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Serious Risk from Asbestos Exposure
The U.S. Geological Survey reports that asbestos continues to
be imported for use in friction products (e.g., brakes and clutches),
roofing products, gaskets, and thermal insulation. Construction
workers are at particular risk of asbestos exposure. Workers in
the asbestos removal industry are also potentially exposed. Industrial
maintenance personnel are at risk when they repair equipment that
is insulated with asbestos-containing material, as are automotive
service personnel involved in brake and clutch repair work.
Workplace exposure to asbestos is a serious occupational health
problem in the United States. As many as eight million workers
have been exposed to asbestos. In 1991, NIOSH estimated that nearly
700,000 workers in general industry remained potentially exposed
to asbestos. That estimate did not even include mining, railroad
work, agriculture, and several other industry sectors.
In addition, "take-home" exposure, exposure involving
family members of workers who bring asbestos home on their hair,
clothing, or shoes, is a well-recognized hazard and was addressed
in a 1995 NIOSH report to Congress (Report).
Substantial Deaths
There are an ever increasing number of deaths from asbestosis,mesothelioma
(a type of cancer caused from asbestos exposure) and silicosis.
There were more than 1200 deaths associated with asbestosis and
mesothelioma in 1998.
Diseases Related to Asbestos Exposure
Asbestosis is a disease characterized by scarring of the alveolar
regions of the lungs
Lung cancer can be caused by asbestos exposure. Asbestos is one
of the leading causes of lung cancer among nonsmokers.
Malignant mesothelioma is a cancer of the tissue lining the chest
or abdomen for which asbestos and similar fibers are the only known
cause.
Nonmalignant pleural disease can appear as a painful accumulation
of bloody fluid surrounding the lungs. It's more commonly is seen
as a thick and sometimes constricting scarring of the tissue surrounding
the lungs.
Asbestos exposure is also associated with excess mortality due
to cancer of the larynx and cancer of the gastrointestinal tract.
The malignant diseases (cancers including mesothelioma) are often
fatal within a year or a few years of initial diagnosis, whereas
asbestosis deaths typically occur only after many years of suffering
from impaired breathing.
Occupations at Risk:
- ship and boat building
- nonmetallic mineral products
- construction materials
- industrial chemicals
- chemical technicians
- mechanics
- repairers
- stevedores
- masons
- furnace and kiln operators
- painters
- construction workers
- janitors and cleaners
- welders
- insulation workers
- plumbers
- sheet metal workers
- plasterers
- air-conditioning repair
- refrigeration repair
If you feel you have been impacted by asbestos exposure, you may
be entitled to legal compensation.
Jeff Rasansky is licensed to practice before all state courts
in Texas, the United States District Courts in the Northern and
Eastern Districts of Texas and the Fifth United States Circuit
Court of Appeals.
Click here to contact
The Rasansky Law Firm.
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