The Dangers of Exposure to Asbestos
Before it was banned asbestos was used in thousands commercial products. Research shows that exposure to asbestos can cause cancer and other health issues.
It is difficult to tell if something includes asbestos by looking at it, and you can't taste or smell it. Asbestos can only be identified when materials containing it are broken, drilled, or chipped.
Chrysotile
At its height, chrysotile comprised up 99% of asbestos production. It was employed in many industries, including construction, fireproofing, and insulation. However, if workers were exposed for long periods to this toxic substance, they could develop mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. Since the 1960s, when mesothelioma began to become a problem asbestos use has declined significantly. It is still found in a variety of products we use today.
Chrysotile is safe to use if you have a comprehensive safety and handling program in place. Personnel handling chrysotile aren't at risk of being exposed to a high degree of risk at the current controlled exposure levels. Lung cancer, lung fibrosis and mesothelioma are all linked to breathing airborne respirable fibres. This has been confirmed both for the intensity (dose) as well as duration of exposure.
One study that looked into a factory that used almost exclusively chrysotile to manufacture friction materials, compared mortality rates at this factory with national death rates. The study found that after 40 years of processing low levels of chrysotile there was no significant rise in mortality rates in this factory.
Chrysotile fibres are typically shorter than other forms of asbestos. They can enter the lungs and then enter the bloodstream. This makes them much more prone to causing health effects than fibres with longer lengths.
When chrysotile is mixed with cement, it is extremely difficult for the fibres to become airborne and cause health hazards. The fibre cement products are extensively used all over the world particularly in buildings like hospitals and schools.
Studies have shown that chrysotile is less likely to cause disease than amphibole asbestos, such as amosite and crocidolite. These amphibole kinds have been the main source of mesothelioma, as well as other asbestos-related diseases. When chrysotile and cement are mixed with cement, a tough, flexible product is created that can withstand extreme environmental hazards and weather conditions. It is also easy to clean after use. Professionals can safely get rid of asbestos fibres after they have been removed.
Amosite
Asbestos refers to a set of silicate mineral fibrous that occur naturally in certain kinds of rock formations. It consists of six general groups: amphibole, serpentine anthophyllite, tremolite, anthophyllite, crocidolite (IARC, 1973).
Asbestos minerals consist of thin, long fibres that range in length, ranging from very thin to broad and straight to curled. They are present in nature as individual fibrils, or as bundles with splaying ends referred to as a fibril matrix. Asbestos can also be found in powder form (talc) or mixed with other minerals to form vermiculite or talcum powder. They are used extensively as consumer products, such as baby powder, cosmetics and face powder.
The greatest asbestos use was during the early two-thirds of the twentieth century in the period when it was employed in insulation, shipbuilding, fireproofing and other construction materials. The majority of occupational exposures were asbestos fibres borne by air, but certain workers were exposed to toxic talc or vermiculite, and to fragments of asbestos-bearing rock (ATSDR, 2001). Exposures varied according to the industry, time frame, and geographic location.
Asbestos exposure in the workplace is mostly due to inhalation. However certain workers have been exposed via skin contact or by eating food items contaminated with asbestos. Asbestos is now only found in the the natural weathering of mined ore and deterioration of contaminated products such as insulation, car brakes and clutches and ceiling and floor tiles.
It is becoming apparent that non-commercial amphibole fibers could also be carcinogenic. These are fibers that do not form the tightly woven fibrils of the amphibole or serpentine minerals but instead are loose, flexible and needle-like. These fibers can be found in mountains, sandstones and cliffs in a variety of countries.
Asbestos is able to enter the environment in many ways, including in the form of airborne particles. It is also able to leach into water or soil. This is caused by both natural (weathering of asbestos-bearing rock) and anthropogenic causes (disintegration of asbestos-containing wastes as well as disposal in landfill sites). Asbestos contamination of surface and ground water is mostly due to natural weathering, however it has also been triggered by anthropogenic activities such as milling and mining demolition and dispersal of asbestos-containing materials, and the removal of contaminated dumping soils in landfills (ATSDR, 2001). Inhalation exposure to asbestos fibres remains the main cause of illness among people who are exposed to asbestos on a daily basis.
Crocidolite
Inhalation exposure is the most frequent method of exposure to asbestos fibres. These fibres can enter the lung which can cause serious health issues. This includes asbestosis and mesothelioma. Exposure to asbestos fibres can occur in other ways, too including contact with contaminated clothing, or building materials. The dangers of exposure are higher when crocidolite, the asbestos in the blue form, is involved. Crocidolite fibers are less dense and more fragile making them more palatable to breathe in. They can also get deeper into lung tissues. It has been associated with more mesothelioma cancer cases than other asbestos types.
The six major types of asbestos are chrysotile amosite as well as epoxiemite. Tremolite is anthophyllite, and actinolite. Chrysotile and amosite are the most frequently used types of asbestos and make up 95 percent of all commercial asbestos currently used. The other four have not been as widely used but they can be present in older buildings. They are less hazardous than amosite or chrysotile but still be a risk when combined with other minerals or when mined near other mineral deposits, such as talc and vermiculite.
Numerous studies have demonstrated an association between stomach cancer and asbestos exposure. However there is no conclusive evidence. Some researchers have reported an SMR (standardized death ratio) of 1.5 (95 percent confidence interval: 0.7-3.6), for all asbestos workers. However, others have reported an SMR of 1,24 (95 percent confidence interval: 0.76-2.5), for workers in chrysotile mines or chrysotile mills.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified all forms of asbestos as carcinogenic. All kinds of asbestos may cause mesothelioma and other health problems, but the risks vary according to the amount of exposure that people are exposed to, the kind of asbestos involved, the duration of their exposure and the method by which it is breathed in or ingested. IARC has stated that the best choice for people is to avoid all types of asbestos. If you have been exposed to asbestos and suffer from respiratory issues or mesothelioma condition, then you should seek advice from your physician or NHS111.
Amphibole
Amphiboles are a collection of minerals that can form prism-like and needle-like crystals. They are a type inosilicate mineral made up of two chains of SiO4 molecules. They are a monoclinic system of crystals, however some have an orthorhombic shape. The general formula of an amphibole is A0-1B2C5T8O22(OH,F)2. Double chains contain (Si, Al)O4 tetrahedrons linked together in a ring of six tetrahedrons. Tetrahedrons can be separated by strips of octahedral site.
gulfport asbestos attorney can be found in igneous and metamorphic rocks. They are typically dark and hard. Due to their similarity of hardness and color, they may be difficult for some to distinguish from Pyroxenes. They also have a comparable cut. However their chemistry allows many different compositions. The chemical compositions and crystal structures of the various mineral groups in amphibole can be used to identify them.
Amphibole asbestos comprises chrysotile and the five types of asbestos amosite anthophyllite (crocidolite) amosite (actinolite) and amosite. Each type of asbestos comes with its own unique properties. The most hazardous type of asbestos, crocidolite, is composed of sharp fibers that are easy to inhale into the lung. Anthophyllite has a brownish to yellowish color and is made primarily of magnesium and iron. It was previously used in products such as cement and insulation materials.
Amphiboles are difficult to analyze due to their complex chemical structure and the numerous substitutions. Therefore, a thorough analysis of their composition requires special techniques. The most common methods for identifying amphiboles is EDS, WDS, and XRD. These methods can only provide approximate identifications. For instance, they can't distinguish between magnesio hastingsite and magnesio-hornblende. These techniques also cannot distinguish between ferro-hornblende as well as pargasite.