1. The word “asbestos” is derived from Greek which means inextinguishable or indestructible. Greek ‘a’ means "not" while “sbestos” stands for "extinguishable", hence the term “asbestos”.Asbestos is a fibrous metamorphic mineral of hydrous magnesium silicate variety and is extracted from mines of metamorphic rocks.
2. Chrysotile,amosite,crocidolite,tremolite,acctinolite and anthophyllite are types of asbestos.Asbestos fibers are odorless and tasteless
3. It is resistant to fire or heat.It is used in brake shoes, gaskets for its heat resistance properties. In past it was used in electric oven and hotplate wiring for its electrical insulation properties. There are over 3,000 manufactured products that are known to contain asbestos
It is mixed with cement or woven into fabric or mats.
4. Fibers being small and light stay in air for a long time and thus its small size allows them to travel deeply into respiratory and get settled within smallest spaces of the lungs. These fibers by their structure break into smaller and smaller pieces and when inhaled sticks to mucus inside air passages. These fibers directly injure mesothelium cells of pleura and eventually cause mesothelioma cancer. Excessive exposure to asbestos causes asbestosis, mesothelioma and asbestos related lung cancer.
5. As a result the usage of asbestos banned in a number of countries.
6. Asbestos exposure occurs at working place to include workers working in asbestos mines, shipping industry, renovating building with asbestos in them, install break shoes, manufacture fire retardant cloth and clothing or use construction materials that include asbestos.
7. Family members of persons handling asbestos are at risk as these asbestos particles being of small size stick to the clothes of persons working in asbestos related environment and thus get transmitted to other persons.
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