Raw asbestos can be spun and woven into garments and material fabrics. This is in view of its own small and fibrous nature that also makes them tough enough to resist high temperatures, fires, and materials that are detrimental.
Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that they’re indestructible- they may be cut or ripped. The fire resistant quality of asbestos has really made it an ideal material to utilize in protective clothing, for instance, protective jackets for firefighters as well as the mitts and aprons worn by foundry workers.
Weaving asbestos strands alongside other fibers enhanced the tensile strength of material products.
In spite of the truth that the utilization of asbestos in cloths may be dated back to 2500 B.C, it wasn’t until the late 1800s that it was mass produced in the US.
Among the very first businesses to make asbestos substances was Johns Manville, which began the year working on it 1884.
As the interest in asbestos products accelerated – and with it being woven using exactly the same technique some fabric plants that have been constructed to process cotton were changed over throughout the early 1900s to asbestos processing plants.
Different grades of asbestos fibrils of were blended in a fiber blender according to information on the proposed product. The filaments are subsequently made into a fiber mat.
The mat layered and is pressed to form an arrangement of fiber mats. The lap is then used to create thin threads known as roving. At this step, other fibrils like rayon or cotton could be comprised. The roving is spun further to form a yarn.
The yarn is which can make thread. The thread can now be processed into the various different goods such as clothing, rope, wicking or even tape.
In the organization, the Carolinas were especially instrumental in the usa. There have been enormous deposits of naturally occurring asbestos in both the South as well as the North, and plants were built up in preceding cotton factories close to the mines.
One such plant was the Southern Asbestos Manufacturing Company plant in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1920, the firm purchased a cotton processing plant and altered it over into an asbestos plant that produced yarn and fabric. In only two years, the business’s gains multiplied.
Because asbestos is poisonous, the use of asbestos in making garments and fabric declined. Presently, a wide array of fire resistant materials are utilized in the manufacture of protective garments and fabrics.
While folks in this very day and age are looking for safe asbestos removal Central Coast for their dwellings and commercial buildings – than throwing out a coat, a little more challenging.
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Mesothelioma from asbestos exposures: Epidemiologic patterns and impact in the United States
Richard A. Lemen
Pages 250-265 | Published online: 05 Oct 2016
Download citation http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10937404.2016.1195323
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ABSTRACT
Mesothelioma, a rare tumor, is highly correlated with asbestos exposure. Mesothelioma, similar to all asbestos-related diseases, is dose/intensity dependent to some degree, and studies showed the risk of mesothelioma rises with cumulative exposures. Multiple processes occur in an individual before mesothelioma occurs. The impact of mesothelioma in the United States has been continuous over the last half century, claiming between 2,000 and 3,000 lives each year. Mesothelioma is a preventable tumor that is more frequently reported as associated with asbestos exposure among men than women. However, the rate of asbestos-associated mesothelioma is on the rise among women due to better investigation into their histories of asbestos exposure. It is of interest that investigators detected asbestos-associated cases of mesothelioma in women from nonoccupational sources—that is, bystander, incidental, or take-home exposures. It is postulated that asbestos-associated mesotheliomas, in both men and women, are likely underreported. However, with the implementation of the most recent ICD-10 coding system, the correlation of mesothelioma with asbestos exposure is expected to rise to approximately 80% in the United States. This study examined the demographic and etiological nature of asbestos-related mesothelioma.
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Richard A. Lemen
Richard Lemen is a retired former Assistant Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service and Deputy Director and Acting Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. He also serves as a Presidential Appointee to the United States Presidential Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health, 2009–present.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10937404.2016.1195323
http://www.prefabmuseum.uk/%E2%80%A6/Prefab-Post-Issue-3-web.pdfEve%E2%80%A6
Loved the prefab but they were full of Asbestos
The Wake Green Road prefabs in Moseley, Birmingham, still stand proud more than 70 years since they were built as a temporary solution to Britain’s postwar housing problems. Between 1944 and 1949, more than 156,000 two bedroom temporary bungalows rose across the UK under the Temporary Housing Programme. More than 4,000 were in Birmingham: although they have been well loved by the people who lived in them, most have been pulled down. All the bungalows had a minimum 635 sq ft floor space and were assembled from prebuilt panels attached to prefabricated wood or metal frames. The Wake Green Road houses are the Phoenix type – detached, three-bay, steel-framed and clad in corrugated asbestos sheeting with metal windows. All prefabs came with a central service unit of a prefabricated kitchen built onto a bathroom and indoor lavatory with central service pipes and a coal fire and back boiler to fuel hot water and a hot air central heating system. The kitchens contained the latest labour-saving equipment and were luxurious for the time. The Birmingham prefabs were listed Grade II in 1998 as “an unusual surviving example”. Birmingham Conservation Trust, the Twentieth Century Society in the West Midlands and the Prefab Museum are working on the Prefabulous project to conserve the bungalows, several of which are empty and in poor repair. Lou Robson, October 2016
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-42025235
The number of incidents of asbestos fly-tipping in Wales hit a 10-year high last year, new figures have shown.
