Asbestos contamination is known to cause Mesothelioma which occurs in the chest and abdominal cavities, lung cancer, and gastrointestinal cancer. Asbestos and tobacco together have a synergistic effect in causing lung cancer.

Mesothelioma Mesothelioma is a disease that is almost 100% preventable; the only known cause is via exposure to the deadly mineral Asbestos. It comes from inhaling the particles of dust as the asbestos degrades; eating away at the lining of your lungs and developing into a deadly cancer. Dust that was inhaled in clouds of white powder, dust that was carried home on the clothes of the men who built this country, dust that was cleaned from the clothes by the wives and children who supported their sole provider at home, dust that was packed around the heating systems in houses and offices and schools, dust that carried a deadly price; and dust made a fortune in blood money for the companies that produced it. Unfortunately, the effects of asbestos on the human body were known to be deadly for years by the companies who employed the ‘greatest generation’ and made hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars off of their backs. But instead of taking simple steps to alleviate the problem and save the lives of thousands of their workers, they choose to do nothing and continue to make a “healthy” profit with a “deadly” product. Many even went so far as to hide the truth from their workers and their families. And because the normal latency period for Mesothelioma (The time from exposure until the patient falls ill) is 20 to 30 years, many got away with this for years. We are only now beginning to see the full effects of the disease, and feel the terrible outcry of the people against those who put profits before human lives to a degree that is simply unfathomable. MesoLink.org

There is a significant amount of information that those who make their living fighting the hazards of asbestos would prefer not become widely known. This information centers around the fact that most asbestos is perfectly harmless. The fact of the matter is that there are three minerals that are used as asbestos, chrysotile, crocidolite, and amosite. By far, the most common of these is chrysotile. Chrysotile is a mineral whose atoms form thin flexible sheets. The fibers are formed when these sheets roll up. Because of this chrysotile fibers are very flexible even down to microscopic sizes. However, the other two minerals form their fibers by breaking along planes of weakness (cleavage planes) to form splinters. In larger fragments these splinters form fibers that are flexible. However, on the microscopic scale, the fragments of these minerals form very stiff slivers. Now what causes the problems is irritation of the tissues caused by asbestos particles in the lungs or gastrointestinal tract. This irritation is caused by the particles actually becoming lodged in the tissues. (It is much like getting a bunch slivers in your finger.) The very flexible rolls of chrysotile are not capable of becoming lodged in the tissues. So, the bodies mechanisms are able to flush these fibers out. Additionally chrysotile can be broken down by the body. Further aiding in its elimination. On the other hand, the very stiff slivers of crocidolite and amosite do become lodged in tissues and they can't be broken down by the body. So, they just keep building up and causing irritation. So, it is these two less common forms of asbestos that cause the problems rather than the much more common form. This has been backed up by studies. One of these studies was conducted on housewives that lived next to a Canadian chrysotile mine. This mine has no dust controls. So, the dust throughout the area was high in chrysotile. They found that these women actually had a lower than normal incidence of lung cancer. The conclusion was that, while the asbestos was not protecting against lung cancer, it certainly wasn't causing lung cancer either. So, as I write at the beginning of this post, chrysotile is the most common type of asbestos in buildings and it is harmless. However, we have whole industries that have grown up around the fear of asbestos. Lawyers have made a business out of suing over the stuff. Environmental companies make money removing it. However, none of these people ask what type of asbestos they are dealing with before they start the fear-mongering. As a result of this, there is a whole lot of unfounded fear associated with asbestos. These people are making their living at the expense of an entire industry. Yes, crocidolite and amosite are dangerous and should have been banned, but chrysotile should have been left in the market and more discrimination should be used when discussing the hazards of asbestos.