I am thinking about buying a 1978 model and I want to know if it would have asbestos or not. I have a 2 year old daughter and I don't want her around it, if I can help it. Thanks for your input!

The history of asbestos dates back to around 2000 thousands years ago. However, it may surprise you to know that the dangers of asbestos have been known as far back as the Roman empire, when it was linked to lung disease in the slaves that were forced to mine the mineral for commercial use.  

In more recent history, in 1918, the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics published a report that linked the deaths of asbestos workers to the inhalation of asbestos.

Then in 1924, a 33 year old woman named Nellie Kershaw died from the world's first diagnosis of asbestosis in the UK.  She worked in an asbestos plant for the world's largest asbestos conglomerate named Turner & Newall (T&N).  T&N denied any responsibility or compensation. Decades later, documents at the Manchester Metropolitan University exposed the scandalous fact that T&N had known all along that asbestos was a lethal carcinogen.

Despite the known dangers of asbestos, the asbestos industry exploded all around the world, peaking in the 1970's at over 5 million tons/year. Today, the world is still producing over 2 million tons/year even after its use has been banned in over 60 countries around the world.

So why was asbestos used on such a widespread global basis when it was a known fact that it was toxic.  The answer is profits.  Asbestos is a deadly but amazing mineral that has incredible physical properties that allow for its use as a light weight fire retardant material.

Since the lethal nature of asbestos  was public knowledge by the 1930's it has been proven in court that corporations knew of the deadly nature of asbestos and still willingly exposed the public and their employees to it. Many victims of asbestos have received compensation for their medical bills, lost wages and other expenses. On February 27, 2008, one of the largest court settlements was awarded in New Jersey.  The amount of .3 million was awarded to the widow and three daughters of Mark Buttitta from General Motors.  The interesting fact about this case was that Mr. Buttitta claimed his exposure to asbestos was from his father and brother who brought home asbestos contaminated clothing from their jobs at General Motors.

There is a massive legal industry that is growing to obtain compensation for mesothelioma patients.  Many legal precedents have been set in courts around the world which make it much easier to prove that employers knew of the dangers surrounding asbestos exposure. It is relatively easy to find a lawyer in your  area that specializes in mesothelioma litigation especially if you live in a big city.  Simply use a Google search and type in something like,"mesothelioma lawyer New York".  Your visit to the lawyer will more than likely be short lived as most mesothelioma lawyers will be respectful of your health and emotional challenges and will do all that they can to handle the case with as little of your time as possible.

that stated there was asbestos and lead paint, and that if I did not disturb it it should not be a problem. How would one disturb it? I am afraid to put a nail in a wall to hang up pictures and everything, and supposedly the lead paint is painted over, but am I or my child at risk for mesothelioma or any other asbestos related cancer in the future?

As many are already aware, asbestos exposure has been linked to a number of life threatening diseases.  Most exposure related illnesses result from the inhalation of tiny asbestos particles or fibers.  One interesting study that examined the rate of disease in miners is called, "Relation between asbestosis and bronchial cancer in amphibole asbestos miners" by G K Sluis-Cremer, B N Bezuidenhout - Br J Ind Med 1989;46:537-540 - Epidemiology Research Unit, Medical Bureau of Occupational Disease, Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa.  Here is an excerpt: "Abstract - In a necropsy series of 339 amphibole asbestos miners heavy smoking, age, and the presence of asbestosis were significantly associated with the presence of bronchial cancer. Of the 35 cases of bronchial cancer, 24 were associated with asbestosis. Eleven cases of bronchial cancer occurred in men without asbestosis; all were smokers. Standardised proportional mortality rates indicated no excess of bronchial cancer in 302 exposed men without asbestosis whereas these rates were progressively raised in men with slight or moderate/severe asbestosis. Of the four exposure variables introduced separately into a logistic regression model, "years of exposure" made a small but significant contribution; "residence time" marginally failed to achieve a 5% level of significance. Two other exposure variables tested including cumulative fibre exposure (fibre years) made no significant contribution. In the absence of asbestosis at necropsy a bronchial cancer in a man exposed to asbestos is unlikely to be due to asbestos."

Another interesting study is called, "A cohort study on mortality among wives of workers in the asbestos cement industry in Casale Monferrato, Italy." By C Magnani, B Terracini, C Ivaldi, M Botta, P Budel, A Mancini, R Zanetti - Br J Ind Med 1993; 50:779-784 - Here is an excerpt "Abstract - The study investigates mortality from cancer and other diseases in a cohort of wives of asbestos cement workers in Casale Monferrato (northwest Italy). After the exclusion of women with an occupational record in the asbestos cement industry, the cohort comprised 1964 women. Their domestic exposure was estimated according to their husbands' periods of employment in the plant: 1740 had a period of domestic exposure whereas the remaining 224 married an asbestos cement worker only after he definitely stopped his activity in the asbestos cement plant; these have, therefore, been considered as unexposed.

