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Asbestos is a naturally
occurring fibrous mineral of metamorphic hydrous magnesium silicate.
The term "metamorphic" is used to describe a process of
extreme heat and pressure which creates specific secondary patterns
of minerals with new chemical and/or physical properties. As the
primary rock is heated and re-cooled, silicate crystals align in long
rows of mineral fibers, which easily separate into tiny shards
thinner than a human hair. Asbestos fibers are not a health risk as
long as they are undisturbed. However, when asbestos undergoes
natural weathering, or is mined and processed, the microscopic
particles waft into the air and cause disease if they are inhaled.
Asbestosis occurs
when an inhaled asbestos particle irritates the body's natural
defense mechanisms, causing inflammation and scarring, which
eventually restricts lung function. Mesothelioma is a malignant tumor
of the membranes surrounding the heart, lungs and abdominal cavity.
Asbestos can also cause cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus,
larynx, stomach, lung and lymphoid tissue.
Asbestos exposure can
also cause non-fatal illnesses such as asbestos warts, caused when
asbestos fibers are lodged in the skin, causing lumps of scar tissue
to form around the irritant in the same manner as they do in the
lungs to cause asbestosis; pleural plaques, discrete, sometimes
calcified fibrous lesions which can be seen on X-rays but are too
small to cause breathing impairment; and diffuse pleural thickening,
which can cause breathing impairment if it is extensive.
Due to its fire
resistant properties, asbestos has been used historically for
household and industrial purposes. It has been found woven into
burial cloths in ancient Egypt, and Charlemagne reportedly had a
tablecloth made of asbestos which he would throw into a fire to
clean.
In World War II
asbestos was considered so important by the War Department that it
was considered a strategic material, and many American workers were
exposed in the World War II boom in shipbuilding. After the war, it
was widely used in the construction industry.
When a home
owner discovers asbestos in an old home, it should not be a cause for
immediate panic. If the asbestos looks intact and is not pulverized,
it is best to leave it alone. However, because of legal liability,
schools and businesses containing asbestos usually must undergo a
costly removal process, hazardous in itself because disturbing the
stable asbestos product causes fibers to fill the air. Special
equipment must be used to insure that the removal process does not
cause health problems where none existed before.
Most
industrialized nations have reduced or banned the use of asbestos for
at least 30 years and now use fiberglass or woven ceramic fiber as a
substitute, but since asbestos disease has a latency period of up to
50 years, patients are still being diagnosed with these illnesses
today. Every year in America, approximately 3000 new cases of
mesothelioma are diagnosed, and 550 deaths occur due to asbestosis.
According to the March 1991 Report of the Judicial Conference Ad Hoc
Committee on Asbestos Litigation, asbestos exposure has caused the
deaths of approximately 200,000 to 265,000 Americans.
Asbestos
is a serious continuing concern to the Environmental Protection
Agency, and their website has detailed information on asbestos and
its removal.
Concerns about the health risks of asbestos exposure
date back to 1898, when the Chief Inspector of Factories of the
United Kingdom reported to Parliament in his Annual Report about the
"evil effects of asbestos dust." He noted that the "sharp,
glass like nature of the particles" when allowed to remain
suspended in the air, "have been found to be injurious, as might
have been expected".
Today, lawsuits
claiming compensation for asbestos-related illnesses are a growth
industry in the legal profession. An internet search of "mesothelioma
lawyer" yields 1,910,000 results. Since the original
manufacturers of asbestos products have long since been driven into
Chapter 11 bankruptcy; plaintiffs have now turned to suing
corporations with peripheral connections to asbestos products. More
than 70 American corporations have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
due to asbestos liability claims.
Since the 1970's,
approximately 6% of all lawsuits filed in American courts have been
asbestos-related. The lawsuits now facing the courts have been
described as "an elephantine mass" by the US Supreme Court,
and are expected to cost between 200 to 275 billion dollars to
settle. Asbestos liability is one of the largest issues facing the
global insurance industry today.
Most epidemiological
studies expected the number of lawsuits to peak in the 1990s, but
this has not occurred, either because of the long latency period of
asbestos-related diseases, or because legal action is becoming more
popular among asbestos-exposed members of the public due to
high-profile legal cases and widespread advertising by attorneys who
specialize in such cases.
Many complaints have
been made by representatives of industries facing lawsuits and the
insurance companies who will be expected to pay them. The
asbestos-lawsuit industry is rife with fraud, with less that half of
all payouts reaching the plaintiffs. Aggressive, ambulance-chasing
lawyers are said to exaggerate medical disability and coach clients
on their testimony.
The group of
plaintiffs includes not only ill people, but also those who have
merely have a history of asbestos exposure and want compensation for
potential future health risks. According to the American Academy of
Actuaries Mass Tort Work Group, more than 100 million Americans have
been exposed to asbestos in their workplace during the past century.
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