Frequently Asked Mesothelioma Questions

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a group of minerals occurring naturally in the environment as bundles of fibers. Asbestos can be separated into thin, durable threads. Because of the fiber's resistance to chemicals, fire and heat, along with the fact that they do not conduct electricity, asbestos has been used in many industries.

Two subgroups of asbestos exist. Chrysotile has curly fibers and is in the serpentine family of minerals. Amphibole asbestos has straight, needle-like fibers. The amphibole family includes anthophyllite, tremolite, actinolite, amosite and crocidolite asbestos. Chrysotile asbestos has been used largely in commercial applications around the globe.

Decades ago, researchers found a link between crocidolite asbestos exposure in South African miners and mesothelioma. Around 70% to 90% of mesothelioma patients have been exposed to asbestos. Many patients worked in or near shipyards or plants that made asbestos products. In the last few decades, the mesothelioma mortality rate has increased to 10% annually in most industrialized countries. This has been linked to the increased use of asbestos in manufacturing, construction and shipbuilding.

Because mesothelioma usually takes decades to manifest, the benefits of removing asbestos from homes and workplaces and creating health regulations about asbestos use may take decades to be seen. Deaths caused by mesothelioma are predicted to rise in the United States and Western Europe until at least 2020.

 

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