Hello everyone and welcome to this week's blog post on asbestos. In this article, I will cover what asbestos is, the history of its use around the world, and the health problems that it causes. I will then come to a conclusion about whether it should be banned worldwide.
Asbestos is a group of six naturally occurring, silicate minerals which are still used today in many countries as an insulating material in the construction of buildings. The most common of these is chrysotile, which makes up approximately 95% of the asbestos present in US buildings.
Asbestos is an incredibly dangerous building material - in fact, despite being no longer used in 55 countries, it still kills around 107,000 people each year. Even the UK, which has banned asbestos use since 1999, still sees around 5000 deaths due to the material each year.
For a very long time, asbestos was considered a 'miracle building material', due to its properties as an excellent insulator of heat and electricity. In addition, asbestos can withstand high temperatures, resulting in its use in fireproofing buildings. Moreover, asbestos is also very flexible, so it can be easily manipulated and woven into sheets for use in industrial insulation. As a consequence of these properties, asbestos was a very common building material throughout the 20th century.
The use of asbestos dates back as early as 4000BC, where asbestos' fibres were used for a range of things, including wicks in candles and reinforcing ceramic bowls. However, it wasn't until the Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century when, due to the decreased cost of mining the substance and increased number of uses for the material, that the mining and manufacturing of asbestos exploded.
Unfortunately, the chemical structure of asbestos makes it deadily for humans. This is because asbestos is composed of a very fine, sharp fibres. As such, when asbestos dust is inhaled or swallowed, these fibres can become trapped in the body. Since these fibres can't be broken down, then often lead to a range of conditions with symptoms including inflammation, scarring and eventually death.
Even with early warnings from a doctor in Austria in 1897, who had linked the inhalation of asbestos dust with pulmonary diseases, asbestos mining and use remained high in the early 19th century. Despite health warnings, asbestos mining was so cheap (which helped allow developing countries to keep up with the demand for manufactured goods) and so profitable (which helped support jobs in areas where it was mined), that mining continued.
It wasn't until the 1970s that some countries began regulating and banning the use of asbestos. As of 2018, 55 countries around the world have now banned the mining of asbestos and any products which contain the mineral. Nevertheless, lots of damage has already been caused. Despite having banned asbestos in 1999, the UK still sees around 5000 deaths per year due to previous exposure and exposure related to the destruction of old buildings which contain asbestos.
Moreover, despite bans in many developed countries, asbestos is still a cheap, versatile building material, so is still used widely in many developing countries. Indeed, in 2013, the top 4 exporters of asbestos (Russia, Kazakhstan, Brazil and China) exported around 1 million metric tons of asbestos, for use in countries such as India, China and Indonesia. The use of asbestos in these countries is less than ideal, however, without a viable, cheap alternative, countries have no choice and must continue to buy asbestos to meet the demands of their populations.
In the next section of this article, I'd like to address the 3 main diseases which asbestos causes - asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer.
Asbestosis is a lung condition which results from asbestos exposure. As I've already covered in this article, when asbestos is disturbed, it releases fine dust which, once inhaled, accumulates in the lungs. This can lead to asbestosis, which is where these asbestos fibres cause the scarring of lung tissue. While asbestosis can't be treated, as the damage to the lungs is permanent, symptoms can be treated using oxygen therapy and pulmonary exercises. In addition, those suffering from asbestosis are encouraged to stop smoking, as it is believed that smoking exacerbates the symptoms of the disease. Those suffering from asbestosis also have a high risk of developing other conditions, such as mesothelioma, lung cancer and pleural disease (where the pleural fluid thickens)
Mesothelioma is a type of cancer, almost exclusively linked with asbestos exposure) which affects the lining of the lungs and lower digestive tract. According to the NHS, around 2,600 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year in the UK. Unfortunately, there is no cure for the disease, and treatment revolves around managing symptoms and providing palliative care.
Mesothelioma is caused because asbestos fibres, having accumulated in the lungs, can cause damage. This can lead to the formation of malignant tumours. These tumours can be detected using X-ray or CT scans and then removing a sample of tissue for testing.
The symptoms of mesothelioma, which include chest pain, shortness of breath, cough, loss of appetite and diarrhoea, often don't appear until several decades after exposure to asbestos. As such, by the time mesothelioma is detected, it has usually advanced so much that it will be fatal. Consequently, treatment of mesothelioma involves palliative care to control symptoms, and chemotherapy or radiotherapy which shrinks the tumour and attempts to prolong life for as long as possible.
Lung cancer can be caused by several factors, including smoking and asbestos. It is slightly different from mesothelioma as mesothelioma is cancer which affects the linings of the lungs, while lung cancer affects the lung tissue itself. It has similar symptoms to mesothelioma, including shortness of breath, a persistent cough, fatigue and chest pain. It can also lead to problems with swallowing and the coughing up of blood.
Unlike mesothelioma, lung cancer is treatable in some cases. In those cases, treatment options include surgery to remove the tumour, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and targeted drug therapy. A doctor will choose the best treatment plan for each patient, assessing a wide range of factors including age, health and stage at which the lung cancer was diagnosed.
In conclusion, I would contend that a worldwide ban on asbestos is not immediately possible. Nevertheless, in developed countries, such as the USA and Canada, asbestos should be banned imminently. This is because, while some jobs do depend on this industry, these countries are wealthy enough to support these industries and workers, as well as fund alternative building materials. If these countries don't do so, then many will people die due to asbestos-related diseases.
It is harder to ban asbestos in developing countries as asbestos mining and manufacturing supports many jobs. Asbestos is also a crucial building material for countries with exploding populations. Nevertheless, in the long term, asbestos is likely to cause these countries significant harm, due to the deaths of many people because of asbestos-related diseases, increased medical expenses and the cost of future asbestos-removal programs. As such, I think that these countries should attempt to ban asbestos very soon. In the meantime, however, these countries should try to scale down the use of asbestos, while switching to alternative building materials.
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