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The Dangers of Exposure to Asbestos Asbestos was used in thousands of commercial products prior to when it was banned. According to studies, exposure to asbestos can cause cancer and many other health issues. You can't tell if something includes asbestos simply by looking at it and you cannot smell or taste it. Asbestos can only be identified when materials containing it are broken or drilled. Chrysotile At its peak, chrysotile made the majority of the asbestos production. It was employed in many industries which included construction, fireproofing, and insulation. If workers are exposed to asbestos, they could develop mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. Thankfully, the use this harmful mineral has diminished significantly since awareness of mesothelioma began to grow in the 1960's. It is still found in a variety of products we use today. Chrysotile is safe to use provided you have a comprehensive safety and handling plan in place. Workers handling chrysotile are not at risk of being exposed to a high degree of risk at the current limit of exposure. Lung fibrosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma have been strongly connected to breathing in airborne respirable fibres. This has been confirmed both in terms of intensity (dose) as well as the duration of exposure. In one study mortality rates were compared among a factory which used almost exclusively Chrysotile for the production of friction materials and national death rates. It was discovered that, for the 40 years of processing asbestos chrysotile at low levels of exposure there was no significant excess mortality in this factory. Chrysotile fibres are typically shorter than other forms of asbestos. They are able to enter the lungs and pass into the bloodstream. This makes them more likely to cause health effects than longer fibres. It is extremely difficult for chrysotile fibers to be inhaled or to pose a health risk when mixed with cement. Fibre cement products are used extensively throughout the world particularly in structures like hospitals and schools. Research has shown that chrysotile is less prone to cause illness than amphibole asbestos such as crocidolite and amosite. These amphibole types are the primary cause of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. When chrysotile mixes with cement, it creates a tough, flexible building product that can withstand harsh conditions in the weather and other environmental hazards. It is also easy to clean up after use. Professionals can safely eliminate asbestos fibres when they have been removed. Amosite Asbestos refers to a group of fibrous silicate minerals that naturally occur in certain types of rock formations. It is classified into six groups including amphibole (serpentine) and tremolite (tremolite), anthophyllite (crocidolite) and anthophyllite. Asbestos minerals are made up of thin, long fibers that range in length from fine to wide. They can also be curled or straight. They are found in nature as individual fibrils or bundles with splaying ends referred to as a fibril matrix. Asbestos is also found in powder form (talc), or combined with other minerals in order to create vermiculite or talcum powder. They are used extensively as consumer goods, such as baby powder cosmetics and face powder. Asbestos was extensively used in the early two-thirds of the 20th century for construction of ships, insulation, fireproofing, and other construction materials. Most occupational exposures were to asbestos fibres that were borne in the air, but certain workers were exposed to vermiculite and talc that had been contaminated, and to fragments of asbestos-bearing rock (ATSDR 2001). Exposures varied from industry industry, from era to and geographic location. Most occupational exposures to asbestos were due to inhalation, but certain workers were exposed through skin contact or through eating contaminated food. Asbestos is currently only found in the environment due to the natural weathering of mined ore and the deterioration of products contaminated with asbestos such as insulation, car brakes, clutches, and floor and ceiling tiles. syracuse asbestos lawsuit is becoming apparent that amphibole fibers that are not commercially available could also be carcinogenic. These are fibres that are not the tightly knit fibrils of the amphibole or serpentine minerals but instead are loose, flexible and needle-like. These fibres are found in the mountains and cliffs from a variety of countries. Asbestos may enter the environment in many ways, including as airborne particles. It can also be absorbed into soil or water. This can be triggered by both natural (weathering of asbestos-bearing rock) as well as anthropogenic sources (disintegration of asbestos-containing wastes as well as disposal in landfill sites). Asbestos contamination of ground and surface water is mostly due to natural weathering, but has also been caused by human activities such as milling and mining demolition and dispersal asbestos-containing material and the disposal of contaminated dumping soils in landfills (ATSDR 2001). Asbestos fibres that are emitted from the air are the most significant cause of disease among those who are exposed to it during their occupation. Crocidolite Exposure to asbestos through inhalation is the most frequent method by which people are exposed to the dangerous fibres, which can then get into the lungs and cause serious health problems. Mesothelioma and asbestosis as well as other illnesses are caused by asbestos fibres. Exposure to asbestos fibers can also take place in other ways, like contact with contaminated clothes or building materials. The dangers of this kind of exposure are heightened when crocidolite, a asbestos that is blue is involved. Crocidolite has smaller, more fragile fibers that are easy to breathe and can be lodged deeper into lung tissue. It has been associated with more mesothelioma cancer cases than other asbestos types. The six main types of asbestos are chrysotile, amosite, epoxiemite, tremolite anthophyllite and actinolite. The most popular forms of asbestos are epoxiemite as well as chrysotile which together make up 95% all commercial asbestos used. The other four types of asbestos haven't been as widely used however they can be present in older buildings. They are less dangerous than amosite or chrysotile, but they can still be dangerous when combined with other minerals or when mined near other naturally occurring mineral deposits, such as talc and vermiculite. Numerous studies have revealed an connection between exposure to asbestos and stomach cancer. The evidence isn't unanimous. Some researchers have cited a SMR (standardized death ratio) of 1.5 (95% confidence interval: 0.7-3.6), for all asbestos workers, whereas others have reported an SMR of 1,24 (95% confidence interval: 0.76-2.5), for those working in chrysotile mills and mines. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified all forms of asbestos as carcinogenic. All forms of asbestos could cause mesothelioma as well as other health issues, however the risks differ based on the amount of exposure that individuals are exposed to, the type of asbestos involved as well as the duration of exposure, and the manner in the way that it is breathed in or ingested. The IARC has recommended that the prevention of all asbestos types is the most important thing to do since this is the best option for people. However, if people have been exposed to asbestos in the past and suffer from a condition such as mesothelioma, or other respiratory conditions, they should seek guidance from their doctor or NHS 111. Amphibole Amphibole is one of the minerals that form long prism or needle-like crystals. They are a type of inosilicate minerals made of double chains of SiO4 molecules. They have a monoclinic system of crystals, however some have an orthorhombic structure. The general formula of an amphibole is A0-1B2C5T8O22(OH,F)2. The double chains are made up of (Si,Al)O4 Tetrahedrons that are joined in rings of six. The tetrahedrons are separated one another by strips of octahedral sites. Amphiboles occur in metamorphic and igneous rock. They are usually dark-colored and hard. They can be difficult to distinguish from pyroxenes due to their similar hardness and colors. They also share a corresponding cleavage pattern. Their chemistry permits a wide variety of compositions. The different amphibole mineral groups are identified by their chemical compositions and crystal structures. Amphibole asbestos consists of chrysotile, and the five asbestos types: amosite, anthophyllite (crocidolite), amosite (actinolite) and amosite. Each variety of asbestos has its own distinct properties. Crocidolite is the most dangerous asbestos kind. It contains sharp fibers which are easily breathed into the lung. Anthophyllite is a brownish to yellowish color and is composed primarily of magnesium and iron. The variety was used previously in products like cement and insulation materials. Amphiboles can be difficult to study due to their complex chemical structure and the numerous substitutions. A detailed analysis of the composition of amphibole minerals requires special methods. EDS, WDS and XRD are the most commonly used methods of identifying amphiboles. However, these methods only give approximate identifications. These techniques, for instance, cannot distinguish between magnesio hastingsite and magnesio hastingsite. These techniques also cannot differentiate between ferro-hornblende or pargasite.