Asbestosis
Asbestosis is a chronic lung disease caused by prolonged exposure to asbestos, a group of silicate minerals that were widely used in construction and insulation due to their excellent thermal and electrical properties. Symptoms of asbestosis often develop years after exposure and typically include persistent shortness of breath and a chronic cough. The disease is progressive, beginning in the lower lungs and potentially leading to severe respiratory impairment and even death as lung function deteriorates.
Individuals at risk include those who worked in asbestos mining, construction trades, and industries that utilized asbestos in products like automotive brake linings. Notably, even indirect exposure—such as laundering contaminated clothing or living in buildings with asbestos insulation—can lead to the disease. While the use of asbestos has significantly declined since the 1970s due to growing awareness of its health hazards, asbestosis remains a serious concern, with thousands of deaths reported annually from asbestos-related illnesses. Current regulations aim to protect workers and prevent further exposure, but the legacy of past use continues to affect many lives today.
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Asbestosis
DEFINITION: Disease of the lungs caused by repeated exposure to asbestos
The realization that exposure to asbestos could result in serious lung disease led to the banning of this material for many uses, as well as greater awareness of the concept of environmental illness.
The generic term “asbestos” is applied to such minerals as amosite, anthophyllite, chrysotile, and crocidolite. These silicates, first used extensively in the 1940s, have remarkable qualities that initially made them desirable as both thermal and electrical insulators. After the insulating properties of were recognized, such substances were commonly used in the building trades, notably to insulate pipes and boilers. Some cements and floor tiles contained substantial quantities of asbestos, which was used as a fireproof filler. Forms of asbestos were also used to make blankets designed to smother fires and in the manufacture of safety garments for firefighters. The substance is still used in the manufacture of automotive brake and clutch linings, where its insulating qualities are particularly valued.
Asbestosis, a disease of the lungs, occurs in people who have been exposed to this silicate, but the onset of symptoms may occur years after exposure. Even those whose to asbestos has been moderate may contract the disease, an early symptom of which is perpetual shortness of breath, especially following strenuous physical activity. This symptom is often accompanied by a persistent, hacking cough. Asbestosis is a progressive disease that characteristically begins in the lower lung and spreads to the middle and upper lungs, with disabling, sometimes fatal, results as the air spaces in the lungs narrow. Little aggressive treatment exists for the disease. Asbestosis victims are urged not to and are usually treated with oxygen to improve their breathing.
Direct exposure to asbestos, especially when it occurs over extended periods, often results in asbestosis. The disease has been found in those who have worked in asbestos mines as well as in persons who have worked as pipe fitters, boilermakers, automotive mechanics working with brake and clutch linings, and demolition workers who have razed buildings in which asbestos was used for insulation.
Indirect exposure can also result in asbestosis. The disease has been reported among people who have regularly laundered work clothes that have been directly exposed to asbestos as well as among those who live or work in buildings where asbestos has been used as an insulator. Widespread exposure has been noted in situations where steel girders in large buildings were sprayed with asbestos as a fire precaution. Cases occurred in a London neighborhood near an asbestos plant among persons who had no direct contact with the plant. South Africa had outbreaks among the general near its asbestos mines.
After 1975 and with the implementation of the asbestos-ban program, the use of asbestos declined substantially as it was replaced by other fibers. By the end of the twentieth century, persons working with asbestos in the United States, particularly demolition workers, began receiving special training to help them avoid exposure that could lead to the onset of the disease. Environmental laws in most jurisdictions now prohibit the use of asbestos as an insulating material in new buildings, and many laws protect workers from exposure. Persons who were exposed in the past through work-related activities and currently suffer from the disease are usually eligible to receive workers’ compensation payments. Despite the asbestos ban, according to Asbestos Nation, from 1999 to 2017, about 236,981 to 277,654 Americans died from asbestos exposure. It is estimated that 12,000 to 15,000 Americans per year die from asbestos-related diseases.
Bibliography
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