as well as performing chest x-rays, MRI scans, CAT scans, tissue sampling and biopsy.

The outlook for those diagnosed with mesothelioma (and other types of lung cancers) is generally not encouraging. In some cases, the life expectancy for someone diagnosed with mesothelioma may be as little as 2-3 months. Multi-treatment methods used in some clinical trials have managed to significantly enhance life expectancy -- one such trial achieved a 40% survival rate at five years.

Treatment for mesothelioma often combines chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. In many cases though, surgery may be ruled out because the cancer is diagnosed at a late stage. There are new chemotherapy treatments available that seem promising.

The first drug developed specifically to treat mesothelioma was Alimta, which was approved by the Food and Drugs Administration in 2004. When Alimta is used in combination with Cisplatin, which is also a drug used to treat cancers, it was found to increase patients' life expectancy. There is intensive research going on to produce a cure for these aggressive asbestos related cancers and these efforts may eventually produce a reliable cure.

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What is Asbestos Cancer?

Exposure to a constant and high level of asbestos can often times lead to cancer. Mesothelioma and lunch cancer are to of the most common asbestos cancers reported today. Gastrointestinal cancer and colorectal cancer have also been highly reported due to asbestos exposure. Asbestos is a highly hazardous chemical that was commonly used in homes and buildings starting in the 1930's. Asbestos was used as insulation in walls as well as the backing for flooring. What makes this chemical so harmful to people is that when dry, the small shards of asbestos break off and become airborne which then creates the chance of inhaling the chemical. If asbestos is inhaled on a consistent basis, the shards attach onto the lunch tissue and in the breathing airway. After a while of continuous exposure, shards become inflamed which can lead to the growth of cancerous tumors.

Mesothelioma is a cancer that unfortunately is extremely difficult, if not impossible to cure. It attacks the thin lining of the lungs, abdomen and heart and typically affects 2,000-3,000 people every year. The link between Mesothelioma and asbestos was not originally known as most types of this cancer have not progressed to a cancerous form for 20-50 years after exposure. However, scientists who have researched for decades on the link have found that the two are directly related to each other.

Lung cancer, another commonly diagnosed cancer caused by asbestos is equally as dangerous as Mesothelioma, but this cancer can be linked to other issues such as smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke and not just asbestos exposure. Some of the symptoms of lung cancer are chest pain, shortness of breath, chronic coughing, a change in color of sputum or blood in your sputum. Other symptoms include chronic fatigue, headaches and weight loss. Contact your physician immediately if you are concerned that this cancer may have been caused by a constant level of asbestos.

Since Asbestos cancer takes such a long time to come out of dormancy, and the signs and symptoms are so subtle, that a trip to your physician is not warranted until it is too late. In cases of cancer caused by asbestos, many times these cancers are incurable because they were not aware of the sickness to begin with.

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