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• Types of Asbestos
• ACMs (Asbestos Containing Materials)
• Health Effects
• Exposure
• What the Asbestos Companies Knew
What is Asbestos?
Asbestos is the name for a group of naturally occurring mineral
fibers found in certain types of rocks.
These silicate minerals are fibrous and have excellent heat-resistant
properties and tensile strength. Because of their unusual physical and
chemical properties, asbestos fibers have been used in products before
the Industrial Revolution.
During the 20th century, asbestos was
heavily used as a strengthener, insulator and binding agent in products
such as thermal insulation, cements, textiles, floor tiles, wallboard,
gaskets, ropes, fireproof clothing, brakes and other products.
Types
of Asbestos
There are two main varieties of asbestos: serpentine and amphibole.
Serpentine Asbestos
• Known for its snake-like, curly appearance, this
soft, flexible serpentine type of asbestos can be mixed and woven into
products that require high-tensile strength and flexibility.
Amphibole Asbestos
• A second form of commercial asbestos, amphiboles,
have a needle-like shape and a harder composition.
Common
Asbestos Fibers
The most common types of asbestos fibers are Chrysotile,
also known as white asbestos; Amosite, also
known as brown asbestos; and Crocidolite, also known
as blue asbestos. The colors refer to the minerals in their raw state.
Heath
Effects
Asbestos dust and fibers are microscopic. When asbestos is
disturbed, these microscopic fibers are released into the air. When
inhaled, they get trapped in certain organs and cause injury. The inhalation
of asbestos fiber has been associated with many types of cancer, including
mesothelioma, lung cancer, laryngeal cancer, colon cancer and esophageal
cancer, as well as asbestosis which is a chronic and deadly fibrotic
lung disease. Tragically, most asbestos-related diseases are incurable.
Exposure
Most individuals who have been injured or have died from asbestos-related
diseases were exposed when asbestos-containing products were installed
or replaced. Tradesman often had to saw, cut, and pound the products,
a process that emitted billions of microscopic asbestos fibers into
the atmosphere. As a result, anyone in the vicinity of the work was
at risk for breathing the fibers and developing disease. Even
many wives who shook out and washed the dust-laden clothes of their
husbands have developed asbestos-related diseases.
Because asbestos fibers are invisible,
tasteless, odorless, and indestructible, many people have been unknowingly
exposed to this material with devastating results. Since it can take
years after exposure for effects to show, this condition continues to
affect new individuals and their families every year. If you suspect
you have been exposed to asbestos, talk to us. We know how to protect
your rights as well as the rights of your loved ones.
Asbestos
Companies' Knowledge of Dangers
Information concerning the health hazards of asbestos began appearing
in medical and scientific literature in the early 1900s. By the late
1930s, respected medical journals already contained articles describing
how asbestos could cause asbestosis and cancer, indicating that the
disease took 15 years or more to develop (latency period); that the
diseases were often progressive; and that asbestos disease could be
fatal. In addition to the growing body of medical literature about the
dangers of asbestos published throughout the early to mid-twentieth
century, many asbestos companies had their own corporate memos, notes,
letters, and scientific articles about the health dangers of asbestos
exposure.
Despite this large body of knowledge,
asbestos companies failed to adequately warn those who would come into
contact with their products about the health hazards of such exposure.
This failure to adequately warn and
protect those who could be exposed or come into contact with asbestos
when the asbestos products were installed and/or removed is
the basis for the negligence and/or strict liability lawsuits against
these companies.
If you or a loved one have been exposed
to asbestos,or are suffering from mesothelioma or other asbestos-related
diseases, we would like to help.
E-mail
or call one of our asbestos lawyers
to
schedule a free initial consultation and evaluation of your case today.
800-556-5522
CONTACT US
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