Asbestos is one the highly used substance in making all forms of products. The substance is composed of oxygen, hydrogen, sodium and some naturally occurring metals. Aside from being naturally occurring chemical, it is very strong, flexible and has high tolerance to heat, acid and friction. In short, asbestos is almost indestructible. It is commonly used as a raw material in making insulation, fireproof products, and all other materials which requires strength and resistance to heat. Asbestos really does sound too good to be true, right? But there are major health related risks that this chemical would cause if you have been exposed to it for a certain amount of time.
The use of asbestos dated way back since ancient times. Back then people are not yet aware of the hazard that this chemical might cause in the long run. Most of the diseases that are caused by this chemical are both serious and often fatal if not treated immediately. Some major diseases include Mesothelioma, a form of cancer where a malignant cell develops on the protective lining that covers most of the body’s internal organs. Most people who have acquired this disease are people who have inhaled asbestos particles. Or who have been exposed to the chemical in some other ways. Not only workers expose to the chemical are of high risk to this disease, people who used asbestos cement product in their home might be of risk to the disease also. No matter how fatal Mesothelioma is, there could be cure for the disease. Although treatment could be as nasty as letting the disease spread but there is a huge possibility of getting cured.
Another asbestos caused disease is the Asbestos Lung Cancer. Studies show that there was a significant increase in workers who smoke and expose to asbestos of having lung cancer. The exposure to asbestos has increase the possibility of having lung cancer. Treatments from lung cancer highly depend on the patient’s health and the type of lung cancer that hits him. Thankfully there are now a number of treatments which a patient could choose from. Not all diseases caused by exposure to the chemical asbestos are malignant, although all could be fatal if not treated. One example of a nonmalignant disease caused by long exposure to asbestos is Asbestosis. Nonmalignant but can be disabling to the victim.
The Asbestosis is a slow progressive disease which harms its victim’s pulmonary function which could lead to lung cancer. If you are diagnosed with Asbestosis you can have some medication to prevent further complications. Although there are available treatments for this disease, Asbestosis patient can never be cured. When all the health risk on long exposure to asbestos was published during 1970, a lot of caution was developed to protect workers from possible diseases that asbestos might cause. Some companies which uses asbestos as one of there raw materials was forced to find alternative. Like the asbestos-cement products used organic fibers to substitute the use of asbestos to there product. Avoiding this entire health hazard is easy if you just have been properly informed of all the risks.