Asbestos Health Harming Fiber
Asbestos Health Harming Fiber: It has been known in the medical field that exposure and inhaling of asbestos fiber leads to a deadly form of cancer mesothelioma.
These fibers are present in six types of minerals that are mined from earth namely chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, anthophyllite, tremolite and actinolite. People who are hit with the harmful effects from inhaling asbestos have been regularly exposed in a job where they work directly with the material. In most cases the symptoms appear in their body years after the exposure.
What actually Asbestos is?
It is a thin form of strong fibrous crystals commonly known as blue, brown, white and green asbestos. These fibers are minute in size and are only visible through microscope. The large asbestos fibers travel through nose, while smaller ones enter lungs through the air. If we inhale it in a large quantity it causes asbestosis which increases the risk of lung cancer.
Usage of asbestos can be widely seen in the 1920s till 1970s in the construction, commercial and household products like hairdryers and toasters etc. The harmful effects of asbestos were recognized until in 1990 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a regulation banning most asbestos containing products. As per EPA estimate, asbestos containing material is present in most of the countries schools and buildings. Due to its heat resistance and beneficial physical properties it is widely used even in Pakistan. Asbestos fibers are resistant to chemical attack and are not affected by water. In some countries it is strictly regulated but not yet banned and the material is used generally in building of roads, homes, schools, factories, ships, trains, industries, power plants and automobiles therefore workers related to the relevant occupation are at high risk of being effected. At such work places wearing of protective masks and respirators be made compulsory to minimize the harmful effect
It is high time and immensely important for all the state governing health bodies to undertake a survey about the usage of asbestos fibers and institute a framework to identify substitute products to be replaced with asbestos.