How to prevent Mesothelioma Asbetos Lung Cancer

Reducing your exposure to asbestos may
lower your risk of mesothelioma.
Find out whether you work with asbestos
Most people with mesothelioma were
exposed to the asbestos fibers at work.
Workers who may encounter asbestos fibers
include:
Miners
Factory workers
Insulation manufacturers
Ship builders
Construction workers
Auto mechanics
Ask your employer whether you have a risk
of asbestos exposure on the job.
Follow your employer's safety regulations
Follow all safety precautions in your
workplace, such as wearing protective
equipment. You may also be required to
shower and change out of your work clothes
before taking a lunch break or going home.
Talk to your doctor about other precautions
you can take to protect yourself from asbestos
exposure.
Be safe around asbestos in your home
Older homes and buildings may contain
asbestos. In many cases, it's more dangerous
to remove the asbestos than it is to leave it
intact. Breaking up asbestos may cause fibers
to become airborne, where they can be
inhaled. Consult experts trained to detect
asbestos in your home. These experts may
test the air in your home to determine
whether the asbestos is a risk to your health.
Don't attempt to remove asbestos from your
home — hire a qualified expert. The
Environmental Protection Agency offers advice
on its website for dealing with asbestos in the
home.

Celebrities and Peoples opinion and comment on Asbestos Lung Cancer

Former England footballer Ian Wright is
supporting a campaign to reduce the rising
number of deaths from asbestos-related
disease.
The Health and Safety Executive's (HSE's)
campaign, Asbestos: The Hidden Killer, has
revealed that 20 tradesmen a week in the UK
die from asbestos damage to their lungs.
Workers are still being exposed to the
substance even though it's been banned.
Exposure to asbestos is the biggest single
cause of work-related deaths in the UK.
Around 4,000 people a year die from
asbestos-related disease. These diseases
include mesothelioma, a type of cancer that
affects the membrane around the lung, and
the same type of lung cancer associated with
smoking.
Many of these deaths are among tradesmen,
such as electricians, builders, plasterers and
plumbers. The death rate among this group is
increasing.
"When I was told that 20 workmen are dying
each week in the UK from asbestos-related
diseases, I was staggered," says Ian.
"It really hit home, as I used to work in the
building trade as a plasterer before my
football career took off. If there were 20
premiership players dying each week, we
would have no league in just three months."
The asbestos risk
According to the HSE, many workers,
particularly tradesmen, assume they're not at
risk because asbestos was banned many
years ago. However, as asbestos remains in
many buildings it is still a risk to workers,
even today.
Asbestos is likely to be present in any
building constructed or refurbished before the
year 2000. An estimated half a million
buildings contain it.
If a building containing asbestos is repaired
or maintained and the asbestos fibres are
disturbed, for instance, by drilling or cutting,
they can easily be inhaled as a deadly dust.
"We need to educate tradesmen about how
asbestos and its dangers are relevant to
them. We want them to change the way they
work so that they don't put their lives at risk,"
says Steve Coldrick, director of the HSE's
Disease Reduction Programme.
Mesothelioma: Tom's story
Tom King, 64, developed mesothelioma after
exposure to asbestos in his job as a
carpenter.
He renovated domestic houses, which
involved knocking ceilings and walls down to
convert houses into flats. He removed any
asbestos found during the work and threw it
into skips for removal. He had no training on
how to handle it.
"I wasn't aware of the danger of asbestos,"
says Tom. "If I'd known about it, I would have
put a mask on or I would have refused to
handle it."
After experiencing chest pains and
breathlessness in 2006, he went to visit his
doctor, who referred him for a chest X-ray
and other lung tests. Tom was diagnosed with
mesothelioma.
There is no cure for the asbestos-related
cancer, mesothelioma. However, treatments
including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and
surgery can prolong life and improve
symptoms.
How to protect yourself from asbestos
If you think you might be exposed to asbestos
in your work, or you want to find out more,
phone the HSE's asbestos helpline on 0845
345 0055, or visit www.hse.gov.uk/
hiddenkiller for a free information pack. The
pack has facts about the dangers of asbestos.
It explains where asbestos-containing
materials are likely to be present in buildings,
what they look like and how to deal with
them.
HSE has the following advice to workers who
may be exposed to asbestos:
Avoid working with asbestos wherever
possible. If you're not sure whether
asbestos is present, don't start work. Your
boss or the customer should tell you
whether or not asbestos is present.
Don't work if the asbestos material present
is a sprayed coating, board, or lagging on
pipes and boilers. Only a licensed
contractor should work on these. You can't
work with some kinds of asbestos as
they're too dangerous.
Where asbestos is present, you can only
continue to work if you've had asbestos
training and you're using the right
equipment.
To minimise asbestos dust, use hand tools
instead of power tools, and keep materials
damp but not wet. Clean up as you go,
using a special (class H) vacuum cleaner
(not a brush). Double-bag asbestos waste
and label the bags properly.
When working with asbestos, always wear
a proper mask. Ordinary dust masks are
not effective.