In 2016-2017, 270 cases of asbestos fly-tipping were recorded, up from 172 the year before – a 57% increase.
Merthyr Tydfil had the highest overall fly-tipping rate with one incident for every 30 people, compared to one incident for every 735 in Wrexham.
Natural Resources Wales said it was “vital people are aware of their responsibilities”.
Fly-tipping hit its highest rate since 2010-11 with people mainly dumping waste along highways or on footpaths, often amounts that would fill a car boot or a small van.
Rebecca Favager, NRW’s waste manager said: “Understanding and complying with the duty of care is key to stopping waste getting into the hands of illegal waste operators and can result in public money being saved, less damage to the environment and protection for operators who do comply with the law.”
Removing illegally dumped waste costs smaller councils tens of thousands of pounds, with the cost rising to hundreds of thousands in larger cities.
We report for the first time asbestosis among ship-breaking workers of Sitakunda in Bangladesh who were exposed to asbestos during ship-based and beach-based operations for at least 10 years. Asbestosis was present among 35% of workers. Years of work (>20) and forced vital capacity (<80% of predicted) were significantly associated with the disease. Currently, global ship-breaking operations are mainly concentrated in the Indian subcontinent, and Bangladesh has the majority share. Ninety per cent of domestic steel is produced in the ship-breaking operations in Bangladesh and is an important contributor to the economy. It also gives employment to more than 100 000 people. It is imperative to medically check up all the workers for benign and malignant diseases causally related to asbestos among these vulnerable population of workers.
CASE PRESENTATIONA 45-year-old worker was seen at the clinic with complaints of grade 2 dyspnoea. His family was from North Bangladesh and has been working in the shipyards of Sitakunda, Bangladesh, for 22 years. He had worked in ship-based cutting opera-tions and beach-based operations. He gave a history of exposure to asbestos in both the jobs. He lived in a small shed made from materials procured from the ship close to the place of work. He was a non-smoker. He gave no history of chronic bronchitis or taking bronchodilators. His medical history and family history were not significant. On clinical examination, he had no clubbing and vital signs were normal. On deep inspiration, rhonchi could be elicited on auscultation. Rest of the clin-ical examination was normal. His basal pulse oxim-etry and exercise pulse oximetry were normal. Pulmonary function tests revealed that his forced vital capacity (FVC) was 76% and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) was 75% as expected for his age and height. Chest PA X-ray revealed reticular opacities of type signs and symptoms (s/s) with a profusion of 1/1 as per International Labour Orga-nization (ILO) classification. A diagnosis of asbes-tosis was made.MethodsThe data were collected during two diagnostic medical check-up camps for asbestosis, of 4 days each between July 2016 and January 2017, organised by Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE), a non-governmental organisation. OSHE, established in 2006, is involved in improving the working conditions of garment workers, recording of occu-pational injuries and accidents, and interacting with all stakeholders related to workers’ occupa-tional health and safety. It has also been working for improvement of workplace safety in the ship-breaking industry at Chittagong.1Doctors visited the workplace and observed asbestos exposure during both ship-based and beach-based operations. Documentation of asbestos exposure was done by photographing, using a small mobile camera (figure 1). Workers were contacted by OSHE through a worker representative and explained the aim of the medical check-ups, which was to diagnose lung disease causally related to asbestos exposure. Workers with 10 years or more of exposure to asbestos, who had worked mainly as cutters and fitters in ship-based opera-tions and who were willing to come for the medical check-up were selected. The medical check-up was done without the knowledge of the owners to avoid adverse repercussions to the workers. Data were recorded in a dedicated pneumoconiosis ques-tionnaire as done previously.2 The questionnaire has detailed occupational exposure history, symp-toms of chronic lung disease and relevant history. Clubbing and presence of end-expiratory rales and rhonchi were recorded. Pulmonary function test was done using the Hygeia spirometer, and FEV1 and FVC were recorded. Predicted values of FEV1 and FVC were calculated as explained before in a similar study of asbestos-exposed workers in India.2 X-ray chest PA view was taken and read as per ILO guidelines. Pulse oximetry, basal and post exer-cise, was recorded. The data were entered in MS Excel, and χ2 test was done to test statistical signifi-cance. P<0.05 was considered significant.DiagnosisAsbestosis was diagnosed if it satisfied the following criteria:1. History of exposure for 10 years or more.2. ILO X-ray reading shows reticular opacities (s, t, u) with a profusion greater than 1/1.ResultsThe results were tabulated (table 1 and figures 2 and 3). Ninety-nine workers came for CASE REPORT
