Document VGzJYYx2JaODbDJ02pD4r5VEZ

FILE NAME Newspaper & Magazine Articles NMA DATE 1978 Dec 3 DOC NMA131 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION Kansas City Star - Amazing Mineral Poses Deadly Threat - Part 1 Sidebar Kansas City Star 12-3-78 fete, ieian MT Miastor TC) TT ht o at N oc W e ola 1 CHO See Re |{ Amazing Amazing Mineral Poses Deadly Deadly Threat enmas Asbestos and raised questions its dangers have over the last few years Here are a few facts about the insulator itself & Hbat is asbestos It is a naturally formed mineral fi- ber The world's great asbestos depas- its were formed millions of years ago Kansas City is believed to be relatively free such pollution Is all asbestos harmful Apparently not Scientists believe that it's only harmful when the fibers are allowed to float into the air and into a person's lungs It's still used in firefighung gear but the fibers are when gaps in the earth's crust filled with mineral water In those gaps sev- safely sealed and can't escape into the atmosphere It's also used in water 7 eral different kinds of munerals formed into fibers fiber formed like cotton but a muneral plant fiber from rock pipes but is encased in concrete and government officials believe the use is safe @ Are any curruesens t of asbestos ener What good is it It has many uses Most important is that the fibers when joined together in a kind of mineral textile have enor- dangerous Officials aren't sure but they think so There is certainly a danger if prop- er precautions aren't taken at a plant mous resistance to heat acids alkalines and other irritants They are also that is still using asbestos in its prod ucts Also the Asbestos Worker's very strong and can be cleaned by fire It's said that the Emperor Charlemagne owned a tablecloth made of asbestos fibers and he would amaze his Union estimates that 75 percent of the asbestos ever mined is still out in the world somewhere insulation in old- er buildings in floor tiles in the lio- diane guests by throwing the cloth into a raging fire then pulling it out ings on your car's brakes . Does any of this asbestos around unburned and spanking clean When did man start using it The modern age of asbestos use began in 1873 when a huge deposit of the fibers was found in Quebec Canada- a deposit 70 miles long and six miles wide Asbestos mines also were opened in Vermont Anzona California North Carolina and Oregon The discovery of these North American deposits resulted in a surge of demand for the fibers and a flurry of new prod- ncts utilizing them pose a threat It depends on how much there is and whether the fibers are able to come loose and float into the atmosphere NIOSH has determined that there is no such thing as a safe level of asbes tos but the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is currently en- forcing an asbestos standard that makes it illegal for a workers to be exposed to more than an average of 2 asbestos fibers smaller than 5 microns per cubic centimeter in an eight What kinda of products was it ased in Asbestos went into almost anything - that needed insulation from heat or other imitants It was used in building and ship insulation coats for firefighters Noor and caling tiles paper brake lungs paints adhesives fab- ries theater curtains awnings conveyor belts clutch facings wallboard gas burners water pipes and fur- naces a la dangerous Many scientists are convinced that it is and they've convinced the government The National Institute for Occu- pational Safety and Health NIOSH has determined that sufficient evi- dence is available to conclude there is a direct link between exposure to asbestos fibers and the development penod ' How can this old asbestos harm people The asbestos fibers were put in place with some sort of adhesive As the buildings or ships get old the adhesive corrodes and the microscopic fibers are reicased into the atmosphere Also it's possible for fibers to be released when old buildings are torn down although federal regulations specify how such demolition jobs should be completed to prevent such an occurrence W here all this asbestos In schools hospitals nursing homes shops factories ships almost any type of building constructed before word got out that asbestos can be dan- gerous . 15 to 49 years later of cancer and as- bestosis 4 at What about exposed exposed people who have been a People who believe they may have Is asbestos poisonous No. The problem is that the asbestos been exposed to asbestos fibers even as long as 40 years ago are advised to fibers get into the lungs and digestive tract and just stay there forever They are coarse and hard and they tear up stop smoking immediately There is overwhelming evidence that smokers who have been exposed to asbestes human tissue Asbestosis is nothing more than the result of having asbes- tos fibers rattling around a person's chest for many years scarring the over long period of time run serious nsk of lung cancer Persons who b~ Leve they may have been exposed also are advised by medical and govers- lung ussie For some reason not totally clear to scientists studies snow that the presence of asbestos fibers also ment experts to regularly visit the doctor and be checked for asbestoSUS or cancerous tumors Specifically the weakens the body to an extent that the person becomes much more suscepti- ble to cancer of the lungs stomach colon rectum and body lining How significantly they increase the risk of cancer isa matter of some debate in the medical community fi@ llow big are these fibers Microscopic The most dangerous of them is smaller across than 5 mucrons government is trying to track down the 3 million Americans who worked in shipyards during World War II It is believed that the amount of asbestos to which they were exposed poses a sen- | ous threat to their lives How many Amencans have been exposed to asbestos , It isn't known The government est | mates that as many as 11 million work- They can't be seen except with the aid of a powerful electron mucroscope tart es have been exposed tart doesn't include the wives who wasted Is asbestos still being used ther asbestos clothes ther Yes but not nearly as much as it was 20 30 or 40 years ago In 1964 the first c a series of medical reports people | children their neighbors or the who used their products } llow llow serious is the threat of | came out linking asbestos to cancer In the intervening years industry has drawn back its use of mest kinds of asbestos particularly in its most dan- | death Secretary Joseph Califano of the U.S. Department of Health , Education and Welfare has estimated that more gerous applications However it 15 than 5.6 million Amencans will die is still used in brake linings Inction a direct result of their exposure to 25- points paints and many other prod bestos fibers There is some que ucts In all asbestos is used in more _ ~ than 3,500 products Also most Amen- about the validity of that figure ont there is little argument that the threat can cities have varying amounts of ft- of death is serious enough to deserve ber pollution just floating around some sort of action r pe BMA 02774