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Tuesday 16 July 2013

Asbestos Exposure Cancer Best Asbestos Mesothelioma Lawyers 2013

Asbestos Exposure Cancer About Biogarphy

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The story of asbestos is an all to familiar one, "A miraculous, do anything chemical substance is identified as a serious health hazard" - except for one thing. Unlike many of its doomed chemical contemporaries, asbestos is not a product of modern technology. Its use predates history, and the recognition of health hazards associated with asbestos is recorded in writings from the first century.
The word asbestos comes from the Greek word meaning "inextinguishable" or "indestructible." However, asbestos has been known by many other names including: "mountain leather," "incombustible linen," and "rock floss." The name of chrysotile, one of the most common forms of asbestos, is derived from the Greek words "chrysos" (gold) and "tilos" (fiber) or "gold fiber."

It is possible to trace written documentation of the use of asbestos back to the days of the Roman Empire. However, evidence of the use of asbestos in pottery and chinking of log homes dating back 3000 BC has been found archeological digs in Scandinavia.

The geographer in the first century identified what was believed to be the first asbestos quarry on the Greek island of Evvoia. In early Greek and Roman times, it was used for flame retardant cloth, building materials and women's clothing. Roman restaurants used tablecloths made of asbestos. These tablecloths were flame retardant and could be thrown into the fire to remove food and other debris, and placed back on the table for the next customer. Romans also used asbestos in their building materials. Historian Pliny the Elder went so far as to note that asbestos "affords protection against all spells, particularly that of the Magi."

Asbestos was used by many different cultures for hundreds of purposes purposes. The Egyptians embalmed pharos with asbestos, and the Persians imported asbestos from India for wrapping their dead. They thought it was hair from a small animal that lived by fire and died by water.
In medieval times Asbestos was used extensively as insulation in suits of armor. And unscrupulous merchants made it into crosses that they advertised as having been made from "the true cross." Some forms of asbestos look like old wood, and merchants claimed that their resistance to fire was proof that these "wooden crosses" came from cross on which Christ was hung. .

Near the end of the 19th century, the use asbestos became even more widespread as a result of the industrial revolution. Asbestos was used in the manufacture of more than 3000 products including textiles, building materials, insulation and brake linings. Its use continued to increase through the 1970s. At that time the evidence against asbestos as a health hazard (it was found to cause asbestosis and mesothelioma) could no longer be denied, and its use fell into sudden decline.

Interestingly enough, the hazards of asbestos were recorded as early as Roman times. Both Pliny the Elder and the first century geographer Strabo noted that workers exposed to asbestos had many health problems. Pliny the Elder recommended that quarry slaves from asbestos mines not be purchased because "they die young." Lung ailments were common to anyone who worked with asbestos fibers. Pliny the Elder suggested the use of a respirator made of transparent bladder skin to protect workers from asbestos dust.

In 1897 a Viennese physician attributed emaciation and pulmonary problems to (asbestos) dust inhalation. The first documented case of an asbestos-related death was reported in 1906 when the autopsy of an asbestos worker revealed lung fibrosis. As early as 1908 insurance companies began decreasing policies and benefits for asbestos workers. Metropolitan Life increased the premiums for such workers. In 1928 Cook identified the effects of asbestos in the lungs as asbestosis. He pointed out that this fibrotic scarring of lungs resulting from prolonged exposure to asbestos dust could have a latency period of 15 years. Others have suggested that the latency period can be much longer. In 1929 a coroner called for public enquiry after the death of an employee. By 1935 physicians were beginning to notice that some patients who had asbestosis also were victims of lung cancer.
By 1978 documented studies were beginning to demonstrate the extent to which asbestos workers had been affected. In one study asbestosis was detected in 10% of asbestos workers who had been employed in the industry for 10-19 years, in 73% of workers who had been employees 20-29 years and in 92% of workers who had been employed for more than 40 years.

It is interesting that despite the evidence of severe health risks related to exposure to asbestos dating as far back as the first century, the production of products containing asbestos continued to grow until the mid 1970s. Documents reveal that asbestos manufacturers were aware of the health risks related to exposure to asbestos from the 1940s and 1950s, but chose to conceal this information from their employees. In the 1970s, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) began to regulate asbestos. Today workers are protected from exposure to asbestos as a result of very strict regulations and enforcement. Unfortunately, legislation cannot undo the damage that was done to those who worked in asbestos related jobs prior to 1980s.

Because of its fiber strength and heat resistance asbestos has been used in a variety of building construction materials for insulation and as a fire retardant. Asbestos has also been used in a wide range of manufactured goods, mostly in building materials (roofing shingles, ceiling and floor tiles, paper products, and asbestos cement products), friction products (automobile clutch, brake, and transmission parts), heat-resistant fabrics, packaging, gaskets, and coatings.

Asbestiform tremolite, CaliforniaAsbestiform tremolite, California
Most uses of asbestos are not banned. A few are banned under existing regulations.
Where asbestos may be found:
Attic and wall insulation produced containing vermiculite
Vinyl floor tiles and the backing on vinyl sheet flooring and adhesives
Roofing and siding shingles
Textured paint and patching compounds used on wall and ceilings
Walls and floors around wood-burning stoves protected with asbestos paper, millboard, or cement sheets
Hot water and steam pipes coated with asbestos material or covered with an asbestos blanket or tape
Oil and coal furnaces and door gaskets with asbestos insulation
Heat-resistant fabrics

Automobile clutches and brakes
A very simplistic visualization of an atom includes a dense nucleus comprised of a specific number of positively charged protons and uncharged neutrons surrounded by orbits of negatively charged electrons. One might be tempted to envision a configuration similar to a solar system with the nucleus representing the sun and the electrons representing planets. While this is a good starting point, you will soon discover that the solar system model does not provide a true representation of the atom.

Atomic Number
The number of protons always equals the number of electrons in an atom, and that number is equal to the atomic number. For instance, carbon has an atomic number of six and therefore has six protons and six electrons.

Atomic Mass
The weight of an atom is determined by the number of neutrons and protons that are present in the nucleus. The proton and neutron, which are similar in mass, each weighs approximately 1,836 times greater than a single electron, thus the mass contributed by electrons is insignificant when determining atomic weight or atomic mass. The atomic mass is the sum of the protons and neutrons in the nucleus. Carbon has an atomic mass of twelve. Since there are six protons in carbon (remember, it has an atomic number of six and, therefore, must have six protons), it must have six neutrons:

Asbestos Exposure Cancer Best Asbestos Mesothelioma Lawyers 2013