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Exposure to asbestos can lead to a number of diseases of the lung and cancers, including lung cancer.
Most asbestos cancers are particularly aggressive, with a poor long-term outcome. Most asbestos diseases are terminal.
Asbestos is a naturally-occurring mineral. There are two main forms of asbestos: amphibole and chrysotile. Both types of asbestos are known to cause cancer, but amphibole asbestos seems to cause a rare cancer called mesothelioma more often.
Asbestos came into widespread use during the industrial revolution, since it has many very useful properties. Asbestos is very resistant to heat and flame, being both functionally fireproof and an exceptional insulator. However, by the end of the 18th century, concerns had already begun to emerge that asbestos could cause breathing problems.
By the 1920s, it was well-established that asbestos could cause serious medical problems like asbestos lung cancer.
However, asbestos remained in widespread use for decades, not being fully phased out in the United States until the 1970s and 1980s. This was due to a combination of finding and developing safer materials and coming up with regulations banning the material.
Asbestos was incorporated into things like ceiling tiles, vehicle components, and hundreds of products used in industry, homes, and the military.
Asbestos Exposure
People could suffer asbestos exposure a number of ways. Asbestos exposure could occur at any point from mining asbestos through manufacturing with asbestos, all the way to consumers using asbestos products.
Asbestos miners are an obvious population with risk factors for asbestos exposure, as are workers who machined asbestos. But workers like plumbers and boiler maintenance workers often worked with materials insulated with asbestos.
Additionally, ship workers from the 1930s through the 1950s were often exposed to asbestos, which was used to insulate naval ships.
Even though asbestos has been almost entirely phased out, there are still several classes of workers still exposed to asbestos. First, industrial hygienists and hazardous waste disposal technicians may be exposed to asbestos.
Additionally, many of the laws banning asbestos did not require the removal of existing asbestos, since the material is relatively harmless when it’s undisturbed, locked up in materials like ceiling tiles or within walls.
However, contractors renovating building made as late as the 1980s may still encounter asbestos in structures. Along similar lines, mechanics working on older vehicles could encounter asbestos components.
In addition to modern-day asbestos exposures, it can take decades for asbestos exposure to cause disease. Asbestos lawsuits are still working their way through the court system.
Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual asbestos lawsuit or asbestos class action lawsuit is best for you. [In general, asbestos lung cancer lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.] Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.
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If you or a loved one were exposed to asbestos and developed mesothelioma, lung cancer, or cancer in the lining of the lungs, abdomen or chest cavity, you may be able to take legal action against the companies responsible. Don’t delay – in most states the statute of limitations is two years to file an asbestos lawsuit after you’re diagnosed. Obtain a free and confidential case evaluation be filling out the form below.
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