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Where can I find a good personal injury lawyer or a good lawyer who specializes in Mesothelioma and personal injury structured settlements?

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Robert Michael asked:


What is Asbestos?

According to the Asbestos Network, asbestos actually refers to several naturally occurring minerals. These minerals have been used in commercial products to increase strength and flexibility. The Asbestos Network claims that these minerals are a mix of metals, silicon, oxygen, and hydrogen. Asbestos, like coal or gold is mined. Some of the countries that mine asbestos include the United Sates, Canada, South America and the former Soviet Union.

Types of Asbestos

Asbestos is not just one substance; in fact it can be divided into several different types, and these types can be divided into two basic groups. These two groups are serpentine and amphibole. Environmental Health and Safety claims that the serpentine group only contains one member: chrysotile. This type of asbestos is the most common form found in buildings and is also known as “white asbestos.”

Both the Asbestos Network and Environmental Health and Safety list five different types of asbestos within the amphibole group. These five include amosite, crocidolite, anthophyllite, tremolite, and actinolite. Amosite is the second most prevalent type found in building materials and is also referred to as “brown asbestos.” Crocidolite, “blue asbestos,” is found in structures where the materials need to be safe from high temperatures. The final three, anthyphyllite, tremolite, and actinolite, are rarely found.

Problems Related to Asbestos

The Asbestos Network explains that contact with asbestos can cause diseases such as asbestos lung cancer and mesothelioma. The fibrous nature of asbestos causes much of the problem. The fibers may get caught in the lungs and create lung damage. Or, they may even be swallowed and become lodged in membranes of the gastrointestinal track, according to the Asbestos Network. Again, this could lead to cancer of the lungs or of the GI tract. So while it may be thought that the lungs are the only place that can be damaged, it is other parts of the body can be negatively affected by asbestos.

Who is at Risk?

According to the Asbestos Network, the “dose” of asbestos that a person is exposed to equals the combination of the concentration, or the amount of asbestos in the air, and the duration, or the length of time that a person is exposed to asbestos. The more asbestos inhaled, the greater the chance of damage to lungs or other internal organs. Also, the Network says that cigarette smoking increases the likelihood of contracting an asbestos disease as it decreases the general health of the lungs. The Asbestos Network also lists several occupations that may be more likely to suffer from asbestos created diseases. These occupations include construction work, ship building, railroad working and automobile engineers.

How To Avoid It

There are several things that those who work around asbestos can do to limit their contact with the cancer causing fibers. The American Lung Association of Georgia insists on no eating or drinking while you are working. The Association also urges workers not to smoke and to follow proper guidelines when handling asbestos. Employers that place their employees in asbestos filled areas should have the employees properly trained on how to handle the substance, as well as how to avoid interacting with it.



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Jessie M asked:


What is the best way to remove asbestos tile from an old house? Knowing that asbestos can cause cancer I would like to know anything that would make this experience safer.

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Dianne Lacson asked:


Please make the terms simple. I need it for my report and I don’t want to say anything that I don’t understand. It’s for high school biology.

Personal Injury Lawyer by State

john b asked:


I saw on tv that the asbestos in brake pads can cause cancer so i would like to prevent someone from getting cancer if at all possible

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Joaquin Costa asked:


Lung cancer is the fastest growing cancer in the world. In the USA we have seen many cases of asbestos that are simply destroying entire families. Not only in states with a huge history in the construction industry, have show thousands of cases of asbestos victims, but over the last 15 years, mortality from lung cancer has more than tripled.

One of the most dramatic and serious problems with lung cancer is the most common and take 15 to 20 years to develop after exposure. Asbestosis, or scarring of the lung tissue, also takes 15 to 20 years to appear. This means that when asbestos starts to reveals it’s presence the people responsible of the damages based on asbestos may be already out of business or not even alive.

Althoug many companies are already aware of the dangers of asbestos, removing asbestos from older buildings is a difficult, dangerous and expensive process, and clearly not a job for amateurs. There is good reason for all these precautions. Removing asbestos from public buildings must be done by a licensed contractor who is registered with the state. Obviously this sort of rules and conditions in the law, change of each states in the USA.

