Asbestos is a natural heat- and electricity-resistant fiber that is mined from the earth. It has been around for as long as 2000 years back. The ancient Greeks named it “asbestos” which means “inextinguishable” because fire does not consume it. They used it as wicks for the vestal virgins’ eternal flames.And even then, they had already noticed that slaves who often came in contact with asbestos developed a “sickness of the lungs.” Nonetheless, they were so fascinated with what they considered its magical properties that they turned a blind eye to its observed harmful effects.

It is believed that Charlemagne use asbestos tablecloths during the middle ages.

In the late 1800s, during the Industrial Revolution, the use of asbestos as insulation for turbines, steam pipes, boilers, kilns and other high-temperature machines surged.

In the twentieth century, researchers began to seriously study the harmful effects of asbestos. In 1917 and 1918, it was noticed that in towns where asbestos mining was a primary industry, many young people suffered premature deaths.

It was found that when humans come in frequent contact with asbestos, the fibers enter the body either through inadvertent swallowing or inhalation. When this happens, the fibers cause disease in the victim.

The newly discovered disease was called “asbestosis.”

In 1931, legislation was enacted to ensure that asbestos processing industries put ample ventilation for their workers’ work areas, and asbestosis was recognized as a work-related disease.

Despite the increasing number of published studies that showed the dangers asbestos imposed on people’s health, large companies continued to use asbestos despite the fact that safer insulation alternatives, like fiberglass, were available to replace it. Up to the late 1980s, asbestos was widely used in construction materials, from asbestos-cement sheeting for ceilings and walls, to corrugated asbestos cement used for roof cladding.

Asbestos companies have also had their own researches on the effects of asbestos - and they are hiding the findings of these researches in order to avoid their employees’ lawsuits. Million dollar lawsuits have been filed by asbestos workers for the health hazards their companies have exposed them to. Many of these workers already have mesothelioma cancer, and are facing certain death.

Recently, asbestos-related litigation has come to the forefront of our news and courtrooms. But, shockingly, asbestos use and knowledge of its health issues have been around for centuries.Asbestos is a naturally-occurring group of minerals that form long, slender fibrous crystals. It can be found in the air and in some natural water sources. For over 2,000 years, humans have used asbestos for a variety of purposes because of its usefulness in manufacture and retardant effects.

Asbestos History

The Ancient Greeks were the ones to give it the name “asbestos” meaning inextinguishable. Many Grecian slaves used the material to weave into cloth and it was noted, even at this early time period, that some people who used the asbestos in their clothing suffered from damaged lungs and health issues.

Yet, asbestos was still a highly valued material in many cultures following these observations. In fact, the material was used to induce awe from observers in Persia for its ability to be cleaned by exposing it to fire. Its use diminished during the middle ages.

During the industrial revolution, asbestos re-entered the manufacturing industry with great flourish and previous health concerns were either forgotten or discarded. It was used to produce insulation for ovens, kilns, turbines and many other high temperature apparatuses. The first commercial asbestos mine was created in 1879 in Quebec.

It was around the turn of the twentieth century that researchers began to associate lung problems with asbestos mining. Britain began to regulate ventilation in the 1930s for asbestos miners after asbestosis was labeled as a lung-related disease. It took the United States an additional decade to follow these measures.

Also, in the 1930s medical journals began to make the link between cancer and asbestos; mesothelioma, as a term, came into use in 1931.

In 1970, it was proven in court that the asbestos industry knew of the risks associated with asbestos, but attempted to conceal them to maintain profits. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began regulating asbestos use, but it wasn’t until 1989 that they began an asbestos ban and phase out rule.

Unfortunately, a mere two years later, this ban was overturned in court. There are still many forces working against an outright ban of asbestos use.

It is important to be aware of the risks associated with asbestos and symptoms associated with illnesses related to it, especially if you are involved in an industry known to have used it. Symptoms of asbestosis include shortness of breath during exertion and possible respiratory failure.

Mesothelioma symptoms are much more extensive, and can include:

* Chest wall pain
* Shortness of breath
* Abdominal pain
* Wheezing or cough
* Weight loss
* Yellowing of the skin

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms and believe you may have been exposed to asbestos, you should consult with your physician as diagnosis of asbestos-related disease is an involved and difficult process.

Asbestos was called the “miracle mineral” by the Greeks especially because it could withstand heat. Due to this characteristic of this element, it was widely used in the construction industry until the late 1900s. Until recently, the bad effects of using this material weren’t known to the public, but when it came to light, it was too late. By the time the authorities found out that it was a killer, countless number of innocents had lost their lives in the fight against asbestos poisoning. The inhalation of asbestos fibers commonly causes mesothelioma, lung cancer, and also asbestosis.Asbestos has killed many millions in the past couple of centuries since its heat resistant properties were discovered and asbestos was mined in many countries. It was very late when the health departments in all the countries found out that their miracle mineral was actually a killer mineral that had claimed the lives of millions of people. Many cases have been filed over the decades against those responsible for causing countless number of people to have lost their lives and health by making them work in asbestos mines and mills. The estimated total cost of the asbestos litigations in the United States of America alone is over 250 billion dollars.

It was widely used in the construction industry all over the world as it was heat resistant, flexible, durable, and even chemical resistant. But to decide whether the use of a certain material should be made legal or illegal depends on weighing its pros and cons. In this case, the cons far outweigh the pros. Inhalation of asbestos fibers has sparked the birth of a cancer called mesothelioma in humans which according to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) had claimed the lives of almost one hundred thousand Americans in 1999 alone. They recommended considering it as an epidemic of the worst kind.

The federal court houses in the United States have been dealing with claims by asbestos victims and their families for decades. The court houses are stunned by the number of asbestos law related claims which range in the hundreds of thousands. What does bother the court houses in the United States is the number of asbestos related cases that they will be seeing in the future as asbestos related problems surface only after 20-50 years of exposure. The Fairness of Asbestos Compensation Act which was brought out in 1999 was used to determine if the numerous plaintiffs who were filing law suits were indeed suffering from asbestos related illness.

The asbestos litigation is the most expensive and longest mass tort in the history of US court houses. The numbers of defendants are almost 10,400 but the numbers of claimants are almost a million with the number growing with each passing day. With the number of such litigations piling up in court houses all over the United States, the country issued the Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule in 1989. Many countries followed this path in banning its import and use to safe guard their people. Though developed countries have banned its use many developing countries are still using it.