What is Asbestosis?

Asbestos occurs naturally in some geological settings. It’s a group of six minerals which have a variety of crystal shapes. The name asbestos comes from a Greek word meaning inextinguishable, which is an appropriate name for it, since it is has heat and chemical resistance, fibrous strength, and flexibility.

Brief History of Asbestos Use
The ancient Greeks and Romans used asbestos in clothing, and it was noted even back then that the slaves who wove those fabrics developed lung problems.

During the 19th century, it became popular with building companies because of its many useful properties. Asbestos fibers were combined with cement, woven into fabrics, and used in electrical insulation. It was used in brakes and gaskets.

The first commercial asbestos mine was started in 1879 near Quebec, in the Appalachian foothills there. Use of asbestos expanded until the mid-20th century, and by then it was used in bricks, pipes, fire retardants, ceiling insulation, drywall, flooring, roofing, lawn furniture, and even in some cigarette filters. During WW II, ships were built with asbestos in the pipe wrappings, boilers, and engine parts. Millions of homes were built with asbestos being part of them, and thousands of schools and other public buildings.

Parallel with this expansion of asbestos use was the gradual discovery that it seemed to cause breathing problems and a lot of early deaths. In 1924 in England, the first case of Asbestosis was diagnosed.

Asbestosis is chronic inflammation of the lungs. When a person has been exposed to asbestos for many years, as in an asbestos mine, shipbuilding yard during WW II, or construction site in the first part of the 20th century, asbestos fibers lodge in the lungs. As time passes, they penetrate more deeply into the lungs until they reach the tiny air sacs where oxygen is transferred from the air breathed in to the blood circulating in the lungs.

The presence of these tiny fibers triggers the lung’s protective mechanism. The body has special cells whose job is to ingest foreign bodies, but the asbestos fibers resist and prevail. The cells die off and eventually a fibrous mass builds up. It impedes the intake of oxygen from the air, and the elimination of carbon dioxide from the blood. As more such fibrous areas build up, lung capacity reduces.

There is no cure. People can use an oxygen tank to help with the shortness of breath. Built-up fluid in the lungs can be drained. Mesothelioma may also develop, which is cancer of the lungs’ lining. Breathing problems may become so severe that the brain is deprived of oxygen, and fails to send heartbeat messages. This leads to heart failure.

Asbestosis and mesothelioma are viewed as occupational diseases. If you believe you may have been exposed to asbestos at any time in your life, the first step would be to get a chest X-ray.

You might also want to consult an asbestosis attorney to learn more about your legal rights. Each state has a statute of limitations, a time limit within which you must file your asbestosis case. They do not start running from the time of your asbestos exposure, but from the time you first discovered that you had a health condition caused by asbestos. There have been many lawsuits over asbestosis and mesothelioma which have won compensation for the plaintiffs.