Substitutes Are Replacing Asbestos In Industries

2007-05-02 10:04:19

( Legal )



You can find asbestos fibers used in many products worldwide. Until the 1970s, many asbestos jobs were open to workers in various states. But because of the increased restriction and lawsuits that lung cancer and other asbestos-related disease victims filed through their asbestos attorneys, asbestos consumption has declined in recent years.

Many industries on chemical processes have switched to substitute fibers such as polyurethane and fiberglass for insulation purposes. Due to their heat resistant properties, asbestos is still very useful material in gaskets and packings. However, concerned industries are starting to utilize various substitutes. You can still see asbestos being used to strengthen concrete water pipes. Asbestos in the form of mesh material is durable and inert, making it useful in the filtration stages of chemicals and petroleum processing industries.

There are actually two families of naturally occurring minerals that comprise the term asbestos. These are amphiboles and chrysotile. The ancients knew about these substances, as evident in four-thousand-year-old pottery containing asbestos as material. The lamps of vestal virgins utilized asbestos wicks. Even ancient historians, though, noted that slaves who labored in asbestos mines had poorer health than others and did not live long lives. In North America, about 90 percent of asbestos used was chrysotile, while the amphibole type of asbestos is more commonly used outside the US.

Research has showed that there is no marked increase of mortality for asbestos exposure up to 1,000 fibers per cubic centimeter per year, among chrysotile asbestos miners. However, there is increased risk for disease with exposure in the order of 2 to 5 fibers per cubic centimeter per year among amphibole asbestos workers. Many states now set a post asbestos abatement standard of 0.01 total fibers per cubic centimeter maximum. This air quality level must be obtained before a previous asbestos work area can be reoccupied.


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