Mesothelioma Advice

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Asbestos exposure can be deadly–especially from the types of asbestos that are made up of long, thin, needle-like fibers. In decades past, before regulations were put into place, anyone working in the manufacturing industries, for example with textiles or cement pipe, was likely to be heavily exposed to asbestos. Today workers are most likely to be exposed while performing maintenance activities, dealing with accidents such as pipe explosions, or de-contaminating structures built with asbestos-containing products.

A report from the NIOSH (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) suggests that scientists and regulators need much better information about how many workers are exposed to asbestos fibers now and in the future. Read more about the asbestos risk assessment.

Until now, safety standards have revolved around the main forms of asbestos used in commercial applications. They include chrysotile asbestos, the most common type, and five amphibole varieties: amosite, crocidolite, actinolite asbestos, anthophyllite asbestos and tremolite asbestos.

Seeing that some types of asbestos fibers were particularly long and thin, and noticing that these were most often implicated in causing respiratory disease and cancer in humans, researchers started paying more attention to other long, thin mineral fibers that could enter the lungs and remain inside.

More than 15 years ago, scientists realized they couldn’t tell the difference between the effects of long, thin asbestos fibers and those of any other mineral with a similar shape. So they expanded the definition of asbestos to include other elongated mineral fibers.

Now that they are including other mineral fibers, researchers will have to invest more time and effort into finding out the specific toxic risks of other materials. There are currently workers being exposed to the long, thin fibers of taconite during their work in those mines in Minnesota, and workers exposed to talc fibers in those mines in upstate New York.

It is important for anyone who’s been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease such as mesothelioma to investigate their legal rights as soon as possible. Exposure in the workplace that took place decades ago was due to corporate misconduct and may be cause for receiving compensation. Call us at 800.443.6353 with any questions about your legal rights.