History
Occupational disease is defined as the disease that arises from the situations to which a specific type of worker is exposed, and the disease must be acquired as a natural incident of a particular occupation. Asbestos which was used extensively till the early 1980s across main industries is one such agent which can cause severe health hazards to the workers that are exposed to it. Although almost everyone is exposed to it; as it is present in low levels in air, water, and soil, the health effects are usually only seen in people exposed to it for a longer duration of time mainly at a job site (Asbestos Exposure and Cancer Risk).
Asbestos is a group of minerals occurring in the nature as thin, durable fibers that are resistant to heat, fire, chemicals, and they do not conduct electricity. Asbestos has been mined and used in many industries like construction, automotive, and ship building. These asbestos minerals are divided into two major groups, the serpentine asbestos and the amphibole asbestos. Serpentine asbestos is the form that is mostly used in commercial applications. Amphibole can stay in the lungs for a longer time and hence considered more harmful among the two (Asbestos Exposure and Cancer Risk).
Asbestos has been used commercially in the United States since the 1800s, with its use the greatest between1930s and 1970s. Asbestos was used mainly in building and construction industries for insulation, roofing, fireproofing, for strengthening cement and plastics, and for sound absorption. It is also used in shipbuilding to insulate boilers, steam and hot water pipes. Automotive industry uses asbestos for clutch pads and vehicle brake pads. Other uses of asbestos have been in ceiling and floor tiles, paints, coa...
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Beckett, W. S., O'Reilly, K. M., & Mclaughliin, A. M. (2007, March 1). Asbestos-Related Lung Disease. American Family Physician, 683-688.
Elmes, P. (1977). Investigation into the hazardous use of asbestos. Northern Ireland 1960-76. Ulster Med J, 71-80.
OSHA Fact Sheet. (2002). Retrieved from Asbestos: https://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_AsbestosFacts/asbestos-factsheet.pdf
Selikoff, I. (1976). Lung cancer and mesothelioma during prospective surveillance of 1249 asbestos insulation workers. N.Y.Acad.Sci, 448-456.
Selikoff, I., Hammond, E., & Siedman, H. (1979). Mortality experience of insulation workers in the United States and Canada. Ann.N.Y.Acad.Sci., 91-116.
State of Lung Disease in Diverse Communities 2010. (2010). American Lung Association. Retrieved from
http://www.lung.org/assets/documents/publications/lung-disease-data/solddc_2010.pdf
Occupational Safety and Health Administration also known as OSHA is a U.S. regulatory agency that is used to implement the safety of employees, patients and the enviro...
Stemhagen A, Slade J, Altman R, Bill J. Occupational risk factors and liver cancer. A retrospective case-control study of primary liver cancer in New Jersey. American journal of epidemiology. Apr 1983;117(4):443-454.
If someone was/is exposed to Asbestos, employer should monitor the employee for health issues (breathing issues, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, bleeding, etc.).
Talbot, Evelyn O., et al. "Mortality among the residents of the Three Mile Island accident area: 1979-1992." Environmental Health Perspectives, v.108, n.6, June 2000, pp. 545-552.
The James Hardie Industries is a an industrial building materials company, head office in Ireland, manufactory and developing materials, technologies and processes for the production of building materials. For a great deal of the twentieth century, James Hardie was the leading producer of asbestos cement sheet and other building products, which used asbestos as a support material in Australia. However working with James Hardies’ products containing asbestos caused people to develop asbestosis and malignant mesothelioma. As James Hardie was one of the companies involved in the mining of asb...
Asbestos is a group of silicate minerals that is now a known carcinogen. However, it was once used in a variety of construction materials, including insulation and pipe wrappings, due to
The Lancet.(2011) Early assessment of cancer outcomes in New York City firefighters after the 9/11 attacks: an observational cohort study Volume 378, Issue 9794, Pages 898 - 905, 3 September 2011 doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60989-6
Residents of a remote town in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia are calling on the government to step in and address possible asbestos exposure due to a building purchased with government money.
Gao, P., Tomasovic, B., & Stein, L. (2011). Performance Evaluation of 26 Combinations of Chemical Protective Clothing Materials and Chemicals After Repeated Exposures and Decontaminations. Journal Of Occupational & Environmental Hygiene, 8(11), 625-635. doi:10.1080/15459624.2011.616161
WHile you may assume that sociaty did not realise the dangers that asbestos preesent until revently, this is false. Ancient visilizations realized that their asbestos works eventually devloped a wide variety of lung illneses, so much so that a promiment Roman observer even adised that workers should be protected and as such, the ancient verison of what i now reffered to as a dust mask was created to protect asbestos miners.
Asbestos has been used since prehistoric times and there is archaeological evidence from Finland of pottery containing asbestos fibers dating from 2500 BC (Mcculloch, 1986). Where asbestos fibers were mixed with clay to form stronger ceramic utensils and pots (Benarde, 1990), the ancient Greeks used it to make lamp wicks and other fireproof items. However, the romans wove asbestos fibers into fabrics to make towels, nets and even head coverings for women (Asbestos Diseases Society of Australia, 1995, p.10). The substance was known as "asbestos", meaning inextinguishable or unquenchable. Though, asbestos had been around for thousands of years, mass use of the product became popular in the 1800s (Mcculloch, 1986). It was made up of non-flammable fibers and was very sturdy. Also, it was used in homes, businesses, and schools. Asbestos is a dangerous fiber, because its fibers become airborne and can be inhaled or swallowed (Lu & Kacew, 2009). Over time, it can cause both chronic lung conditions and fatal forms of asbestos cancer. (Benarde, 1990; Mcculloch, 1986).
...es surrounding the lungs, which reflect past exposure to asbestos, is more common in manual workers in the building and naval industries resulting in a higher incidence of lung cancer with in a lower socio-economic status.
such as asthma and pneumonia1. Cobalt pollution may be cause from car gas turbines, used in
OSHA defines asbestos as a fiber that includes six different types of minerals such as chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite, and actinolite. Asbestos is actually known for its heat resistance and insulating properties in which is designed for everything such as fire-proof vests and brake pads to home and commercial construction. But our primary concern is that asbestos is the carcinogenic potential of airborne fibers. Asbestos is a critical toxin in the mining field and it is important to know the precautions and regulations to eliminate and control the toxins, and possibly find other alternatives than the use of asbestos.
During the winter of 1952-1953, London came face to face with the “heaviest winter smog episode known to men.” (Environmental disasters) During the weeks leading to this even London had been experiencing colder than usual weather. Because of the cold weather, households were burning more coal to keep their families warm. This caused “additional coal combustion and many people travelled only by car, which caused the occurrence of a combination of black soot, sticky particles of tar and gaseous sulphur dioxide.” (Environmental disasters) During this event the numbers of deaths per day increased to a nine times the normal number in some cities. The smog approximately killed 12,000 people. Most of the victims were children and elderly people.