Mesothelioma and Asbestos Exposure

[Allan Marrero]

Asbestos is present in many commercial, public, and residential buildings constructed prior to the 1980s. If you live in a home built before then, or are a home inspector and work with older public or commercial building it’s important to know where asbestos might be located and what steps you can take to avoid exposure.
Asbestos is a fibrous mineral that has been used in an estimated three to five thousand different products over the past century, ranging from construction materials to home appliances. The substance was used in construction and ship-building as well as in many manufacturing industries.
Asbestos was very widely used between the 1940s and 1980s in a variety of construction materials, as well as in household appliances and items such as brake pads and linings. The high tensile strength, high heat resistance, and chemical and physical stability of asbestos made it universally popular for many industrial purposes.However, many of the mineral’s chemical and physical properties also make it toxic. When viewed under a powerful microscope, asbestos fibers resemble tiny needles, and this structure allows them to become embedded in the body’s tissues if asbestos is inhaled or otherwise ingested. Asbestos is so chemically and physically stable that it’s very difficult for the body to breakdown or expel the fibers.If the fibers are inhaled they can lodge in lung tissue or in the lining of the lungs. Over time, the fibers cause chronic inflammation that can lead to the development of diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma. Asbestosis is a chronic lung condition that develops as inflammation causes scar tissue to develop. Mesothelioma is a rare but very aggressive type of cancer that can develop after exposure to a relatively low dose of asbestos fibers. Pleural mesothelioma is the most common type of this cancer, and affects the lining of lungs. As home inspectors we must know that any home built prior to 1980 will contain some asbestos products. For mor information please visit www.asbestos.com

[Blaine Wiley]

Are you an air quality guru, or an ambulance chaser? Curious first post for an inspector or homeowner or real estator.

[Allan Marrero]

No I'm the national Awareness Coordinator for asbestos.com and i was referred to this site by by a home inspector that felt that this information would be useful here.

[klott]

It is, thank you, Ken

[Blaine Wiley]

Very good. Thank you. We are being absolutely inundated on radio and TV in this area with ads from ambulance chasers. If you cough, it may be Mesothelioma, call us to sue someone....

Interesting that Kent Cigarettes used an asbestos fiber in their filters between 52 & 56.

How large is the correlation between smokers and mesothelioma vs. non smokers?

[Emmanuel J. Scanlan]

Hello Allan,

Thank you for making your presence known here. I have used the information on your site extensively for research and preparation of presentations. I have found the information your group is providing to be extensive and exceptional!!

NACHI Members,

asbestos.com is an exceptional site to bookmark and visit regularly!

[Russell Spriggs]

Allan, good info.

You may also want to post in a more targeted area, such as:
http://www.nachi.org/forum/f21/

[Dale Duffy]

Originally Posted by rspriggs

Allan, good info.

You may also want to post in a more targeted area, such as:
http://www.nachi.org/forum/f21/

Hi Russ,

I added their website link to my three websites a few months ago, nice people.

[Allan Marrero]

Yes, unfortunately mesothelioma is a cancer that is very often synonymous with litigation. The reason is because its very rare, there is no cure, its caused by asbestos, and the companies that manufactured asbestos knew about the dangers and risks as early as the late 20th century, and manufacturers undoubtedly knew by the 1930's. Because there is not enough research it is extremly expensive to treat and lawyers have to step in so that these families can afford the medical bills. However, there are laws to prevent lawyers from filing class action suites and award money to people that were employed by asbestos manufacturers but have absolutely no symptoms or asbesto-related desease. The laws were passed in order to award monies to mesothelioma patients that deserve it.

"There is a well-known link between tobacco and lung cancer, and a well-known link between asbestos and mesothelioma. When you combine the two, however, the risks of developing either of the two diseases increases astronomically."

"In the early 1950s, from 1952 to at least 1957, the P. Lorillard Tobacco Company manufactured their Kent cigarettes with 10mgs of crocidolite asbestos in each filter. Over 13 billion asbestos laced cigarettes were sold during those five years, increasing the risk for millions of people who believed Lorillard's ads that they were smoking the safest, healthiest cigarette ever made. According to one study, those who smoked those "healthy" cigarettes may have inhaled an average of 131 million crocidolite asbestos fibers each year. To add insult to the injury that they perpetrated on the American smoking public, the asbestos that they chose, crocidolite, is the form that is most dangerous when inhaled." http://www.asbestos.com/products/gen...te-filters.php

This is really, really sad!

[Allan Marrero]

Thank you for your kind words Escanlan, we employ writers to update our site daily with the latest news on asbestos and mesothelioma.

[Michael Larson]

Originally Posted by Allan Marrero

"There is a well-known link between tobacco and lung cancer, and a well-known link between asbestos and mesothelioma. When you combine the two, however, the risks of developing either of the two diseases increases astronomically."

What percentage is "astronomically"

[Allan Marrero]

Not too sure about the exact percentage but this might help answer that question Michael-"In a study published by the New England Journal of Medicine in 1989, researchers reported that a group of 33 cigarette factory workers who had manufactured the filters with crocidolite asbestos showed statistically significant higher rates of death from lung cancer, mesothelioma and non-malignant lung diseases than expected. In fact, in a group where the expected number of deaths was eight, twenty-eight of the men who had worked in the filter making factory had died, most of them from lung-related illnesses."
-source http://www.asbestos.com/products/gen...te-filters.php

[Michael Larson]

Originally Posted by Allan Marrero

Not too sure about the exact percentage but this might help answer that question Michael-"In a study published by the New England Journal of Medicine in 1989, researchers reported that a group of 33 cigarette factory workers who had manufactured the filters with crocidolite asbestos showed statistically significant higher rates of death from lung cancer, mesothelioma and non-malignant lung diseases than expected. In fact, in a group where the expected number of deaths was eight, twenty-eight of the men who had worked in the filter making factory had died, most of them from lung-related illnesses."
-source http://www.asbestos.com/products/gen...te-filters.php

I don't see how that study of factory filter factory workers(and their more likely high exposure) equates to an "astronomical" increase of cancer or mesothelioma for cigarette smokers who used that type of filter.

I am not saying it isn't true but that you haven't substantiated it yet.