Mesothelioma Pages

To date, over six hundred thousand asbestos related cases have been heard in court since the early 1900’s. Many of these involve a prosecution representing victims suffering from fatal mesothelioma cancer after work-related asbestos exposure. In the UK, asbestos diseases are the leading work-related cause of death, accounting for about 4000 deaths each year.

Asbestos was heavily used around the world through the 1900s, and mesothelioma, a cancer it causes, is characterized by a latency period spanning several decades. These factors ensure continued employee-verses-employer lawsuits long after associated employment is over.

Before the 1980s many employers were uneducated about asbestos and its deadly effects; they had no idea they were exposing themselves and their workers to a toxic carcinogen. However, there have been numerous cases in which employers have been found guilty of intentional fraud, negligence and harm by choosing to mishandle asbestos materials or misrepresent exposure risks. In many of these situations employees have either been lied to about the presence of asbestos, or risks have been greatly minimized and safety precautions have been inadequate. As in many such cases, it is costs of respiratory protection and insurance that led to cut corners.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring substance that can be mined from the earth. Known for it’s fire resistance and durability, asbestos was used as an additive in thousands of products through the last century. Specifically, products expected to endure high heat, like insulation or roofing sheets, and high traffic, like floor tiles, were fortified with asbestos. Relatively safe when contained in other materials, asbestos fibers pose a real threat when exposed. Unfortunately, many products, once new, begin to wear out and break down over time. From slow wear and tear, or intentional demolition, asbestos fibers are released into the air.

If inhaled, asbestos fibers can begin a mutative process in protective organ lining. This develops into tumor growth and spreads irregularly through surrounding areas. Malignant mesothelioma is characterized by a long latency period typically lasting between twenty and fifty years. During this time, tumors are spreading, but patients are showing no signs.

Once mesothelioma patients are properly diagnosed, prognosis is grim. Mesothelioma patient life expectancy ranges from just six months to two years. Mesothelioma treatments include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, most often administered in combination to provide patients with a higher quality of life and extended life expectancy.

To date, over six hundred thousand asbestos related cases have been heard in court since the early 1900’s. Many of these involve a prosecution representing victims suffering from fatal mesothelioma cancer after work-related asbestos exposure. In the UK, asbestos diseases are the leading work-related cause of death, accounting for about 4000 deaths each year.

Asbestos was heavily used around the world through the 1900s, and mesothelioma, a cancer it causes, is characterized by a latency period spanning several decades. These factors ensure continued employee-verses-employer lawsuits long after associated employment is over.

Before the 1980s many employers were uneducated about asbestos and its deadly effects; they had no idea they were exposing themselves and their workers to a toxic carcinogen. However, there have been numerous cases in which employers have been found guilty of intentional fraud, negligence and harm by choosing to mishandle asbestos materials or misrepresent exposure risks. In many of these situations employees have either been lied to about the presence of asbestos, or risks have been greatly minimized and safety precautions have been inadequate. As in many such cases, it is costs of respiratory protection and insurance that led to cut corners.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring substance that can be mined from the earth. Known for it’s fire resistance and durability, asbestos was used as an additive in thousands of products through the last century. Specifically, products expected to endure high heat, like insulation or roofing sheets, and high traffic, like floor tiles, were fortified with asbestos. Relatively safe when contained in other materials, asbestos fibers pose a real threat when exposed. Unfortunately, many products, once new, begin to wear out and break down over time. From slow wear and tear, or intentional demolition, asbestos fibers are released into the air.

If inhaled, asbestos fibers can begin a mutative process in protective organ lining. This develops into tumor growth and spreads irregularly through surrounding areas. Malignant mesothelioma is characterized by a long latency period typically lasting between twenty and fifty years. During this time, tumors are spreading, but patients are showing no signs.

Once mesothelioma patients are properly diagnosed, prognosis is grim. Mesothelioma patient life expectancy ranges from just six months to two years. Mesothelioma treatments include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, most often administered in combination to provide patients with a higher quality of life and extended life expectancy.

Mohammed Zulfiquar, CEO of Datatecnics in Birmingham, UK, has used innovative technology to develop an asbestos alert system for residential and commercial use. ADAAS (Asbestos Disturbance Automated Alert System) is a clear, film-like, adhesive surface covering made up of tiny asbestos censors connected in web-like fashion. ADAAS can be applied on walls or other asbestos containing materials much like wallpaper. Using a basic wire hook-up system the invisible film sounds an alarm when asbestos is detected.

