Asbestos Exposure: How Diseases & Risks Are Associated With Asbestos Exposure?
Before coming up with the risks and diseases associated to the asbestos exposure, you should first learn what it's all about and why such a term was given to it.
What is Asbestos?
Asbestos is basically a type of mineral which is used heavily
in industries. The name "Asbestos" is given to 6 minerals that are
abundantly found in the environment. One of the most crucial properties of
asbestos is that it's resistant to heat and due to this it is used heavily.
Asbestos relates to bundle of naturally occurring fibers that
can be separated into the form of threads. It's then used in many industrial
and commercial purposes. More asbestos related minerals are also available
naturally like erionite.
If you look the structure of Asbestos chemically, it exists
in nature in the form of silicate compounds which means that they are made up
of the atoms of Silicon and Oxygen in their molecular form.
You can understand the term asbestos by looking at their
basic structure. Researchers say that asbestos is generally divided into two
major types of groups. One is Serpentine asbestos and another is known as
amphibole asbestos.
The peculiar thing about Serpentine asbestos is that it
contains a mineral named chrysotile
which is abundantly found in the form of long and curly fibers that can also be
woven. These chrysotile fibers are a type of asbestos fibers that are still
being used in various commercial applications.
On the other hand, Amphibole asbestos naturally occurs in the
form of minerals like amosite, tremolite, anthophyllite and actinolite. Please
note that Amphibole is made up of short and long needle like fibers that are
way too brittle as compared to the serpentine fibers.
Also Read: When is Asbestos Dangerous? What's Asbestos Exposure Law?
How is Asbestos Used?
The first use of asbestos came into effect in late 1800s when
it was mined and used for commercial purpose. After the world came to know
about the relevance of asbestos, it started using more often. It was also used
during world wars.
One great use of asbestos is in the building and construction
industries that mainly used the mineral to strengthen plastic and cement. Its
use is also being made in some other works like fireproofing, insulation, sound
absorption and roofing.
For example, the ship building industry has consistently used
asbestos for the insulation of hot water pipes, steam pipes and boilers. In the
same ways, asbestos is also used in the automotive industry in clutch pads and
vehicle brake shoes.
In addition to this, asbestos is also being used in many
other ways including adhesives, coatings, paints, ceiling, floor tiles and
more. Asbestos use has also been spotted in garden products like vermiculite
along with some talc-containing crayons.
The first ill effect of asbestos came into light in the late
1970s after the CPSC (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) simply banned
the products in products like gas fireplaces and wallboard patching compounds
because there was a danger of releasing asbestos fibers into the environment,
especially at the time of using those products.
It all happened in 1989 when EPA (U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency) decided to ban the use of asbestos and related compounds. In
the same ways, some more precautions were taken to ensure that no ill use of
asbestos is being done. The main purpose of this entire exercise was to reduce
or eliminate asbestos exposure.
Another research in this relation was done in the year 2000
when CPSC finally stated that risks associated due to the exposure of asbestos
fibers in crayons was too low. And so,
all the US manufacturers of crayons unanimously took the decision to eliminate
talc (clay mineral) from all their products.
Later in the year 2000 in August, EPA gain conducted a series of tests to ensure the ill effects or
hazards of asbestos exposure containing a substance vermiculite. In the
findings, EPA came to a conclusion that asbestos exposure containing
vermiculite products have only a minimal effect on the health of people who
come in contact with it.
With that, EPA also suggested people need to lower the use of
asbestos containing vermiculite products for their gardening use. This was
suggested as a precautionary measure. It also suggested limiting the amount of
dust produced while using vermiculite use for various gardening purpose.
It further stated that all those consumers who use
vermiculite products need to practice such products in a well ventilated area.
Also, to keep it damp while using it and so on.
All the above regulations that are given by various
institutions in the US managed to lower the use and health risk of asbestos and
related products in the US.
Also Read: Sarcomatoid Mesothelioma Treatment, Diagnosis Survival and Sub Types
Health Hazards Due to the Exposure to Asbestos
First of all, people should know that asbestos is completely
harmless if not touched or manipulated in any way. As far as the exposure to asbestos
is concerned, people can become its prey at their homes, workplace or
communities.
Asbestos has a tendency to release its fibers into the
environment when products containing them are disturbed in any way. After tiny
asbestos fibers are released into the air, there are high chances that they get
breathed in. Since they are such tiny fibers, they can easily trap into the
linings of lungs and can remain there for several years.
Over the years, these fibers get accumulated in lungs and
cause complications like inflammation and scarring that can affect normal
breathing process and may bring serious complications over the time.
After s deep and thorough study, asbestos has now been
classified as a known category of human carcinogen by HHS (Department of Health
and Human Services) and EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). After
studies conducted at various levels, it has now been established beyond doubt
that asbestos exposure can become a strong reason of developing mesothelioma
(rare cancer of the lining of abdomen and chest).
