Asbestos is found virtually everywhere in the United States. It was once mined all across the country and mixed into everyday products. Now, people who were exposed to this mineral are dying from a rare type of cancer called mesothelioma.
In this article, we explore commonly asked questions about mesothelioma and asbestos exposure. If your question isn’t answered below, please contact us at (312) 578-9501. We’d be more than happy to help you.
Answering the Most Frequently Asked Questions on Mesothelioma and Asbestos
Q: What Is Asbestos?
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral fiber found in rocks and soil. It used to be called a “miracle mineral” because it is so resistant to heat, electricity, and chemicals. It was used widely for years in construction materials, automotive parts, and fire-resistant textiles because of these properties.
Today, however, it is well understood that asbestos is a toxic and carcinogenic pathogen. In fact, asbestos remains the number one cause of occupational cancer in the United States.
Asbestos fibers can separate very easily into tiny pieces when handled or damaged. These loose fibers, when inhaled or swallowed, build up in the respiratory system, which can cause diseases, such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma.
Asbestos becomes a health risk when it is encountered in large quantities or is disturbed and distributed into the air (such as when a building is demolished or home remodeled). Loose asbestos fibers are odorless and tasteless, as well as invisible to the naked eye. They must be detected by laboratory testing.
There is no safe level of asbestos exposure. However, the longer and more intense the exposure, the more likely an individual is to develop an asbestos-related disease.
Q: Is Asbestos Illegal in the United States?
Today, asbestos is banned in more than 50 countries throughout the world—but not the U.S. While not banned, asbestos use and removal are heavily regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other government entities. Asbestos can now be used only in products that have historically used asbestos and only if there is no adequate substitute. It is typically used in products that require fireproof properties such as protective clothing, cement, and brake linings.
As a result, the use of asbestos in new products and construction use has decreased steeply in the United States since its peak in 1973.
Furthermore, asbestos remains in older buildings, particularly homes, factories, schools, and commercial buildings. Likewise, older products containing asbestos, including common household items such as toasters and hair dryers, remain in use. Americans will continue to be impacted by the toxic mineral for many years to come.
Q: What is Mesothelioma?
Mesothelioma is a form of cancer of the tissue that lines organs, particularly of the lungs and chest wall. The great majority of mesothelioma diagnoses are caused by exposure to asbestos. While asbestos can cause a number of health problems, mesothelioma is often the most fatal.
Individuals who develop mesothelioma were most likely exposed to asbestos at work or lived with someone who brought asbestos fibers home from work on their clothes and equipment.
By some estimates, 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed annually in the United States. These numbers are actually increasing despite diminished use of asbestos in the U.S. Symptoms of mesothelioma include shortness of breath, swollen abdomen, chest wall pain, cough, exhaustion, and weight loss. Due to the disease’s long latency period, it can take between 15 and 50 or more years after the first instance of asbestos exposure for mesothelioma symptoms to appear.
Q: Other than Mesothelioma, What Diseases Are Caused by Asbestos?
Despite the decline in asbestos use in the United States, the portion of the population suffering from asbestos-related diseases continues to increase. Due to the long latency period of asbestos-related diseases, new cases are still rapidly being diagnosed. Epidemiological studies indicate that we are just hitting the peak of new cases of asbestos-related diseases being diagnosed.
Since asbestosis guidelines were issued in 1979, approximately 45,000 Americans have died from asbestos-related diseases. Individuals exposed to asbestos are at greater risk for asbestosis, pleural abnormalities, mesothelioma, and other forms of cancer.
Asbestosis is a chronic lung disease that arises when asbestosis fibers scar lung tissue. This scarring leads to the thickening and hardening of lung tissues, as well as breathing complications. Symptoms of asbestosis include labored breathing during routine tasks and exercise, chest pain, and coughing. As is the case with mesothelioma, symptoms of asbestosis may take many years to appear. While incurable, asbestosis is treatable, and people can live decades with the disease. However, asbestosis increases the risk of developing lung cancer and heart failure.
Asbestos exposure has been linked to a variety of cancers, including cancers of the lung, bladder, breast, colon, pancreas, and prostate. Moreover, smoking greatly increases the risk of developing asbestos-related diseases, particularly lung cancer.
Q: Who Is At Risk of Exposure to Asbestos?
Asbestos is so commonly present throughout the U.S. that most people have been around it at some point–but at levels too low to cause disease. It is commonly encountered in everyday items and materials, such as insulation in walls and attics, vinyl tiles, shingles, house siding, blankets protecting water pipes, and car brakes. However, asbestos is hazardous only when encountered in sufficient concentrations.
The majority of asbestos-related disease cases occur in individuals who were exposed to asbestos in their workplaces. Family members of these workers are at risk when at-risk workers bring home asbestos on their clothing and equipment.
