This document discusses asbestos, a naturally occurring mineral that was widely used in construction and manufacturing throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries. While asbestos has desirable physical properties such as heat and chemical resistance, it can be hazardous to human health if fibers are inhaled. Three types of asbestos are considered most hazardous as they persist longer in the lungs. Exposure to asbestos fibers over long periods of time can lead to diseases like asbestosis and mesothelioma. Many countries have since banned or regulated the use of asbestos to reduce health risks from exposure.

1. ASBESTOS: TO BAN OR NOT

2. Asbestos (from Greek ἄσβεστος or asbestinon, meaning "unquenchable" or "inextinguishable")is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals exploited commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their asbestiform habit, long, (1:20) thin fibrouscrystals.

3. Asbestos became increasingly popular among manufacturers and builders in the late 19th century because of its sound absorption, average tensile strength, and its resistance to heat, electrical and chemical damage. When asbestos is used for its resistance to fire or heat, the fibers are often mixed with cement or woven into fabric or mats. Asbestos was used in some products for its heat resistance, and in the past was used on electric oven and hotplate wiring for its electrical insulation at elevated temperature, and in buildings for its flame-retardant and insulating properties, tensile strength, flexibility, and resistance to chemicals.

4. Amositeand crocidolite are the most hazardous of the asbestos minerals because of their long persistence in the lungs of exposed people. Tremolite often contaminates chrysotile asbestos, thus creating an additional hazard. Chrysotile asbestos, like all other forms of asbestos, has produced tumors in animals. Mesotheliomas have been observed in people who were occupationally exposed to chrysotile, family members of the occupationally exposed, and residents who lived close to asbestos factories and mines. The most common diseases associated with chronic exposure to asbestos include: asbestosis and pleural abnormalities (mesothelioma, lung cancer).

5. Asbestos exposure becomes a health concern when high concentrations of asbestos fibers are inhaled over a long time period.People who become ill from inhaling asbestos are often those who are exposed on a day-to-day basis in a job where they worked directly with the material. As a person's exposure to fibers increases, because of being exposed to higher concentrations of fibers and/or by being exposed for a longer time, then that person's risk of disease also increases. Disease is very unlikely to result from a single, high-level exposure, or from a short period of exposure to lower levels.

6. Other asbestos-related diseases Asbestos warts: caused when the sharp fibers lodge in the skin and are overgrown causing benign callus-like growths. Pleural plaques: discrete fibrous or partially calcified thickened area which can be seen on X-rays of individuals exposed to asbestos. Although pleural plaques are themselves asymptomatic, in some patients this develops into pleural thickening. Diffuse pleural thickening: similar to above and can sometimes be associated with asbestosis. Usually no symptoms shown but if exposure is extensive, it can cause lung impairment.

7. EFFECTS OF ASBESTOS EXPOSURE

8. Modern regulation United States In 1989 the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule which was subsequently overturned in the case of Corrosion Proof Fittings v. EPA, 947 F.2d 1201 (5th Cir. 1991). This ruling leaves many consumer products that can still legally contain trace amounts of asbestos. For a clarification of products which legally contain asbestos, read the EPA's clarification statement. The EPA has proposed a concentration limit of seven million fibers per liter of drinking water for long fibers (lengths greater than or equal to 5 µm). The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), has set limits of 100,000 fibers with lengths greater than or equal to 5 µm per cubic meter of workplace air for eight-hour shifts and 40-hour work weeks.

9. New Zealand In 1984, the import of raw amphibole (blue and brown) asbestos into New Zealand was banned. In 2002 the import of chrysotile (white) asbestos was banned.

10. Australia A complete ban on asbestos-containing material in Australia was introduced in 1991 although some building materials in storage were still being used in the years that followed. Queensland began regulation of asbestos removal and disposal in 2005. Handlers of asbestos materials must have a B-Class license for bonded asbestos and an A-Class license for friable asbestos. The town of Wittenoom, in Western Australia was built around a (blue) asbestos mine. The entire town continues to be contaminated, and has been degazetted, allowing local authorities to remove references to Wittenoom from maps and roadsigns.

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