What is asbestos?
Asbestos is a naturally occurring silicate mineral with long, thin fibrous crystals. The word asbestos is a borrowed Greek adjective meaning inextinguishable. The Greeks termed asbestos the miracle mineral because of its soft and pliant properties, as well as its ability to withstand heat.
Asbestos is used in many types of construction materials including roofing, insulation, and pipe fittings. It has great insulating properties for both temperature and sound, it is resistant to electricity and water as well as it also acts as a flame retardant.
Asbestos became increasingly popular among manufacturers and builders in the late 19th century because of its resistance to heat, electrical and chemical damage, sound absorption and tensile strength. When asbestos is used for its resistance to fire or heat, the fibers are often mixed with cement or woven into fabric or mats. Asbestos was used in some products for its heat resistance, and in the past was used on electric oven and hotplate wiring for its electrical insulation at elevated temperature, and in buildings for its flame-retardant and insulating properties, tensile strength, flexibility, and resistance to chemicals.
What are the health hazards of exposure to asbestos?
Asbestos is toxic. The inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause serious illnesses, including malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis (a type of pneumoconiosis). Since the mid 1980s, most developed countries and the European Union have banned asbestos.
Exposure to asbestos may increase the risk of several serious diseases:
• Asbestosis- chronic inflammatory medical condition affecting the parenchymal tissue of the lungs.;
• Lung cancer;
• Mesothelioma- a form of cancer that is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos. In this disease, malignant cells develop in the mesothelium, a protective lining that covers most of the body's internal organs. Its most common site is the pleura (outer lining of the lungs and internal chest wall), but it may also occur in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity), the heart, the pericardium (a sac that surrounds the heart) or tunica vaginalis.; and
• Other cancers, such as those of the larynx, oropharynx, gastrointestinal tract, and kidney.
Who is at risk?
Nearly everyone is exposed to asbestos at some time during their life. However, most people do not become ill from their exposure. People who become ill from asbestos are usually those who are exposed to it on a regular basis, most often in a job where they work directly with the material or through substantial environmental contact.
Although it is known that the risk to workers increases with heavier exposure and longer exposure time, investigators have found asbestos-related diseases in individuals with only brief exposures. Generally, those who develop asbestos-related diseases show no signs of illness for a long time after their first exposure. It can take from 10 to 40 years for symptoms of an asbestos-related condition to appear.
There is some evidence that family members of workers heavily exposed to asbestos face an increased risk of developing mesothelioma. This risk is thought to result from exposure to asbestos fibers brought into the home on the shoes, clothing, skin, and hair of workers. This type of exposure is called paraoccupational exposure. To decrease these exposures, people exposed to asbestos at work are required to shower and change their clothing before leaving the workplace.
How to file for an asbestos claim?
People, who diagnose their disease as Mesothelioma, claim for compensation money since their employer was responsible for their illness. This is the moral duty of employer to inform people about hazardous effects of asbestos and to equip them with protective measures. To claim for compensation money is the legal procedure and it requires a asbestos real estate lawyers to file your case. You can easily find some specialized mesothelioma-asbestos real estate lawyers because of the rising graph of patients. With the help of the real estate lawyer, patients file a lawsuit against their former employer for compensation money in lieu of suffering from disease physically, as well as financially.
Lawyers, arbitrators and mediators of Miskin Law Offices have the efficient and effective Canadian Asbestos Lawyers . They represent Canadians and others with serious physical illness caused by asbestos, making claims against US manufacturers. If you are considering a claim and have not contacted an Ontario Personal Injury Lawyer yet you may want to consider them to represent you in your legal battle.