Hundreds of occupational workers are affected by asbestos exposure. Military veterans are also at significant risk, particularly U.S. Navy veterans who served during World War II and the Korean War. These veterans have the single highest incidence of asbestos-related disease. Among everyday occupations, plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters, and electricians are among the most vulnerable to asbestos-related diseases. In addition, asbestos is a potential hazard to anyone working in shipbuilding, commercial product manufacturing, power plants, construction, automotive and aircraft mechanics, metalworking, toolmaking, firefighting, and oil refining.
Other potentially hazardous sources of asbestos include homes and apartments built before 1980 and asbestos mines or other natural asbestos deposits, particularly parts of California and Montana.
Q: What Should I Do If I Suspect There Is Asbestos In My Home?
If the building materials in your home are not damaged, they should be left alone. They generally won’t pose a health risk. Without a label indicating asbestos, you usually cannot tell if a material contains asbestos just by looking at it. But disturbing asbestos-containing materials risks setting loose otherwise contained asbestos fibers.
If you are planning to remodel your home or if your home has damaged building materials, you should have it inspected by a trained and accredited asbestos professional. The professional should take samples for analysis. Do not attempt to take samples yourself.
If you suspect a building material or an object contains asbestos in your home, take every precaution to avoid damaging it. You may limit activities in the vicinity of the materials to prevent disturbing the asbestos and releasing fibers.
Q: What Should I Do If I See Loose Asbestos?
If you suspect debris contains loose asbestos, retain a trained and accredited asbestos professional to repair or remove the asbestos. Do not dust, sweep, or vacuum asbestos-containing debris unless it is impossible to prevent access or traffic through them.
If it is absolutely impossible to prevent people from encountering and potentially disturbing loose asbestos, have it cleaned with a wet mop using a mask to prevent asbestos inhalation. Be sure everyone accessing the area uses respiratory protection, such as a mask.
Q: How Do I Identify and Retain an Asbestos Professional?
The EPA maintains a list of agencies for each state which regulate handling asbestos (https://www.epa.gov/asbestos/state-asbestos-contacts). In turn, these agencies maintain a list of licensed and accredited professionals in your area.
To avoid conflicts of interest, you should hire one professional to inspect and assess your asbestos needs and a separate, unrelated professional to do the actual repair/removal.
Any professional you retain should be able to provide evidence of their accreditation. Ask your asbestos professionals to document their completion of federal or state-approved training, as well as references and a list of similar projects they have recently completed.
You can also check on the past performance of your asbestos professionals with your local air pollution control board, the local agency responsible for worker safety, and the Better Business Bureau. You should ask whether the firm has any safety violations and whether it has any legal actions filed against it.
When you find and retain your professional, make sure the inspection will include a complete visual examination, careful collection, and laboratory analysis of samples. If asbestos is found, the professional should provide a written evaluation describing its location, the extent of damage to it, and recommendations for correction or prevention.
According to the EPA, your contractor should follow the following procedures to prevent or minimize hazards to you:
- Avoid spreading or tracking asbestos dust into other areas of your home;
- Dispose of all materials, disposable equipment, and clothing used in the job in sealed, leak-proof, and labeled heavy-duty plastic bags;
- Only use a HEPA vacuum, never a non-HEPA vacuum;
- Do not break removed material into small pieces;
- Apply a wetting agent to the asbestos material with a hand sprayer that creates a fine mist before removal, because wet fibers do not float in the air as easily as dry fibers and will be easier to clean up;
- Seal the work area from the rest of the house using plastic sheeting and duct tape, and turn off the heating and air conditioning system. For some repairs, such as pipe insulation removal, plastic glove bags may be adequate. They must be sealed with tape and properly disposed of when the job is complete;
- Ensure the work site is clearly marked as a hazard area. Do not allow household members and pets into the area until work is completed; and
- Ensure that the worksite is visually free of dust and debris.
Obtain written assurance that all procedures have been followed when the job is complete. You should also obtain a disposal manifest to verify that the material will be disposed of in a landfill licensed to receive asbestos.
Once the work is completed, clean the entire area thoroughly with wet mops, wet rags, sponges, or HEPA vacuum cleaners. Never use regular vacuum cleaners for this.
Once any asbestos removal work is completed, the inspection professional who performed the initial analysis should return and take a post-work air quality sample after the work is complete to ensure that asbestos levels in the area have not increased in the process.
For brake and clutch repairs, use only repair shops following Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations.
Want to Learn More About the History of Asbestos in America? Download Our Free Book
Millions of American workers were exposed to asbestos for decades. The general public at that time didn’t know the dangers of this mineral–but some asbestos companies did. Yet, they continued to mine and produce products with asbestos, putting profits over people.
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