Introduction to Asbestos Lung Cancer Symptoms and Causes

What is asbestos?
Asbestos is the name given to a group of
minerals that occur naturally in the
environment as bundles of fibers that can be
separated into thin, durable threads. These
fibers are resistant to heat, fire, and
chemicals and do not conduct electricity. For
these reasons, asbestos has been used widely
in many industries.
Chemically, asbestos minerals are silicate
compounds, meaning they contain atoms of
silicon and oxygen in their molecular
structure.
Asbestos minerals are divided into two major
groups: Serpentine asbestos and amphibole
asbestos. Serpentine asbestos includes the
mineral chrysotile, which has long, curly fibers
that can be woven. Chrysotile asbestos is the
form that has been used most widely in
commercial applications. Amphibole asbestos
includes the minerals actinolite, tremolite,
anthophyllite, crocidolite, and amosite.
Amphibole asbestos has straight, needle-like
fibers that are more brittle than those of
serpentine asbestos and are more limited in
their ability to be fabricated (1, 2).
2.
How is asbestos used?
Asbestos has been mined and used
commercially in North America since the late
1800s. Its use increased greatly during World
War II ( 3, 4). Since then, asbestos has been
used in many industries. For example, the
building and construction industries have used
it for strengthening cement and plastics as
well as for insulation, roofing, fireproofing,
and sound absorption. The shipbuilding
industry has used asbestos to insulate boilers,
steam pipes, and hot water pipes. The
automotive industry uses asbestos in vehicle
brake shoes and clutch pads. Asbestos has
also been used in ceiling and floor tiles;
paints, coatings, and adhesives; and plastics.
In addition, asbestos has been found in
vermiculite-containing garden products and
some talc-containing crayons.
In the late 1970s, the U.S. Consumer Product
Safety Commission (CPSC) banned the use of
asbestos in wallboard patching compounds
and gas fireplaces because the asbestos
fibers in these products could be released into
the environment during use. In addition,
manufacturers of electric hairdryers
voluntarily stopped using asbestos in their
products in 1979. In 1989, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
banned all new uses of asbestos; however,
uses developed before 1989 are still allowed.
The EPA also established regulations that
require school systems to inspect buildings for
the presence of damaged asbestos and to
eliminate or reduce asbestos exposure to
occupants by removing the asbestos or
encasing it ( 2).
In June 2000, the CPSC concluded that the
risk of children's exposure to asbestos fibers
in crayons was extremely low ( 1). However,
U.S. manufacturers of these crayons agreed
to eliminate talc from their products.
In August 2000, the EPA conducted a series of
tests to evaluate the risk for consumers of
adverse health effects associated with
exposure to asbestos-contaminated
vermiculite. The EPA concluded that exposure
to asbestos from some vermiculite products
poses only a minimal health risk. The EPA
recommended that consumers reduce the low
risk associated with the occasional use of
vermiculite during gardening activities by
limiting the amount of dust produced during
vermiculite use. Specifically, the EPA
suggested that consumers use vermiculite
outdoors or in a well-ventilated area; keep
vermiculite damp while using it; avoid
bringing dust from vermiculite into the home
on clothing; and use premixed potting soil,
which is less likely to generate dust ( 2).
The regulations described above and other
actions, coupled with widespread public
concern about the health hazards of asbestos,
have resulted in a significant annual decline
in the U.S. use of asbestos. Domestic
consumption of asbestos amounted to about
803,000 metric tons in 1973, but it had
dropped to about 2,400 metric tons by 2005
( 3, 5).
3.
What are the health hazards of exposure to
asbestos?
People may be exposed to asbestos in their
workplace, their communities, or their homes.
If products containing asbestos are disturbed,
tiny asbestos fibers are released into the air.
When asbestos fibers are breathed in, they
may get trapped in the lungs and remain
there for a long time. Over time, these fibers
can accumulate and cause scarring and
inflammation, which can affect breathing and
lead to serious health problems ( 6).
Asbestos has been classified as a known
human carcinogen (a substance that causes
cancer) by the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, the EPA, and the
International Agency for Research on Cancer
( 2, 3, 7, 8). Studies have shown that
exposure to asbestos may increase the risk of
lung cancer and mesothelioma (a relatively
rare cancer of the thin membranes that line
the chest and abdomen). Although rare,
mesothelioma is the most common form of
cancer associated with asbestos exposure. In
addition to lung cancer and mesothelioma,
some studies have suggested an association
between asbestos exposure and
gastrointestinal and colorectal cancers, as
well as an elevated risk for cancers of the
throat, kidney, esophagus, and gallbladder
(3, 4). However, the evidence is inconclusive.
Asbestos exposure may also increase the risk
of asbestosis (an inflammatory condition
affecting the lungs that can cause shortness of
breath, coughing, and permanent lung
damage) and other nonmalignant lung and
pleural disorders, including pleural plaques
(changes in the membranes surrounding the
lung), pleural thickening, and benign pleural
effusions (abnormal collections of fluid
between the thin layers of tissue lining the
lungs and the wall of the chest cavity).
Although pleural plaques are not precursors
to lung cancer, evidence suggests that people
with pleural disease caused by exposure to
asbestos may be at increased risk for lung
cancer ( 2, 9).