Well, this is quite rare but asbestos exposure is the most
common reason of causing cancer of lungs. On the other hand, there is almost no
or limited evidence that shows that long term asbestos exposure may become the
reason of some other type of cancers like larynx, lungs and ovaries.
Increased risk of asbestos exposure can become the reason of
causing asbestosis which happens to be an inflammatory condition that affects
lungs. The symptoms include coughing, breath sordidness or permanent damage of
lungs.
It can also become the reason of several other types of
cancers including pleural disorders, pleural plaques and other malignant lung
disorders. For example, take the case of
Erionite which has become the most common human carcinogen by HHS and IARC.
Also Read: Can You Get Mesothelioma Without Asbestos Exposure
Who is at risk for an asbestos-related disease?
Asbestos exposure is meant different at different point of
time. Speaking generally, all people get asbestos exposure at some level during
their lifetime. But it doesn't mean that they pose any kind of danger to their
lives.
However, large amount of asbestos exposure over the time
generally cause serious complication. Most of the time, it has been reported
that people come in contact with asbestos exposure at the place of their work
directly or indirectly.
Throwing some light on the data collected in this regard, it
has been come to the light that during the early 1940s, hundreds of American
workers came in contact with asbestos.
Most of the cases related to the health hazards caused due to
the exposure of asbestos fibers are found in the workers exposed in various
activities like asbestos mining, shipbuilding trades, construction and building
trades, drywall removers, firefighters, automobile workers, asbestos mining and
milling and various other works.
Studies conducted in this regard suggest that there is no
safe level of asbestos exposure which means there is not a prescribed level of
asbestos exposure that has been termed as dangerous. This is the reason why the
government always advocates taking precaution while working at such
places.
It's not a complete fact that those who are not heavily exposed by asbestos are safe. Even a smaller amount of asbestos exposure can be harmful as well. The most peculiar thing about asbestos related diseases is that there is no sign or symptoms that arise because of it even for a long time. To be precise, it may take from 10-40 years for the symptoms to appear.
What factors affect the risk of developing an asbestos-related disease?
There are a number of factors that are responsible how
asbestos exposure actually affects an individual. Take a look at some of them:
· Duration
(how long an individual was exposed)
· Source
of the exposure
· Genetic
factors, such as having a germ line mutation in BAP
· Dose
(how much asbestos an individual was exposed to)
· Size,
shape, and chemical makeup of the asbestos fibers
In general, all types and forms of asbestos are hazardous to
health, different type of asbestos fibers are responsible for health risks. As
per the results and findings by various institutions, amphibole form of
asbestos is more dangerous as compared to chrysotile.
How are asbestos-related diseases detected?
The biggest problem related to those exposed by asbestos is
that symptoms appear late. Sometimes, it happens that symptoms may appear after
a gap of many decades.
But those who have a long term asbestos exposure need to
realize that symptoms will appear sooner or later. But they can at least go to
a doctor and narrate their stories to the doctor concerned.
Well, you might be thinking about the symptoms that are most
common when someone is exposed to asbestos:
·
Swelling
of the neck or face
·
A
persistent cough that gets worse over time
·
Shortness
of breath, wheezing, or hoarseness
·
Fatigue
or anemia
·
Swelling
of the neck or face
·
Weight
loss
·
Pain
or tightening in the chest
·
Blood
in the sputum (fluid) coughed up from the lungs
All the above symptoms are generally prevalent when people
are long term exposed by asbestos. One of the tests which are most reliable in
detecting any such deformity happens to be the chest x ray.
But at the same time, the above test is unable to detect the
asbestos fibers accumulated in lungs. Still, the above test helps identify the
early signs of any kind of lung disease causing due to asbestos exposure.
Also Read: Sarcomatoid Mesothelioma symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment
How Can Workers Protect Themselves from Asbestos Exposure?
In order to protect from the alarming cases of asbestos
exposure, workers are often at a greater risk. It's because they have to come
in the direct contact with the harmful chemicals at their workplace. The best
way to protect them and to avoid such a situation is to be well informed about
the hazards of asbestos and related products.
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) happens
to be a component of the US DoL (Department of Labor) and is categorized as a
government agency to take care of the safety and health of workplaces,
construction sites and more.
In the same ways, Mine Safety and Health Administration
(MSHA) is an institution that deals with labors working under mines. It's an
administrative body that falls under DoL which is also concerned about the
quality of equipment of labors working under such an area.
Now, there are some other ways how workers can protect
themselves from getting asbestos exposure. First of all, they should be well
informed about this and secondly, they should discuss it with other employees.
They can also inform the same to their safety and health
representative as well. In this regard, OSHA can play a great role by making an
inspection of the workplace concerned.
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