The cohort of wives was constructed entirely through official records in the town offices and is both exhaustive and unaffected by recall bias. At the end of follow up (1988) 1669 women were alive, 270 were dead and 25 (1.2%) were untraced. Main mortality analyses were only up to age 79 to reduce the misclassification of causes of death. Expected mortality was based on local rates. Mortality analyses were limited to the period 1965-88 due to the availability of local rates: in that period 210 deaths occurred among women with domestic exposure v 229.1 expected. There were four deaths from pleural tumours (one diagnosed as mesothelioma at necropsis) and six from lung cancer v. 0.5 and 4.0 expected respectively. Two further cases of mesothelioma were diagnosed by histological examination after the end of follow up. None of the three wives with histologically diagnosed mesothelioma had been engaged in industrial activities. Corresponding information for the other three cases could not be traced."

A third study is called, "Asbestosis: a marker for the increased risk of lung cancer among workers exposed to asbestos." By Weiss W. - Chest. 1999 Feb;115(2):536-49.  Here is an excerpt: "Abstract - This review examines the hypothesis that excess lung cancer risk in worker cohorts exposed to asbestos occurs only among those with asbestosis. The adequately designed studies in the literature support this hypothesis. The summary relative risk for lung cancer was 1.00 in seven cohorts with no deaths from asbestosis. In addition, there is a high correlation between asbestosis rates and lung cancer rates in 38 cohorts in contrast to a poor correlation between cumulative exposure data and lung cancer relative risks in eight cohorts with adequate data. The evidence indicates that asbestosis is a much better predictor of excess lung cancer risk than measures of exposure and serves as a marker for attributable cases."

If you found any of these excerpts interesting, please read the studies in their entirety.  We all owe a great debt to these fine researchers.

I recently visited a very old abandoned building that was probably rotting with asbestos (or however it's spelled.) I didn't feel very good after going inside for less than a half hour. Is it harmless?

The other day I was trying to extend an antenna and was holding it when the tip accidentally hit my popcorn ceiling. This ceiling has asbestos. It was built in the early 70's and asbestos was used as a fire retardant. Now I'm scared to death that I'm gonna die from cancer or something. I know risk comes to miners and shipyard workers, but is it possible I could get cancer from just barely touching it and having the fibers released? It has to have happened before, hasn't it? I mean am I the only one in my whole apartment complex (200 apartments or so) that has touched the ceiling by accident? Am I doomed? PLEASE HELP! I'm really scared and appreciate any answers. Thanks guys

Since most of the symptoms of lung cancer will be tough to recognize in their initial stages, treating will be a big headache especially when the other parts of the patient's body has developed the secondary cancer cells or metastases. After carrying out many researches on cancer, finally, some cancer experts have explained the initial stage symptoms clearly. Those researches that were conducted on Asbestos Cancer Mesothelioma were also greatly helpful for knowing certain uncovered facts about this dangerous lung disorder.

There are three main symptoms to be looked for during the initial stage of Asbestos Mesothelioma Cancer. They are existence of permanent cough, pain while coughing or breathing and shortness of breath. In most of the cases, these symptoms will also be accompanied with expectoration of sputum. When the patient fails to notice these symptoms of Asbestos Cancer Mesothelioma at the initial stages, surviving will be a far topic for him. Some other general symptoms to look for are such as unusual loss of weight, fatigue, loss of appetite etc. Some of the online websites are deeply involved in educating people for detecting the preliminary Asbestos Cancer Mesothelioma stages. Although it is quite difficult to detect these symptoms but it has to be done as an earliest possible opportunity.

There are certain cancer treatments available that could at least guarantee you a longer life. One such mostly heard treatment is chemotherapy. This type of treatment will be helpful for reducing the cancer symptoms and increase the survival duration. The Asbestos Mesothelioma Cancer affected patients are noticed to contain something called erionite fibers in the biopsies of their lungs. Biphasic is the third type of mesothelioma cancer. It is nothing but the combination of other two types of cancer. In fact, the researches conducted on Asbestos Cancer Mesothelioma stages have proved that the onset period could be from ten to sixty years since the asbestos exposure time.

Diagnosis is necessary if the Asbestos Cancer Mesothelioma affected patients have any hope to survive. Mesothelioma is a special term used to indicate the tumor of cancer. This tumor will involve a particular cell called as mesothelial cells, which later form a complete organ. The mostly involved organ in this is abdominal organ, heart and lungs. The only cause for Asbestos Cancer Mesothelioma is exposure to carcinogens. Asbestos is one such important carcinogen. You should also be aware of the fact that most of the cancer types are caused by external stimuli and this is the same in case of mesothelioma.

It is estimated that the duration between development and exposure of Asbestos Cancer Mesothelioma stages may vary from fifteen to thirty years. The risks keep on increasing when you are exposed to second hand smoke more often. The second hand smoke exposure is detected as a major risk factor.

Some of the rare causes may also be like frequent exposure to toxic fumes in your working places. Air also contributes some environment toxins, which has led to quite a few deaths from lung cancer. Whatever may be the reason, you cannot ignore the fact that cancer is a dangerous lung disorder. Therefore, take all steps to stay far away from Asbestos Mesothelioma Cancer.

I suspect that the presence of these shingles should significantly lower the price one should be able to expect to sell an older home for, even if they are covered by vinyl siding and are in good condition. As an example, on a 2500 sq ft. home offered for sale for 0K, would discovery of the presence of asbestos shingles underneath vinyl siding warrant giving, say, a K reduction in the purchase price?

FAMILIES OF AGENT ORANGE VICTIMS CANNOT.