| Asbestos is a naturally-occuring fibrous mineral of | | | | of approximately 200,000 to 265,000 Americans. |
| metamorpic hydrous magnesium silicate. The term | | | | Asbestos use peaked in the United States in 1973, |
| "metamorphic" is used to describe a process of | | | | when 1 million tons of the material were used. The |
| extreme heat and pressure which creates specific | | | | EPA attempted to institute a complete legal ban on the |
| secondary patterns of minerals with new chemical and | | | | use of asbestos products in 1989; however, this ban |
| or physical properties. As the primary rock is heated | | | | was largely eviscerated by the US 5th Circuit Court of |
| and recooled, silicate crystals align in long rows of | | | | Appeals in 1991, and some restricted use of asbestos, |
| mineral fibers, which easily separate into tiny shards | | | | albeit in fewer products than than before, resumed. |
| thinner than a human hair. Asbestos fibers are not a | | | | Therefor, even today some workers are being |
| health risk as long as they are undisturbed. However, | | | | exposed to this toxic material. |
| when asbestos is undergoes natural weathering, or is | | | | Asbestos is a serious continuing concern to the |
| mined and processed, the microscopic particles waft | | | | Environmental Protection Agency, and their website |
| into the air and cause disease if they are inhaled. | | | | has detailed information on asbestos and its removal. |
| Asbestosis occurs when an inhaled asbestos particle | | | | Concerns about the health risks of asbestos exposure |
| irritates the body's natural defence mechanisms, | | | | date back to 1898, when the Chief Inspector of |
| causing inflammation and scarring which eventually | | | | Factories of the United Kingdom reported to |
| restricts lung function. Mesothelioma is a malignant | | | | Parliament in his Annual Report about the "evil effects |
| tumor of the membranes surrounding the heart, lungs | | | | of asbestos dust". He noted that the "sharp, glass like |
| and abdominal cavity. Asbestos can also cause | | | | nature of the particles" when allowed to remain |
| cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, larynx, | | | | suspended in the air, "have been found to be injurious, |
| stomach, lung and lymphoid tissue. | | | | as might have been expected". In 1906 a British |
| Asbestos exposure can also cause non-fatal illnesses | | | | Parliamentary Commission confirmed the first cases of |
| such as asbestos warts, caused when asbestos | | | | asbestos-related deaths in Bristish factories and called |
| fibers are lodged in the skin, causing lumps of scar | | | | for improved ventilation and other safety measures. In |
| tissue to form around the irritant in the same manner | | | | 1918 an American insurance company produced a |
| as they do in the lungs to cause asbestosis; pleural | | | | study showing premature deaths in the asbestos |
| plaques, discrete, sometimes calcified fibrous lesions | | | | industry in the United States and in 1926 the |
| which can be seen on X-rays but are too small to | | | | Massachusetts Industrial Accidents Board processed |
| cause breathing impairment; and diffuse pleural | | | | the first successful compensation claim by a sick |
| thickening, which can cause breathing impairment if it is | | | | asbestos worker. |
| extensive. | | | | Today, lawsuits claiming compensation for |
| Due to its fire resistant properties, asbestos has been | | | | asbestos-related illnesses are a growth industry in the |
| used historically for household and industrial purposes. It | | | | legal profession. An internet search of "mesothelioma |
| has been found woven into burial cloths in ancient | | | | lawyer" yields 1,910,000 results. The original |
| Egypt, and Charlemagne reportedly had a tablecloth | | | | manufacturers of asbestos products have long since |
| made of asbestos which he would throw into a fire to | | | | been driven into Chapter 11 bankruptcy; plaintiffs have |
| clean. | | | | now turned to suing corporations with peripheral |
| In World War II asbestos was considered so important | | | | connections to asbestos products. More than 70 |
| by the War Department that it was considered a | | | | American corporations have filed Chapter 11 |
| strategic material, and many American workers were | | | | bankruptcy in due to asbestos liability claims. |
| exposed in the World War II boom in shipbuilding. After | | | | Since the 1970's, approximateley 6% of all lawsuits filed |
| the war, it was widely used in the construction industry. | | | | in American courts have been asbestos-related. The |
| In modern Western society, it was used for such | | | | lawsuits now facing the courts have been described |
| diverse purposes as lamp wicks, brake shoes, oven | | | | as "an elephantine mass" by the US Supreme Court, |
| insulation, electrical hotplate wiring and home insulation, | | | | and are expected to cost between 200 to 275 billion |
| roofing and flooring. For instance, some kinds of | | | | dollars to settle. Asbestos liability is one of the largest |
| vermiculite used in home insulation into the 1970s | | | | issues facing the global insurance industry today. |
| contained asbestos. The EPA banned this product in | | | | Most epidemiological studies expected the number of |
| 1977. | | | | lawsuits to peak in the 1990s, but this has not occurred, |
| When a home owner discovers asbestos in an old | | | | either because of the long latency period of |
| home, it should not be a cause for immediate panic. If | | | | asbestos-related diseases, or because legal action is |
| the asbestos looks intact and is not pulverized, it is | | | | becoming more popular among asbestos-exposed |
| best to leave it alone. However, because of legal | | | | members of the public due to high-profile legal cases |
| liability, schools and businesses containing asbestos | | | | and widespread advertising by attorneys who |
| usually must undergo a costly removal process, | | | | specialize in such cases. |
| hazardous in itself because disturbing the stable | | | | Many complaints have been made by representatives |
| asbestos product causes fibers to fill the air. Special | | | | of industries facing lawsuits and the insurance |
| equipment must be used to insure that the removal | | | | companies who will be expected to pay them that the |
| process does not cause health problems where non | | | | asbestos-lawsuit industry is rife with fraud, with less |
| existed before. | | | | that half of all payouts reaching the plaintiffs. |
| Most industrialized nations have reduced or banned the | | | | Aggressive, ambulance-chasing lawyers are said to |
| use of asbestos for at least 30 years and now use | | | | exaggerate medical disability and coach clients on their |
| fiberglass or woven ceramic fiber as a substitute, but | | | | testimony. |
| since asbestos-caused disease has a latency period | | | | The group of plaintiffs includes not only ill people, but |
| of up to 50 years, patients are still presenting with | | | | also those who have merely have a history of |
| these illness today. Every year in America, | | | | asbestos exposure and want compensation for |
| approximately 3000 new cases of mesothelioma are | | | | potential future health risks. According to the American |
| diagnosed, and 550 deaths occurs due to asbestosis. | | | | Academy of Acturaries Mass Tort Work Group, more |
| According to the March 1991 Report of the Judicial | | | | than 100 million Americans have been exposed to |
| Conference Ad Hoc Committee on Asbestos | | | | asbestos in their workplace during the past century. |
| Litigation, asbestos exposure has caused the deaths | | | | |