Mesothelioma-Causing Asbestos and the Commercial use of the Mineral

The naturally occurring mineral asbestos was widely used in a variety of building components throughout much of the twentieth century. In fact, it was fitted in nearly every home built before 1978. Even after this date, asbestos was still used in construction, but in smaller quantities.

The general consensus is asbestos does not cause health problems unless its fibers are released into the air, so many homes and buildings built before the 1980s still contain asbestos. However, people should still be wary of diseases such as mesothelioma because aging asbestos-containing materials can easily release asbestos fibers into the air.

Asbestos exposure occurs when these fibers are either inhaled or ingested into the body. If this happens, the fibers typically lodge themselves in the lining of the lungs to cause pleural mesothelioma. In addition to mesothelioma, other types of asbestos cancer include lung cancer and asbestosis.

Throughout its use in construction and many other materials, there were several different forms of asbestos that were used for commercial purposes. One form is chrysotile (white asbestos), which was mined from serpentine rock.

Chrysotile is perhaps the most flexible and commonly used type of asbestos. It is considered dangerous, but not as dangerous as other kinds of asbestos. Scientists say the fibers that make up chrysotile are somewhat curly and do not remain in the lungs for long periods of time like other straight, needle-like fibers.

A second popular form of asbestos is amosite (brown asbestos), which was mined from amphibole rock in South Africa. This type of asbestos is generally known as the second most dangerous kind of asbestos.

Another, yet more hazardous form of asbestos is crocidolite (blue asbestos), which was primarily mined in both South Africa and Australia. Crocidolite fibers are straight and needle-like, making it possible for them to become lodged in the lining of the lungs for long periods of time.

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, all three of these forms of asbestos are classified as human carcinogens.

Other regulated asbestos minerals such as tremolite asbestos, actinolite asbestos, and anthophyllite asbestos are less commonly used industrially, but can still be found in a variety of construction and insulation materials. In addition, many of these types of asbestos have been reported to exist in a few consumer products.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 3:01 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, Mesothelioma. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.