Asbestos In Your Area

Asbestos in the State of Iowa

Asbestos Exposure in Iowa

Even the Greeks and Romans knew about asbestos' fire resistance and used it in making cloth and, it is believed, even burial shrouds. Asbestos is a mineral that is made up of many small fibers. These fibers can be woven together to form a fabric or added to a base and pressed into boards and hard sheets. The problem starts when the product that includes the asbestos breaks or is otherwise disturbed. When asbestos particles become airborne, they tend to float around, which makes it very easy for humans to inhale or swallow them. After long term exposure, damage is bound to occur.

There are no natural deposits of asbestos in Iowa, which means that all of the cases of asbestos related disease and death come from industry. In most of the industries that contribute to asbestos exposure in Iowa, the culprit mineral was used to insulate pipes. Asbestos is also used in protective clothing to protect workers from flames and heat. Asbestos became more popular as the Industrial Age got rolling. It was cheap, easy to get and easy to use. Prior to the dangers of asbestos being found, it was used in the manufacture of everything from brake pads for your car to tiles for the floor to a wide variety of construction material, such as wall board and adhesives.

At-Risk Occupations and Locations in Iowa

Power plants are, by far and large, where the majority of asbestos exposure has been recorded in Iowa. Ten out of the twelve work sites in Iowa that have a record of asbestos problems are power plants in the cities of Carroll, Lansing, Sioux City, Tipton, Storm Lake, Pleasant Hill and Palo. Asbestos insulation was used extensively at the time that a great many of these power plants were being built. The insulation around the pipes probably began to get tattered and asbestos particles were set lose. The other two work sites, one in Clinton and one in Des Moines, were chemical manufacturing plants.

There are also other possible sources of asbestos exposure that aren't necessarily industry related. Many of the heat resistant suits that are made to protect people from heat and flames were made of asbestos. Race car drivers even wore asbestos suits during races to help provide some protection from fire in case of an accident. After time, the suit would wear in areas and asbestos fibers would be exposed. The workers personal clothes would be covered in the fibers after taking the suit off and he would carry them home.

One of the highest risk professions, currently, is in the construction industry. Asbestos was used extensively in a lot of hospitals, schools and other government buildings. Before it was known how many risks are associated with asbestos, these buildings would be torn down and/or renovated without any safety precautions, as far as asbestos is concerned, anyway.

Asbestos-Related Deaths in Iowa

The asbestos furor reached a peak in the mid-1990's but has slowly been muscled out of the mainstream news. This doesn't mean that cases aren't still going on, just that current statistics are very hard to find. Between 1979 and 1999, there were 460 deaths attributed to asbestos. Asbestosis, which is scarring in the lungs, comes with shortness of breath, diminished lung capacity and a higher risk for a specific kind of cancer called mesothelioma, which is more common. Of the 460 deaths, 91 of them were a result of asbestosis, while the other 369 were attributed to mesothelioma. A victim of this type of cancer develops tumors in the lining that surrounds many of the organs in the chest cavity and stomach, including the lungs and the heart. Once this type of cancer metastasizes, it can travel very quickly to other parts of the body. Since injury and illness caused by asbestos can take such a long time to show up, experts believe that the numbers of cases of both asbestosis and mesothelioma will grow over the next few years and peak in about 2015.

Legal Resources for Iowa Residents

Asbestos is still in the news in Iowa. Instead of workers against corporations, it is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) against developers. The EPA is considering whether or not to bring charges against a developer in Des Moines Iowa for not taking proper safety and abatement precautions when remodeling an old building. The EPA found asbestos fibers at the work site and in the offices of the developer which means that employees, and probably the public were exposed to asbestos.

If you have either mesothelioma or asbestosis, you have two years from the date of diagnosis to file a claim with the courts. Iowa does, however, treat asbestosis and mesothelioma as complete separate from each other. In other words, if you file suit against a company for contracting asbestosis, you can file another claim if mesothelioma shows up later. The statute of limitations is still two years from the diagnosis date.

Make sure you do your homework and find solid legal representation if you decide you need to take someone to court. Just like a lot of professions, lawyers specialize in certain kinds of cases. It is going to be to your benefit to someone with experience to help you wade through the legal mire as quickly as possible.

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