Document zQdVvyBxQRJ6oKZkkKZDrq3X6

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 oe tea! fe ented oe mg ARHe RE et 5 : 4 a a H E r E 3 3 Amazing Amazing Mineral Poses Deadly Deadly Threat anes Asbestos and raised questions its dangers have over the last few * years Here are a few facts about the * Insulator itself Abstimabestos Abstimabestos Abstimabestos Kansas Citiys believed to be relatively free such pollution is all asbestos harmful Apparently not Scientists believe that it's only harmful when the fibers * is a naturally formed mineral fi are allowed to float into the air and * ber The world's great asbestos deposits were formed millions of years ago when gaps in the earth's crust filled into a person's lungs It's still used in firefighung gear but the fibers are safely sealed and can't escape into the * with mineral water In those gaps sev- atmosphere It's also used in water * eral different kinds of munerals pipes but it is encased in concrete and formed into fibers plant fiber goverartest orficials eve the usa is like cotton but a muneral fiber formed " from rock is it What good It has many uses Most important is that the fibers when joined together in a kind of mineral textile have enor- mous resistance to heat a^~-daslka- Unes and other irritants They also very strong and can be cleaned by fire It's said that the Emperor Charle magne owned a tablecloth made of as bestos fibers and he would amaze his safe @ Are any current uses of asbestos dangerous Cfficials aren't sure but they think so There is certainly a dangeraf prop- er precautions aren't taken at a plant that is still using asbestos in its prod- ucts Also the Asbestos Worker's Union estimates that 75 percenotf the asbestos ever mined is still out in the world somewhere insulation in old- er buildings in floor tiles in the lio- dinner 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 4d 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 deposil 70 miles long and six mules unde Asbestos mines also were 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 tas but the Occupational Safety and opened in Vermont Anzona Califor tia North Carolina and Oregon The discovery of these North American de- posits resulted in a surge of demand for the fibers and a flu of r newrpry od- /ctsculizing them 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 microns per cubic centimeter in an eight What kinds 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 floor and caling tucs paper brake burungs paints adhesives fab- ries theater curtains awnings conveyor belts clutch facings wallboard gas burners water pipes and fur- ac la dangerous period How can this old asbestos harmo people The asbestos fibers were plinapc lae ce with some sort of adhesive As the buildings or ships get old the adhesive corrodes and the microscopic fibers are released into the atmosphere Also it's possible for fibers to be re- leased when old buildings are torn down although federal regulations specify how such demolition jobs should be completed to prevent such blany 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 ev dence is available to conclude there is a direct link between exposure to asbestos fibers and the development occurrence Where is all this asbestos In schools hospitals nursing homes shops taciones shups almost any type of building constructed before word got out that asbestos can be dan- gerous 15 to 40 years later of cancer and as- bestosis Isabeatos Isabeatos polsadas No. The problem is that the asbestos fibers get into the lungs and digestive tract and just stay there forever They are coarse and hard and they tear up human tissue Asbestosis is nothing more than the result of having asbes- tos fibers raltling around a person's thest for many years scarring the lung use For some reason not total ly clear to scientists stuces snow that the presence of asbestos fibers also weakens the body to an extent that the person becomes much more susceptible to cancer of the lungs stomach colon rectum and body kning How suguficantly they increase the risk of cancer is a matter of some debate in the medical community 'llow big are these ? fibers Microscopic The most dangerous of them is smaller across than 5 microns They can't be soon except with the aid of a powerful electron microscope Is asbestos still being used Yes but not nearly as much as it was 20 30 or 40 years ago ^ n1904 the first e a series of medical reports came out linking asbestos to cancer In the intervening years industry has drawn back its use of mest lunds of asbestos particularly in its most dan- geraus applications However it is still used in brake brungs Inction points paints and many other prod- ucts In all asbestos is used in mare . = than 3,500 products Also most Amer 1 can cities have varying amounts of flber pollution just fluating around . a tetas 40 about What exposed people who have been ". People who believe they may have been exposed to asbestos fibers even as long as 40 years ago are advised to nop sticking immediately There is overwmciming evidence that smokers who have been exposed to asbest over long period csendus risk of lung cancer Persons wao b~ Leve they may have been exposed also are advised by medical and govers- ment experts to regularly visit ther doctor and be checked for best or cancerous tumors Specifically the government is trying to track down the 3 milton Americans who worked in Shipyards during World War II It is believed that the amounotf to asbestos which they were exposed poses a sen- ous threat their lives @ How many Amencans have been to exposed asbestos : It isn't known The government <tr 1 . mates that as many as 11 million work- exs have been exposed t doesn't include the wives wh washed tbar asbestos clothes ^...ber children their neighbors or the people | who used their products \ flow flow serious is the threat of | death : Secretary Joseph Califano of the U.S. Department of Health Education | and Welfare has estimated that more than 5.6 million Amen^answill die is a direct result of their exposure to 25- bestos fibers There is some quezion about the validity of that figure on there is little argument at the threst of death is senous enough to deserve some sort of action SE mnennailiie samme ee q 4 : > J s 4. E q % q 3 | i BMA 02774