causes of mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer in the general population. However, in individuals who were exposed to asbestos, which is not so rare. That’s because the only known, proven cause of mesothelioma is asbestos. Some experts have speculated about other causes. There are cases of mesothelioma with no known exposure to asbestos. However, this does not mean that there was no exposure. The right questions should be asked. The person asking the question has to be familiar with the uses and applications of asbestos products. There are many examples where inadequate occupational histories were taken and the potential risks were not investigated.

Asbestos Largest Single Cause
Asbestos has actually been in use for centuries and has been the cause of a series of ailments and diseases including the deadly cancer mesothelioma. The word literally means inextinguishable asbestos and this name was given to this mineral by the Ancient Greeks. The Greeks gave that name because of its amazing qualities fireproof, but also noted the harmful effects of asbestos had on employees.

What is Asbestos?
Asbestos is soft and flexible, and has been widely used for many years for a variety of things. The modern use for this mineral is of isolation, and has been used in a wide range of items and structures, walls and roofs of toasters and hair dryers. This mineral became popular during the industrial revolution as a safe and effective isolation of security when it was fireproof, but it certainly is not safe in any sense. Although the risks involved in using and working with asbestos were found hundreds of years before, these risks were not taken into account when asbestos was widely used for insulation.

It was not until 1900 that the facts on the risks to the workers began to reappear. An English doctor made a post-mortem examination on a man who had worked with asbestos for many years, and found traces of fibers and dust in the lungs of man. The doctor said the man had died due to their exposure to this mineral. During the next twenty years or more professionals in many countries began to notice the fact that illness, disease and death was unusually high among asbestos workers.

In the mid 1920s, an English doctor made the first diagnosis of asbestosis, and this was followed by a study which showed that 25% of English asbestos workers showed signs of a related lung disease. Laws have been strengthened in England to provide better ventilation and more protection for workers who were regularly exposed to asbestos. Other countries have followed these steps slowly, over the next decade.

This protection was slow to run and does not prove all that effective. Although manufacturers of asbestos and the companies that used the mineral were now aware of these studies and the risks to workers, they continued to use asbestos widely, exposing many workers to the dangers associated with it. These employees continued to work with asbestos, completely unaware of the damage they could cause. Asbestos continues to be widely used until the mid-seventies, when many workers have been exposed time and have already been affected by what we now know as mesothelioma.