Rollboard
Asbestos is a naturally-occurring substance with special properties that made it widely-used in the construction and manufacturing industries in the twentieth century. Asbestos is both fire resistant and an excellent insulator, and was used in more than five thousand different products over the last hundred years. Asbestos-containing rollboard was used in the construction of ceilings and walls, particularly in areas where insulation and protection from heat was required, such as around wood burning stoves and furnaces. Asbestos rollboard typically contained up to 80% asbestos.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission banned the use of asbestos in most construction materials in 1977, as a safety measure to control the use of the substance due to its known health risks. Prior to 1977 the use of asbestos was largely unregulated despite the risks.
The Dangers of Asbestos
When inhaled into the lungs, asbestos fibers can cause serious diseases such as lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer with a very high mortality rate. Asbestosis and mesothelioma are caused only by exposure to asbestos. All three of these diseases typically take two or more decades to develop, and are usually the result of repeated long-term asbestos exposure.
Mesothelioma is an especially lethal cancer, for which there is currently no cure. The long latency period and the difficulty of diagnosing mesothelioma make it very difficult for patients to be treated early enough for treatments to slow or stop the development of the cancer. Two thousand Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year, and less than 50% of these people will live longer than two years after diagnosis.
Even if asbestos rollboard is present in your home or work place, you may not necessarily be at risk of exposure. These materials are safe as long as they are in good condition and are left undisturbed, as asbestos is dangerous only if fibers are airborne and able to be inhaled.
If your home was built in or before the 1980s, it may have been built using asbestos rollboard or other construction materials containing asbestos. It is important to know whether asbestos-containing materials are present so that you can monitor the condition of the materials, particularly if you are planning to remodel, as this will likely cause disturbance of asbestos fibers.
Asbestos and your Legal Rights
The greatest dangers of asbestos exposure and development of asbestos-related diseases lie with workers involved in the manufacturing of products such as asbestos rollboard, or in industries that used asbestos products, such as in the ship-yard and construction industries. The families of such workers may even have been exposed to asbestos, as in the past many companies did not provide protective clothing for their workers, and they may have transported asbestos fibers into the home on their clothing.
The development of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases is a tragedy, and one that could have been avoided with the provision of safety equipment to prevent asbestos exposure. If you have developed mesothelioma, contact an experienced mesothelioma lawyer and find out if you can claim compensation from the company responsible for your exposure.
A mesothelioma lawyer can help you gather information about how and when the asbestos exposure occurred, and help you decide what form of legal action to take. Claiming financial compensation can provide funds to pay for medical expenses and loss of income if you are unable to work, and more importantly allows you to obtain some justice for the negligent actions of the company responsible for your asbestos exposure.
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