Asbestos Exposure
Firefighters in Israel recently received help in creating better ways to manage their long-term health. Many fires release hidden asbestos into the air creating a hazard for firefighters and new rules should help keep them safe during their blaze control as well as in the decontamination process afterward.
Recent news also indicates civil engineers may have been at risk for asbestos inhalation over the years. Some road surfaces were created with crushed rock that had noted concentrations of the mineral. Whenever a civil engineer checked on the progress of the road they risked the potential of coming in contact with high concentrations of asbestos.
Why bring this up? Asbestos exposure can happen in some pretty unlikely places. Obviously we would expect exposure with anyone who may have been involved in asbestos mining or in the raw handling of asbestos products, but there are numerous locations where exposure can occur.
It is possible that many civil engineers and firefighters do not even recognize they are placing themselves at risk. Past exposure may lead to future medical issues. Knowing your exposure potential may be beneficial in present and future health monitoring objectives.
To put the use of asbestos in perspective the total value of products related to asbestos manufacturing was projected at $352 million in the early 1990’s. Within five years no figures were available.
More than 3,000 products remain commercially available with limited amounts of asbestos although another 2,000 products were either discontinued or required reconfiguring for ongoing use.
If you have an older small appliance or hair dryer it may be to your advantage to either replace it when it fails or hire a professional to repair it. You risk the potential of asbestos exposure if you attempt to fix it yourself.
Like most Americans you may have had more than one job in your lifetime. Is it possible you may have come in contact with asbestos?
Occupations that may have included asbestos exposure
- If you were involved in placing insulation as part of construction projects before 1975 you were likely exposed to asbestos dust and fibers.
- If you were involved in the insulation of pipes and boilers before 1975 you also are likely to have been exposed to asbestos, the primary ingredient in that insulation type.
- Products developed using asbestos paper along with a variety of gaskets and packing supplies also provided potential for worker exposure.
It’s sad to say, but if you or someone in your home worked in a large number of industrial occupations prior to 1975 it is possible asbestos exposure may have occurred.
It is also possible to experience asbestos exposure in your own home. Several products from overseas may still contain the product including some imported children’s toys. This reality prompted Dr. Michael Harbut, an international authority in asbestos-related diseases to say, "The use of these sorts of products may explain at least in part why some non-smokers get lung cancer and persons with no occupational exposures develop mesotheioloma."
As we’ve mentioned elsewhere on this site it can take from 20-50 years for Mesotheioloma to develop following significant exposure.
Interestingly there have been reports of some workers who were heavily exposed, but have not developed any problems even after several decades have passed although there have been some with shorter exposure times who have developed Mesotheioloma.
It is discouraging to point out that some asbestos use remains acceptable and imported to the United States. While the acceptance of asbestos products has drastically declined from early last century there may still be the presence of Mesotheioloma for decades to come unless a cure is found or asbestos is banned completely.
If you think you may have been exposed to asbestos as part of a previous job it may be advantageous to research what products may have been used in the environment you worked in. This may not be possible in all cases, but it may be a worthwhile pursuit.
On our next page we’ll look at what legal recourse you may have if you have been diagnosed with Mesotheioloma.