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320858307_Parenchymal_asbestosis_due_to_primary_asbestos_exposure_among_ship-breaking_workers_report_of_the_first_cases_from_Bangladesh
Evaluation of the presence of asbestos in cosmetic talcum products
Abstract
Talc has been used for over a century in a variety of cosmetic products. While pure cosmetic talc (free of asbestos) is not considered a risk factor for mesothelioma, it has been recently suggested that inhalation of cosmetic talc containing trace levels of asbestos is a risk factor for mesothelioma. Bulk analyses of cosmetic talcum products were performed in the 1960s and 1970s, however, the analytical methods used at that time were incapable of determining whether asbestos minerals were present in the asbestiform versus non-asbestiform habit. The distinction between these two mineral habits is critical, as non-asbestiform amphibole minerals do not present an asbestos-related cancer risk via inhalation. As such, we evaluated six historical talcum powders using modern-era analytical methods to determine if asbestos is present, and if so, to identify the mineral habit (asbestiform versus non-asbestiform) of the asbestos. Based on their labels, the products were produced by four manufacturers and sold between 1940 and 1977. The products were analyzed in duplicate by two laboratories using standard protocols. Laboratory A analyzed samples using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and polarized light microscopy (PLM), and Laboratory B analyzed samples using PLM and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). No asbestiform minerals were found in any of the products. Nonetheless, even if some historical cosmetic talcum products contained trace amounts (≤0.1%) of asbestiform minerals, any resulting asbestos exposure would be expected to be exceedingly low, and comparable to exposures from breathing ambient air.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08958378.2017.1392656
Cancer death for Moreton-in-Marsh man caused by asbestos creates confusion We Mesowarriors are worried by the fact this will not be recorded as a mesothelioma death.
MYSTERY surrounds the death of an 85 year old retired painter and decorator who could not recall ever coming into contact with asbestos but died from a cancer caused by the deadly mineral.
Thomas Williams from The Dormers, The Folly, in Moreton in Marsh, died from malignant mesothelioma – a lung cancer for which the only known cause is asbestos exposure.
It usually affects people who worked with the substance decades before they started to develop symptoms.
Gloucester Coroner’s Court heard today that Mr Williams died after suffering a cardio respiratory arrest at his home on July 5 this year.
He had been diagnosed with Malignant Mesothelioma last June after suffering breathlessness on exertion. In May of this year his condition deteriorated and he became increasingly frail, later moving into palliative care.
A post mortem confirmed the diagnosis and the presence of asbestos related pleural plaques with over 31,000 fibres per gram of dry lung tissue, 13,636 of them coated. The inquest heard these were levels consistent with asbestos exposure.
Unable to give an industrial related disease conclusion without specific work history confirming asbestos exposure, Assistant Coroner, Caroline Saunders recorded a narrative conclusion that read, “Mr Williams died of natural causes contributed to by asbestos.
“Although he worked in an occupation normally linked to asbestos exposure he cannot recall any specific occasions he was exposed but died from the effects of asbestos.”
It’s not a decision that we like.
This unfortunate mesowarrior was exposed to a significant amount of asbestos. He had pleural plaques which means he had occupational or para occupational exposure. It just seems that he could not remember exactly where, which is not surprising or unusual, especially since he was 85 and it could have been decades ago.
