Exposure to asbestos (long term) can result in Mesothelioma or Malignant Mesothelioma. Exposure is normally damaging after a sustained period of time. This period could last over 30-40 years before any sickness or illness due to asbestos exposure appears.

These could include: Tiles and flooring, furnace insulation, and asbestos insulation piping. Asbestos can also be found on the exterior of homes.

Long term asbestos exposure may cause certain forms of sickness including cancer, Mesothelioma. Many of these cases may be due to work conditions, atmosphere of the workplace or handling of asbestos products.

An attorney or law firm with experience in asbestos lawsuits may assist in any legal action you wish to explore.

For the last 30 years, it has finally come to be realized the long term hazards and sickness of asbestos related material and the exposure efects to it. There are current lawsuits and class action suits that are active - some for as long as 10 years or more. Many of the companies and manufacturers who used this material are not in business any longer. Many have been sued out of business.

Exposure to asbestos was more difficult to pove in the past but with records and witness testimony to the hazards, conditions, sickness and exposure, many of these lawsuits are resulting in record breaking settlements. Some in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Many exposure based cases dealt with maritime servicemen. This is is discussed in depth here by reading this Maritime Asbestos discussion article.

L&S Announce Steps to Protect Against Asbestos & Mesothelioma

Lewis and Sholnick have announced the publication of some simple precautionary steps can be taken to avoid high risk situations in regards to asbestos and mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. It refers specifically to a cancerous tumor which involves the mesothelial cells of an organ, usually the lungs or abdomen. Despite being classified under the rather broad category of cancer, however, Mesothelioma is unique for a number of reasons. First is the immense devastation of the disease, and the inability for modern medical techniques to significantly slow its onset or offer a cure. Approximately 75% of patients die within 18 months of the first signs of the disease. Second, is the long latency period between exposure to the cause of the disease, asbestos, and its onset. Latency runs the gamut from 15 to 50 years, meaning that a person may have been exposed to asbestos more than a half century before the first serious signs of the disease manifest themselves. The average reported latency, however, is approximately 35-40 years.

Precautionary Steps

Because of the devastating nature of the disease and because we are able to point to a single root source, asbestos exposure, there is significant reason for all individuals to take necessary precautions to avoid contraction of the disease. While certainly no steps taken can fully eliminate all risk of asbestos exposure, some simple precautionary steps can be taken to avoid high risk situations.

For instance, a responsible parent should contact their childrenís local school district. In 1986 Congress passed the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act, which required public and private nonprofit schools to inspect their buildings for asbestos-containing materials. Despite this, an untold number of schools either have not taken the necessary steps to eliminate the potential for asbestos exposure or the work has been done shoddily. In fact, just two years ago a New York school district was found to have high levels of asbestos despite having had a contractor "remove" the threat a mere five years before. Upon further investigation, however, the contractor used had already been cited numerous times for doing work not up to code in similar asbestos removal projects. Consequently, concerned parents should first contact their childrenís school district to receive a copy of documentation stating that indeed, proper steps were taken to remove asbestos from the building. Then, parents should do a bit of their own research via the internet and the Better Business Bureau to ensure that the contractor hired has a stellar record.

Amazon Books:

Health Hazards of Asbestos Exposure (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences ; v. 330)

Epidemiological Study of Possible Health Effects Due to Passive Asbestos Exposure (Acta Biomedica Lovansiensa, 260) - In this doctoral dissertation, the author discusses the historical uses of asbestos, asbestos in buildings, pleural plaques (a method for measuring early health effects), observer variation in computed tomography of pleural plaques, pleural abnormalities, summary of the results, references, addenda.

Asbestos: Effects on Health of Exposure

Asbestos Exposure - A Medical Dictionary, Bibliography, and Annotated Research Guide to Internet References - This is a 3-in-1 reference book. It gives a complete medical dictionary covering hundreds of terms and expressions relating to asbestos exposure. It also gives extensive lists of bibliographic citations. Finally, it provides information to users on how to update their knowledge using various Internet resources. The book is designed for physicians, medical students preparing for Board examinations, medical researchers, and patients who want to become familiar with research dedicated to asbestos exposure.

Asbestos: Medical and Legal Aspects - This comprehensive reference for attorneys involved in asbestos litigation includes a complete historical perspective of prior-and ongoing-litigation and covers the evolving knowledge of asbestos hazards, both in open literature and with particular attention to the main defendants in these cases.

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