Asbestos causes severe respiratory illnesses, including mesothelioma, a rare and fatal cancer. While the world’s mesothelioma cases are on the rise from an estimated twenty thousand annually to an estimated ninety thousand, Zulfiquar’s invention comes at a crucial time. Much less expensive than standard asbestos abatement, and not nearly and disruptive, ADAAS can be applied while life and work continue, for a fraction of the cost of having the toxic materials removed.

Mesothelioma is characterized by an extensive latency period. Once asbestos fibers are inhaled into the lungs, a process of tumor development begins and quietly spreads irregularly through inner organ lining. Typically patients do not demonstrate mesothelioma symptoms until two to five decades after asbestos exposure. This long latency period makes early detection next to impossible, while symptoms that mimic those of pneumonia and bronchitis further postpone proper mesothelioma diagnosis.

Once patients are diagnosed with mesothelioma, life expectancy is short, most often ranging from six months to two years. Mesothelioma treatments include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, all of which focus on extending life expectancy and raising quality of life. Some alternative, ‘radical’ treatments do exist for mesothelioma, including removal of affected organs and internal tissues.

The UK, US, Australia, Japan, and other countries are realizing the dangers of asbestos materials once used heavily by industries and manufacturing lines. Now, as asbestos containing materials begin to age and break down, what were once considered safe and reliable products are becoming a threat to public safety. Asbestos exposure can be found in countless structures, products and equipments used in homes and workplaces around the world.  ADAAS was inspired by Zulfiquar’s desire to minimize negative impact of asbestos exposure—his desire to save lives.

“Asbestos is in a lot of public buildings. The Government estimated that 70% of UK schools contain it and the guidance from the Health and Safety Executive is to manage most of it, not remove it,” Zulfiquar said in a recent Electronics Weekly article.

In the same article, Zulfiquar says of his product, “You paper the wall, and have just two wires connected to a control; something like an alarm. My first prototype was just aluminium foil on sheets of paper.” Development of ADAAS was a process, the end result, a celebration. Zufiquar’s innovation has taken mesothelioma prevention to a whole new level.

Mesothelioma victim John Pearson works to spread awareness about the fatal cancer and its cause, asbestos. Pearson, 57, was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma in the midst of an active and healthy life. Now, he wants to tell others how this disease can be avoided.

In a July 5^th article in The Star, Pearson says, “Action Mesothelioma Day is very important for raising awareness of asbestos-related diseases. I want to make as many people as possible aware of the dangers of asbestos and the impact it can have on people’s lives.

“After years of living with no effects, the illness can come on very quickly – it’s been a frightening and life-changing experience.”

Action Mesothelioma Day is set aside annually in Britain to celebrate and remember the lives lost to mesothelioma and to raise awareness about the disease for the public.

Mesothelioma is a rare cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, a naturally occurring chemical classified as a Type 1 carcinogen by the World Health Organization. Pearson was allegedly exposed to asbestos during his employment at a South Yorkshire steelworks plant between the 1970s and 1980s.

Pearson says in The Star article, “It’s been over 30 years since I was exposed to asbestos, and since then I have continued to work hard and live life to the full with my wife. I loved cycling and walking – not only was it enjoyable but it also kept me fit. Thanks to my condition I struggle to do any of those things any more.”

Pearson experienced a characteristic mesothelioma latency period. Often, mesothelioma patients have no idea they are developing cancer during a twenty to fifty year stretch between original asbestos exposure and symptom demonstration. This latency period, and symptoms that mimic those of bronchitis or pneumonia, make mesothelioma a challenge to diagnose.

The last century saw asbestos nicknamed the “backbone of industry” and industrial growth spread the toxic material through residential, commercial, military and consumer arenas worldwide. Now, decades later those components have begun to break down, releasing asbestos fibers in the most unexpected places. Not only are victims coming out of industrial backgrounds, like Pearson, but also teachers, shopkeepers and homemakers have added to the list of mesothelioma patients.

Irwin Mitchell law firm’s Adrian Budgen commented on these global changes in the recent article in The Star. He said, “Asbestos has long been associated with heavy industry but sadly we are seeing an increasing number of people from other sectors – such as health and education – falling victim to diseases like mesothelioma.

“Over the years, as asbestos-containing materials began to deteriorate and crumble, many UK workers were inhaling the lethal fibres as they went about their daily tasks, completely unaware of the dangers they were facing, putting them at risk of developing an asbestos-related disease.

“The rising numbers of white- collar workers who are going on to suffer from mesothelioma highlights the need for a proper record of which public buildings – whether they are council offices, hospitals or schools – contain asbestos to prevent future, needless tragedies.”