Susceptible to the dangers of asbestos is most people who work
in the industry and a factory using asbestos. Including those who worked on the
construction and demolition of buildings. Which is likely to inhalation of
asbestos dust to dust. Without better protection It is reported that Each year
there are at least 90,000 patients worldwide have died from lung disease caused
by asbestos. And there are thousands of other patients who were not exposed
directly to asbestos. But patients with lung disease caused by asbestos.
Everyone
is exposed to asbestos at some time during their life. Low levels of asbestos
are present in the air, water, and soil. However, most people do not become ill
from their exposure. People who become ill from asbestos are usually those who
are exposed to it on a regular basis, most often in a job where they work
directly with the material or through substantial environmental contact.
Since
the early 1940, millions of American workers have been exposed to asbestos.
Health hazards from asbestos fibers have been recognized in workers exposed in
the shipbuilding trades, asbestos mining and milling, manufacturing of asbestos
textiles and other asbestos products, insulation work in the construction and
building trades, and a variety of other trades. Demolition workers, drywall
removers, asbestos removal workers, firefighters, and automobile workers also
may be exposed to asbestos fibers. Studies evaluating the cancer risk
experienced by automobile mechanics exposed to asbestos through brake repair
are limited, but the overall evidence suggests there is no safe level of
asbestos exposure . As a result of Government regulations and improved work
practices, today’s workers (those without previous exposure) are likely to face
smaller risks than did those exposed in the past.
Individuals
involved in the rescue, recovery, and cleanup at the site of the September 11,
2001, attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City are another
group at risk of developing an asbestos-related disease. Because asbestos was
used in the construction of the North Tower of the WTC, when the building was
attacked, hundreds of tons of asbestos were released into the atmosphere. Those
at greatest risk include firefighters, police officers, paramedics,
construction workers, and volunteers who worked in the rubble at Ground Zero.
Others at risk include residents in close proximity to the WTC towers and those
who attended schools nearby. These individuals will need to be followed to
determine the long-term health consequences of their exposure .
One
study found that nearly 70 percent of WTC rescue and recovery workers suffered
new or worsened respiratory symptoms while performing work at the WTC site. The
study describes the results of the WTC Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening
Program, which was established to identify and characterize possible
WTC-related health effects in responders. The study found that about 28 percent
of those tested had abnormal lung function tests, and 61 percent of those
without previous health problems developed respiratory symptoms . However, it
is important to note that these symptoms may be related to exposure to debris
components other than asbestos.
Although it is clear that the health risks from asbestos exposure increase with heavier exposure and longer exposure time, investigators have found asbestos-related diseases in individuals with only brief exposures. Generally, those who develop asbestos-related diseases show no signs of illness for a long time after their first exposure. It can take from 10 to 40 years or more for symptoms of an asbestos-related condition to appear.
There
is some evidence that family members of workers heavily exposed to asbestos
face an increased risk of developing mesothelioma . This risk is thought to
result from exposure to asbestos fibers brought into the home on the shoes,
clothing, skin, and hair of workers. To decrease these exposures, Federal law
regulates workplace practices to limit the possibility of asbestos being
brought home in this way. Some employees may be required to shower and change
their clothes before they leave work, store their street clothes in a separate
area of the workplace, or wash their work clothes at home separately from other
clothes.
Cases
of mesothelioma have also been seen in individuals without occupational
asbestos exposure who live close to asbestos mines .
Common forms of
secondary asbestos exposure
Laundry
The clothing of
workers who handled asbestos products provided a significant risk for secondary
exposure. Because of the jagged structure of the fibers, the microscopic
particles could easily attach to clothing. Whoever handled and washed these
work clothes likely experienced secondary exposure.
Furniture
If a worker didn’t
change out of asbestos contaminated clothing before returning home, fibers
could have become embedded in the couch, chairs, carpet, bed and other pieces
of furniture.
Hugs
If a worker came
home with fibers attached to their hair, skin or clothes and later hugged their
children or spouse, family members could have been subjected to secondary
exposure. Some mesothelioma cases have developed from children sitting on their
father's or grandfather's lap after he came home from work.
Hug icon
While family members
who receive secondary exposure do not have any direct contact with
asbestos-containing products, the amount of dust brought home is enough to
cause mesothelioma or a related disease later in life.
Between 1941 and 1954, researchers at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City studied the health of 679 family members from the 1,664 workers employed at a factory in Patterson, New Jersey. The researchers discovered five cases of mesothelioma among the family members of the factory workers. Sources of asbestos dust were also found in the homes of former Patterson factory workers 20 years after the factory shut down.
CD: http://www.asbestos.com/
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