In the history of the modern world, there have been many occurrences of household items being noxious for individuals’ health—and eventually removed from circulation. These rare items include insecticides with D.E.T., harmful aerosols, and, of course, asbestos. Although the last of these items is not harmful in all its forms, it did nonetheless warrant a complete re-writing of construction planning—after scientists discovered many cases of Mesothelioma in people exposed to inhalable asbestos.
Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops on the protective lining of many human internal organs—mainly in an area between the lungs and chest cavity called the pleura. Other common places to develop Mesothelioma are the peritoneum (abdominal cavity’s lining) and pericardium (which surrounds the heart.) The reason why we have taken so long to change the way we incorporate asbestos into construction is that Mesothelioma takes 20 to 50 years to appear after the exposure date.
In the 1970s, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration started regulating asbestos usage in an attempt to control the spread of asbestos-related Mesothelioma. Both crysothile and amphibole asbestos have been targeted, although it is believed that the amphibole type of asbestos is more likely to cause Mesothelioma.
The controversy rages on surrounding the proper (and improper) use of asbestos in public (and private) buildings. Although many scientific studies have helped determine what does and doesn’t cause Mesothelioma, results are still unclear—much work has yet to be done in this area. Worrying is, all in all, completely useless—if you are in charge of a public institution, building, or construction company, make sure they are tackling the issue of asbestos today. As new treatments for Mesothelioma are developed and asbestos usage is curbed, let us hope that we can lower the rate of Mesothelioma-related deaths.