The coroner has given a verdict that it was natural causes rather than industrial disease.
That is what worries us as just because he could not remember the exposure it does not mean that he was not exposed. No one can prove that now.
We have fought long and hard for this sort of ruling to be squashed. We need to keep the figures right and this man has died from exposure to asbestos causing mesothelioma http://www.cotswoldjournal.co.uk/news/15660394.Cancer_death_for_Moreton_in_Marsh_man_caused_by_asbestos_creates_confusion/?ref=fbshr
So many Write ups of my story
MCP Environmental and Pragmatic Consulting Ltd are supporting
Mavis Nye BCAh and the Mavis Nye Foundation by donating to the charity for every candidate booked on an asbestos awareness course. https://goo.gl/P4UrtG #Charity
Mesothelioma Warrior and lifelong Mesothelioma champion Mavis Nye established the Mavis Nye Foundation after been diagnosed with Mesothelioma, following numerous treatments The asbestos awareness training ensures HSE compliance for all employees working with or with the potential for asbestos exposure through the interactive asbestos awareness training. MCP and Pragmatic Consulting will donate 50p each for every candidate booked on an asbestos awareness course raising funds for the Mavis Nye Foundation. Mavis undertook the MK3475-28 trial and is now in remission.
L-R: MCP – Managing Director, Andy Stubbs, Pragmatic Consulting – Managing Director, Jo Niblett and MCP – Civils Operations Manager, Stuart Parker.
Mavis Nye said: “I am delighted to gain the support of MCP Environmental and Pragmatic Consulting through the donations made from every asbestos awareness training course. All funds raised will play a critical part in supporting patients with care, treatment and financially.”
Pragmatic Consulting – Managing Director, Jo Niblett said: “I am honoured to call Mavis an inspiration and a friend and hope the donations made through awareness training will make a real difference to the foundation. Our collaboration with MCP Environmental Sees Pragmatic consulting lead the way with an extensive CITB Construction Skills Award Site Safety Plus courses with the addition of Asbestos Awareness Training which invaluable.”
MCP Environmental – Managing Director, Andy Stubbs: “MCP Environmental wanted help raise awareness of Mesothelioma and the great of work Mavis Nye through the foundation. It is all too common to discover the real risks asbestos poses through accidental exposure. Managed correctly through asbestos surveys, comprehensive asbestos register and regular refresher courses the risks can be dramatically reduced.”
Find out more at:
http://www.mavisnyefoundation.com/
To book an Asbestos Awareness Course or to discuss in further detail please contact: training@pragmatic-consulting.co.uk
Kazan Law wrote a great Blog
Mavis Nye One of Few People in the World in Recovery from Mesothelioma
November 15, 2017
Kazan Law Founding, Senior and Managing Partner Steven Kazan with Mavis Nye UK mesothelioma survivor and activist.
A mesothelioma diagnosis is often thought to be a death sentence. While the mortality rate from mesothelioma is still depressingly high, a few long-term survivors give hope that better treatments and maybe even a cure for mesothelioma are around the corner. Mavis Nye is one of these rare survivors.
Mavis Nye was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2009, when she was in her late 60s. When she first came in for testing, the fluid pressing on her lungs took her breath away and made it hard for her to walk more than a few feet at a time. Doctors drained seven liters of fluid (almost two gallons) from her lungs. She was so ill when she was first diagnosed, that her doctors gave her just a few months to live.
Mavis Nye doesn’t take bad news lying down. A native of the county of Kent, England, south of London, she opted for aggressive chemotherapy treatment despite her poor prognosis.
This was the first success for Mavis Nye. She signed up for any drug trial she could. Nothing worked. Eventually, chemotherapy stopped working too. By then, Mavis had made it four years beyond her terminal mesothelioma diagnosis, and that was a victory in itself.
At the end of her options, she squeaked into a small clinical trial for the mesothelioma immunotherapy drug Keytruda. For two years, she received a drug infusion every two weeks.
The other two participants in the Keytruda trial succumbed to mesothelioma. Mavis Nye survived – and thrived. After just a few treatments, her tumors started to shrink. At the end of the mesothelioma clinical trial, she was in full remission. That’s a condition that few mesothelioma patients are ever lucky enough to achieve. After a year without treatment, her mesothelioma has not come back. At age 76, Mavis Nye has her life back.
