Mesothelioma And The Asbestos Time Bomb
Whether the fault lies with manufacturers & employers
(assuming they knew of the dangers) or the employees (did everyone
diligently use respirator equipment and protective clothing, if it was
supplied?), is something for the mesothelioma lawyers, insurance
companies and courts to thrash out.
Meanwhile, asbestosis & mesothelioma victims are dying
a painful and inexorable death, before their cases can even come to
court or a settlement is reached. As there is no cure for mesothelioma
or asbestosis, all that can be done is to make the sufferer's plight
as comfortable as possible, before death finally brings merciful
relief. Although various governments have introduced, albeit
belatedly, anti-asbestos legislation, sufferers find that in some
cases the time limit for claiming compensation is unrealistically
short, given the long time (30-40 years) before mesothelioma symptoms
are first noticed. Many victims are dying before they get a court
verdict, or even before they get to court. Unlike its Greek
derivation, Mesothelioma and asbestosis victims are not
inextinguishable.
What is Mesothelioma
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Mesothelioma is a form of cancer in the fluid-filled
sac between the Mesothelium lining the lungs, or abdominal cavity or
heart, and the body. In a healthy person, the mesothelium secretes a
fluid which lubricates these organs, allowing them to expand, contract
and easily slide over neighboring tissues. Fluid in excess of that
required for lubrication is removed through the blood & lymph system.
In a person with Mesothelioma, the asbestos fibers penetrate the
organ, into the fluid sac, producing cancerous cells which attack
other cells, thickening the fluid, causing pain, and difficulty with
breathing. Peritoneal Mesothelioma and, less commonly, Pericardial
Mesothelioma, are not as common as the pleural type, but just as
deadly. |
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The Causes of Pleural Mesothelioma
Pleural Mesothelioma, the most common form of
mesothelioma, is caused, according to all known evidence, exclusively
by inhalation of asbestos fibers. These fibers are very thin & sharp
enough to penetrate the lining of the lung, entering the plural sac,
thereby damaging the mesothelium cells.
Often, cancerous growth results, as described above.
Other factors also come into play, including the changes induced in
macrophages by their ingestion of asbestos particles. The asbestos
seems to stimulate the macrophage to produce free radicals, which then
affect DNA to induce cancerous cell behavior. The chances of a person
in an asbestos-related environment developing lung cancer, are said to
be about 50 times increased if that person smokes, though there is no
evidence to show that smoking itself causes mesothelioma. Ironically,
one brand of cigarettes in the 1950's used asbestos in the filter
tips.
There are other factors too that can play a part, such
as heredity, general health and diet. Although not too much has been
clinically proven about these factors, as with all diseases, the
better the person's health the better their chances of not catching a
disease.
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The History of Asbestos. It is probably not generally
known that asbestos has been around since 4000 BC, when it was used in
lamp wicks and candles. Interestingly, it was also used in the cloth
wrapping of Egyptian mummies. Maybe this is the real origin of 'The
Curse of The Mummy' stories; grave robbers, and maybe Egyptologists,
could expect to get their just desserts! Clothing made from asbestos
was highly prized in ancient times to wrap the bodies of Kings, so
that their ashes would not mix with the earth or other contaminants
during cremation, and it is said the Romans simply threw their
asbestos napkins into a fire to cleanse and purify them.
Asbestos, a type of silica, is mined from three main types of
metamorphic rock:- Chrysotile (white asbestos), Amosite (brown
asbestos) and Crocodilite (blue asbestos). |
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Other asbestos bearing rocks such as Tremolite,
Anthophyllite and Actinolite are not in such common use but could
still be found in some construction work, talcum powders and
vermiculite. During the Middle Ages there does not appear to be much
evidence of asbestos use; they probably had other problems, like
recurring plagues and crusades, to contend with.
The fact that asbestos workers developed respiratory
illnesses, and died young, was known as far back as Roman times when
Pliny the Elder commented that asbestos workers seemed to have many
health problems, advising against buying asbestos-workings slaves as
they "died young". Obviously, there were no mesothelioma lawyers
around then! The deleterious effects of asbestos, in modern industrial
times, have been recorded as far back as the start of the 18th Century
but little notice was paid by factory owners & Governments to the
plight of asbestos workers - labor was cheap and life even cheaper;
nothing should stand in the way of the sacred cows of Industrial
Progress and the profits of industrialists and politicians.
That it took until the 1970s before more stricter legislation to
restrict its use and safeguarded workers was drawn up, is scandalous.
A charitable reason for this inertia may be that asbestos had become
so widely used in almost every aspect of our everyday lives,
delivering such tremendous benefits, that there was such a reluctance
to finally admit that something so useful could also be so deadly.
People who have expounded the virtues, and made a lot of money out of,
asbestos are hardly likely to suddenly throw up their hands and admit
to being wrong. The alternative, less charitable, explanation can only
be that greed and profit were more important than employees' health.
There are many ex-asbestos industry workers who are living time bombs,
not knowing if the deadly fibers have affected their health. As
employers & governments have reluctantly been forced to legislate to
compensate workers with Mesothelioma, there needs to be greater
awareness of sufferers plight.
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