Asbestos is a material made of silicates. It occurs naturally and looks like long crystals. It is found on almost every continent in the world. In some countries, asbestos mining still occurs such as in Russia and Canada. However, other countries have banned the mining of asbestos.
Asbestos has many special properties. For example, asbestos is resistant to fire. Asbestos also has a high tensile strength and low conductivity to electricity. Asbestos can be separated into flexible fibers with thin threads. Asbestos is also resistant to atmospheric agents as well as various pollutants. Given these special properties, asbestos was used in making many types of building materials that needed to have these types of properties. For instance, asbestos was used to make insulation. Asbestos was also used in making siding, insulators, brake shoes, vinyl tiles, pipe insulation, putty, adhesive, gaskets and even more.
Despite its appealing properties for building material composition, its properties also make asbestos extremely hazardous to one’s health. The danger occurs when asbestos is compromised due to heat, water, weathering or aging. Fibers become released into the air. The more someone is exposed to asbestos the likelihood of developing some serious health issues is great. Some diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer are top health consequences from asbestos exposure. In some situations asbestos exposure can be a contributing factor to other cancers in the throat, gallbladder, intestines, esophagus and kidneys. If you have been exposed to asbestos at work or elsewhere without proper health and safety precautions in place and have contracted a serious illness as a result you should get in touch with an asbestos compensation solicitor.
If one has been exposed to asbestos however, the symptoms do not show up many years after. In some cases it can be 20 years or more. The symptoms vary from person to person. They could include weight loss, fatigue, chest pain, coughing, problems breathing and more. Many of these symptoms are also associated with other health conditions which makes going to a doctor to have them checked out important.