Mario Dos Santos Neves

ID:1235798
Asbestosessayintroduction
Introduction
Inthisessay,Iwillexaminetheissuesassociatedwiththewidespreaduseofasbestos
asareliablebuildingmaterialwithmultipleapplications,aswellasthehealthrisks
thatitproposes.Asbestosisageneralnamegiventoagroupofsiliconcompounds
withverydistinctcharacteristics(1).Themostcommonformofthese,ischrysolite
asbestos,(alsoknownaswhiteasbestos)whichaliketheotherforms,isprimarily
usedforitsmultipleproperties(physicalstrength,thermalandchemicalresistance)
whichmakesitabothusefulandrelativelymaterial.
However,despiteitsnumerousapplication,asbestosproductshavebeenbrandedas
hazardous(2)duetoitscarcinogenicnature,astheyareknowntocauserareformof
cancercalledmesothelioma.Alarmingly,inspitetherisks,worldwideuseofasbestos
productsisstillprominent,asonly52countrieshaveissuedanextensivebanonall
asbestosproducts(La,Douetal.).(3)

Sources
1. Gravelsons, B., Hawes, W., Jakubowski, S., Kent, A., Lowe, J., Macnair, A.,
Michaels, D., Morton, A., Sanders, D., Towell, P., Whiting, A., Widdows, J. &
Williams, A. (2004). UK asbestos the definitive guide. Asbestos working
party, Paper presented at GIRO Conference 2004.
2. Catt, R (1998). Asbestos, Structural Survey, 6 (1): 34-38
3. LaDou ,J., Castleman, B., Frank, A., Gochfeld, M., Greenberg,
M., Huff, J., Joshi, T.K., Landrigan, P.J., Lemen, R. (2010). The
case for a global ban on asbestos. Environmental Health
Perspectives, 118: (7): 897-901.