Mavis Nye: Remission After Mesothelioma Immunotherapy
The chief executive of the British Lung Foundation has recognized Mavis Nye as one of only a few people to be in remission from mesothelioma. She went into remission after chemotherapy no longer worked to keep her cancer from progressing and she was able to try mesothelioma immunotherapy.
Chemotherapy drugs work by directly attacking and killing cancer cells. For some types of cancer, chemotherapy can be quite effective at stopping malignant growths. Mesothelioma chemotherapy slows the spread or metastasis of the cancer, thus giving patients longer survival times. Traditional chemotherapy hasn’t been able to shrink mesothelioma tumors, however.
Immunotherapy drugs work indirectly. Rather than attacking the cancer cells head on, they target very specific actions and reactions of your immune system, at the cellular level. Mesothelioma immunotherapy drugs are like tiny keys that lock the doors that cancer uses to grow and spread. These are the pathways that allow malignant cells to avoid the normal rules that govern other cells in our bodies and frees them from the immune response that would otherwise eradicate them.
Keytruda is the brand name for the mesothelioma immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab. It is one of the class of immunotherapy drugs known as checkpoint inhibitors. It blocks the PD-L1 pathway, which is a back door that cancer cells use to avoid programmed death, which is a natural part of the life cycle of all cells. With that pathway blocked, your immune system’s T cells suddenly recognize the cancer cells as harmful invaders and start killing them. The killing ability of these T cells is stronger and more targeted than any chemotherapy drug.
Keytruda is one of the early immunotherapy success stories. It has shown positive results for several types of cancers, including mesothelioma.
There is a caveat with mesothelioma immunotherapy, however. Remember the other two patients in the Keytruda drug trial with Mavis Nye who didn’t survive? Each immunotherapy drug focuses on one of the ways that cancer hides from your immune system. Every tumor is different. Matching the right immunotherapy treatment for a particular patient’s tumor is the next challenge in mesothelioma treatment.
Mavis Nye was lucky: her mesothelioma tumor was very responsive to treatment with Keytruda. The fact that this type of immunotherapy works for some mesothelioma patients points scientists in the right direction to develop more and better mesothelioma immunotherapy drugs and better diagnostic tools.
How Did Mavis Nye Get Mesothelioma?
Mavis Nye has been married to her husband, Ray, for over 50 years. They met when they were both teenagers. He was working as an apprentice at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, where he later got a job.
After Mavis and Ray married, he would come home covered in dust from the shipyard. She shook out his work clothes and washed them. She brushed the dust from his hair.
No one ever told Ray Nye that the dust at the shipyard contained dangerous asbestos fibers. No one ever suggested that he or the other workers should wear protective clothing. Ray was lucky not to develop mesothelioma. He feels terrible that he brought home the toxic mineral that made his wife sick. If he had known the risks, surely, he would have taken precautions.
Mavis Nye is not alone. There have been numerous cases where women developed mesothelioma because of asbestos exposure from their husbands’ work clothes.
Mavis Nye: Birth of a #Mesowarrior
After her mesothelioma diagnosis, Mavis Nye didn’t just fight hard for her own survival. Even while she was still in treatment, she started working to raise mesothelioma awareness.
Today Mavis Nye spends much of her time speaking about the dangers of asbestos exposure. She is particularly concerned about the risks to children: around 80 percent of the school buildings in Great Britain contain asbestos.
Although corporations and public health officials have known about the dangers of asbestos exposure for 100 years, the death toll from mesothelioma continues to rise. Mavis Nye wants to turn that around. She speaks to physicians, researchers, members of the British Parliament and many others.
Mavis Nye has a name for herself (and a hashtag): #mesowarrior. She plans to fight mesothelioma with every breath she takes.
The Mavis Nye Foundation: Living and Giving Back
Mavis Nye does more than public education. She has joined and formed mesothelioma patient support groups. She is a patient representative for Britain’s National Health Service (NHS). She and Ray started the Mavis Nye Foundation to help other mesothelioma patients receive the kind of life-extending treatment she did.
While her story is inspiring, it’s important to remember that there still is no known cure for mesothelioma. Mavis Nye lives with the knowledge that her cancer could come back at any time. Even more reason for this indomitable spirit to spend every day living life to the fullest and giving her all to other mesothelioma patients.
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