Asbestos is Still with Us

[mahatmakanejeeves]

HEALTH & MEDICINE

Asbestos is Still with Us

ALAN BRASHER — January 11, 2021

As fewer and fewer of the items we use every day are manufactured under the supervision of US authorities, asbestos seems set to become a problem of the future, not of the past.

Most of us old enough to remember the toxic exposure scandals of the 90s are well aware of the dangers associated with asbestos. However, we are also under the impression that asbestos is something of the past, that it remained somewhere in an unenlightened age, when greedy construction magnates were lining office building and homes with cheap, toxic materials. Sadly, this is not the case.

After all, until some decades ago, asbestos was used pretty much everywhere: roofs, floors, sidings, shingles, pipes, ships, boats, trains, family cars, kitchenware and even clothing, to name but a few. And “decades” stops sounding like such a long time when considering the age of the buildings and infrastructure that surround us in our day-to-day lives.

It’s little surprise that according to the CDC, mesothelioma – a cancer of the lining of the lungs exclusively caused by asbestos — still takes some 3,000 American lives each year, and this is not to count the thousands more who suffer non-lethal health complications from the toxic mineral.

It is true that a good portion of these are people over 85, who have been exposed to asbestos dust before current regulations were in place, but the “under 55s” who have succumbed to the disease is still alarming. In fact, the figures defy 1990s CDC projections for a sharp decrease in asbestos-related illness by keeping at a constant level year after year. This is despite of a supposed decrease in the use of asbestos.

We’ve already hinted at one of the causes behind this. Although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) imposed narrow guidelines on where and how to employ asbestos back in 1971; buildings, industrial facilities, and commercial ships built before this date still contain copious amounts of the mineral, and people are still being exposed when working near them.

{snip}

Products Containing Asbestos

Products containing asbestos are still legally imported into the United States. The fire-retardant mineral can be found where you would expect – firefighting equipment – as well as where you wouldn’t – high end off-road cars.

But, this is just the tip of the Iceberg. An increasing number of chemicals, off-market parts, construction and industrial material is being imported from countries where regulations regarding potentially hazardous substances are a lot leaner. Somewhat recently, off market brake pads for Toyota trucks have been recalled due to their high asbestos content.

As fewer and fewer of the items we use every day are manufactured under the supervision of US authorities, asbestos seems set to become a problem of the future, not of the past.

[leftieNanner]

1. Steve McQueen died of mesothelioma

Before he went to Hollywood, he worked in an asbestos factory.

Nasty stuff.

[rsdsharp]

2. McQueen served in the Merchant Marines and the US Marines.

Asbestos is all over ships, especially naval vessels, and McQueen actually stripped asbestos insulation off of pipes while in the Marines in the late 1940s. Asbestos is also common on movie lots. Merlin Jones, the football player turned actor died of meso due to asbestos exposure on movie lots.

It was in all kinds of products. One of the early depositions I participated in was of a plaintiff who had installed floor tiles with asbestos in a radio station I had worked in. Shingles, roofing cement, drywall compound, insulation of all kinds, gaskets, valve packing, furnaces and boilers, brake pads and linings, grinding wheels and other friction products, bakelite, caulk, spackling, concrete, spray on insulation — you name it. One of the worst products was called Limpet. It was just loose asbestos sold in a bag to be used as an additive to concrete and other products.

I did asbestos litigation for 30 years as a defense attorney. One of my early clients sold Limpet. In the late 1980s, early 90s, we usually had 200-300 files open. People were suing for plural plaques. Many, if not most, people have plural plaques; I do myself. We had one plaintiff who ran marathons as a hobby. By the time I retired, I never had more than 4 files open at a time, and often just 1-2. Virtually all of the cases were mesothelioma. There was an occasional lung cancer case, but no asbestosis or plural plaques. Many of the big defendants from the 80s were bankrupt, and the focus had shifted to defendants that weren’t even named in cases 30 years ago.

Asbestos related diseases generally have a 20-40 year latency period. Most of my clients phased out asbestos in their products in the mid to late 70s, and/or declared bankruptcy which accounted for the decrease in my asbestos case load, although asbestos litigation is still on going.

[leftieNanner]

3. Very Interesting

My only (known) experience with asbestos abatement was when we replaced the furnace in our old house and had to run all new ducts. Had to have the haz-mat guys out in their space suits to remove the stuff. Then air quality testing until it was clear. We had to move out for that period of time.

[rsdsharp]

4. It is indeed nasty, but really only when it's friable, which

it would have been when they removed the furnace. In the old days, if you were going to remove a boiler, and associated pipes, you broke it into pieces with a sledge hammer, and carried the pieces out through the dust clouds. I participated in hundreds of asbestos depositions. I never once had anyone testify that they used a mask or respirator while exposed to it.

[leftieNanner]

5. Shocking

I saw some landscape guys a few years ago blowing redwood chips onto an island in a parking lot. No masks or respirators. Redwood is nasty stuff too. And this was recently!

[gab13by13]

6. Money trumps all,

and to think that Hitler realized the dangers of asbestos and took steps to protect his workers. I know I know, just saying.