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Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a cancer disease
due to asbestos exposure. A protective lining that covers body's internal
organs called mesothelium over which
malignant cells develop and causes Mesothelioma.Its most common site is
the pleura (outer lining of the lungs and internal chest wall), but it may
also occur in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity), the
heart the
pericardium (a sac that surrounds the heart) or tunica vaginalis.
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Mesothelioma Information
Nine out of ten cases of mesothelioma are due to Asbestos.
Asbestos mines are present in the world . Asbestos is made up of tiny
fibers very strong as steel but
can be woven like cotton and are highly resistant to heat and chemicals.
It was in 1960 the the first observation that asbestos being the
cause for mesothelioma was established. In UK large quantities of
asbestos was imported for construction, ship-building and in household
appliances. Asbestos was very widely used in insulation materials, such
as ammonite insulation board, and building materials, including asbestos
cement.
In asbestos digging, it releases tiny fibers and workers
inhale it to their lungs. Asbestos fibers are very fine and, when
breathed in, they can make their way into the smallest airways of the
lung, so they cannot be breathed or coughed out. Once the fibers are in
the lungs, the body's defense mechanism tries to break them down and
remove them, which leads to inflammation in the lung tissue.
The asbestos fibers can also penetrate through the lung tissue to settle
in the pleura (the membrane around the lung). It may take many years for mesothelioma or other lung diseases to develop.
Asbestos fibers can also be swallowed, and some of the fibers can stick
in the digestive system. They can then move into the membrane that lines
the abdomen (the peritoneum), where they cause inflammation.
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The people most likely to have been exposed to
asbestos
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construction worker
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plumbers
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electricians
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boilermakers
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shipbuilders
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demolition workers
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people who worked in other places where asbestos was present
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people who lived near to asbestos
factories
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Family members of people who worked with asbestos and brought the dust
home on their clothes have also sometimes developed mesothelioma.
Action Taken to drive away Mesothelioma
Two types of asbestos blue and
brown that is associated with mesothelioma are banned from
importing to UK from 19980 and all asbestos ban is imposed from 1999. Even
the third type white asbestos is proved to be dangerous recently.
Estimates of over 3000 people will be diagnosed as
mesothelioma each year as it develops
slowly, As the ban imposed on imports of asbestos the number will
decrease slowly.
The mesothelioma develops over a period
of 10 to 50 years after exposure. Mesothelioma develops in people who have never been exposed
to asbestos. The other causes of the disease are not fully understood, but
in rare cases the development of mesothelioma has been linked to exposure
to radiation.
Research did not prove that smoking increases the risk of developing mesothelioma. It is also thought that exposure to other
building materials such as fiber glass does not increase the risk.
Mesothelioma is not contagious or inherited.
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