Normal 0
Normal 0
Asbestos is a group of six different fibrous minerals: These six minerals are crocidolite, amosite, chrysotile, and also different fibrous varieties of tremolite, anthophyllite, actinolite, They fibers occur naturally in soil and rocks in many areas. These “miracle fibers” are hard to eliminate because of their resilience to acid, heat and chemicals. Straight or curly and variable lengths asbestos is always pliable and soft to the touch.
It is and has been used in a wide range of manufactured goods both in the construction industry: roofing shingles, floor & ceiling tiles, paper products, cement products, in the automotive industry in friction products (automobile clutch, brake, and transmission parts), textiles, packaging, gaskets, and coatings. Asbestos products have been used for years in the ship building trade.
What effect does it have on the body?
The thing that makes asbestos so good for manufacturing is the same thing that makes it so bad for the body; it’s durability and resistance to chemicals & outside forces. When the particles become airborne they are microscopic in size and easily inhaled. Once inside the body they lodge themselves in the lining of the major organs known as the mesothelium.
Once the small fiber is inhaled into the body it makes it way into the cavity which has the major organs and becomed enbedded there. The body then begins to release acid to try to eliminate the fiber, but instead causes damage to the body itself. Asbestosis or mesothelioma – cancer from asbestos exposure show up years after the original exposure although the scarring and fluid build up have been increasing every year.
Symptoms of mesothelioma closely copy other less serious disease making it hard to diagnose especially since it may have been between 20-50 years since the original exposure to asbestos.
The symptoms also can mirror other diseases such as pneumonia complicating and delaying correct treatment.
Tags: asbestos, asbestos fibers, asbestos poisoning, mesothelioma