So why do we still have buildings with asbestos? Well, the main reason is that depending on the extent of the work, removing or abating asbestos in a public building can run into hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, a very, very expensive kind of work for any company to afford.

In all the parts of the US, building owners are required to perform in-depth surveys of their property and report to the construction inspectors. If asbestos qualifies for removal, the building owner must contact and hire an authorized asbestos removal company, which will take care of this dangerous quemical, including removing it, transporting it and destoying it.

In many cases if buildings are going to be destroyed, there are not allowed to to be demolished if there is friable asbestos present. Also, any sort of schools or educational center are required by AHERA, the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act, to be inspected and have a management plan prepared, which is to be maintained and available for public inspection.

Now the interesting thing is how health experts are so keen in having different points regarding asbestos. According to an university research , 2.3 of every 98,000 people living in buildings made from cement containing asbestos are liable to develop lung cancer. And it has been proved that health damage due to exposure to asbestos will certainly increase rapidly in the coming months and years. Healthcare maintenance workers and engineers can be unknowingly exposed to asbestos from many possible areas and sources.

Engineers can be exposed while working in furnace rooms where boilers are insulated with asbestos, or when making repairs to old piping or doing minor renovations.

Asbestos is commonly found in ultramafic rock, including serpentine, and near fault zones. The amount of asbestos that is typically present in these rocks can be usually less than 1% up to the high level 30%. So how really asbestos arrives to our lungs? Well, asbestos fibers can be released into the air when asbestos materials are destroyed. Objects with asbestos that remain in one piece represent little or no risk for our health.



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Kirsten Hawkins asked:


/>What Is Asbestos?



Asbestos disease, mesothelioma cancers, lung cancers and asbestosis are the diseases caused because of asbestos exposure. Asbestos constitutes different naturally occurring fibrous minerals in some rocks and soil. It has found widespread use in industries and building materials such as fireproofing, roofing shingles, electric insulation, furnace, hot pipe covering, and friction products.



Recent studies have, however, revealed that exposure to asbestos can have damaging health implication resulting in asbestos disease and mesothelioma for both workers in industries making use of asbestos as well as those who live in the environment surrounding such places. Workers may inhale fine asbestos particles in the air; they also become exposed through skin contact with asbestos or by swallowing asbestos fibers while at work. These workers are vulnerable to asbestos diseases as mesothelioma and asbestosis.



Serious Effects Of Asbestos Disease- Mesothelioma



Mesothelioma is the most serious of several asbestos-related diseases detected so far. This is because of the carcinogenic effect of asbestos particles. Asbestos can cause cancer of the lungs, esophagus, colon, rectum, stomach, vocal chords, and kidneys. About 70 percent to 80 percent of all cases of asbestos disease mesothelioma - a rare type of cancer of the mesothelium, the membrane that covers and protects most of the body internal organs - are the result of asbestos exposure at work.



Asbestos disease mesothelioma may not immediately manifest. The asbestos particles can lie dormant in the body for several years and manifest later, when the prognosis is very grim. It is possible that by the time the disease is diagnosed, the cancer may have already spread significantly. In view of health concerns all new uses of asbestos in the manufacturing industries have been banned in the United States from July 1989 onward. In particular, the use of asbestos in hand-held hair dryers was voluntarily stopped in 1979. Schools are required to test for use of asbestos roofing and it is removed or covered up.



Compensation To Victims Of Asbestos Disease Mesothelioma



The first case of asbestos disease mesothelioma was filed nearly 70 years ago. Employees in industries with considerable risk of asbestos poisoning are, in principle, eligible for mesothelioma compensation. The compensation is available only for those employees who run the risk of asbestos exposure since the 1940s. Recently, many mesothelioma patients have filed lawsuits for compensation. They have been awarded compensation on the ground that the owners of industries continued to use asbestos despite the information of the health hazards it entails. Currently, help is available to victims of asbestos disease mesothelioma through many specialized legal firms in the United States



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