Asbestos use sky rocketed in use during the Second World War - while shipyards were busy making ships, there was also a lot of other construction happening throughout the country. Asbestos was a cost effective, durable material that was chosen to be made into a variety of parts including gasket material.

Gasket material is in many different products from vehicles to ships and within our homes and buildings. Gaskets are used to seal two pieces of equipment to each other in a variety of fashions. One of the products that used to be commonly used to make gasket material is asbestos, until it was found out that asbestos is detrimental to health and can cause serious illnesses such as mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is a type of rare cancer that is only linked to asbestos exposure. It is a cancer of the mesothelium - the protective lining of the major organs. The cancer is most common in the pleura, the lining of the lungs, however can also happen in the lining of the abdomen or heart. There is no working treatment for mesothelioma - standard cancer therapies, such as radiation and chemotherapy, do not work for mesothelioma. Most people perish from mesothelioma within a short period of time after diagnosis. The only way you can get mesothelioma is from asbestos exposure to products such as gasket material.

However, there is no direct link between the amount of asbestos exposure and the risks of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases such as asbestosis. You may have only had limited exposure and could still get mesothelioma, while even people with major exposure or significantly increased exposure may not contract mesothelioma and live a fully healthy life.

Asbestos is made up of tiny fibers that are thin, yet very durable. It is because of these factors that asbestos was so popular for use, until the health concerns were found out. Asbestos fibers are easily dislodged into the air and easily inhaled. Once inhaled, they can lodge in the mesothelium and over time, become inflamed and cause mesothelioma cancer.

Asbestos has largely been taken off the market because of it's dangerous properties, however because it was once so intensely used in so many products, including gasket material, it is possible that there is still some asbestos in buildings and other places. There has been a major effort to safely dispose of asbestos gasket materials from the common place, however, if you suspect that you are dealing with asbestos gasket materials, you should take safety precautions, such as wearing a face mask.

For people who worked making gasket material with asbestos, the threat of asbestos related diseases such as mesothelioma is real. If you worked with asbestos gasket materials, worked to make gasket material, or installed asbestos laden gasket material, and you've now contracted mesothelioma, it's important to call a qualified and skilled mesothelioma attorney.

A mesothelioma attorney can help you find out if you can launch a lawsuit against the companies that produced gasket material and thusly caused your cancer. The symptoms for mesothelioma take between 15 and 40 years to appear, so it can be quite difficult to narrow down the cause of your mesothelioma without the help of a skilled attorney who has dedicated their career to this deadly and untreatable form of cancer. There are nearly 2,000 new cases of mesothelioma reported each year and this cancer accounts for three percent of cancer related deaths each year in the United States.

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