Asbestos health hazards

Lipoproteins may denature on heating and if present during pasteurization can result in the formation of haze or turbidity in the final product. This material was removed traditionally by filtration through asbestos (qv) sheets (6) however, health hazards associated with asbestos have led to its replacement by alternative filter materials (23,37,193). These media have been less effective than asbestos and further measures have been required to ensure the visual clarity of albumin products, eg, further filtration developments for Hpid removal (194), preferential denaturation of contaminants using in-process heat treatment, and anion-exchange chromatography (49). 

Inhalation of certain fine dusts may constitute a health hazard. Eor example, exposure to siUca, asbestos, and beryllium oxide dusts over a period of time results ki the potential risk of lung disease. OSHA regulations specify the allowable levels of exposure to kigestible and respkable materials. Material Safety Data Sheets, OSHA form 20, available from manufacturers, provide information about hazards, precautions, and storage pertinent to specific refractory products. 

Asbestos and Mica Asbestos is no longer mined in the United States because of the severe health hazard, but it is still mined and processed in Canada. See previous editions of this handbook for process descriptions. 

Airborne particles with diameters less than 1 micron, as in the case of asbestos, are potentially respirable therefore, the manufacture of all submicron diameter carbon particles includes a responsibility to ensure that no health hazards arc... 

Work with asbestos insulating board (superseded by EH 71j Ozone health hazards and precautionary measures Occupational exposure limits (annual)... 

Typical insulating materials, therefore, are usually made of nonmetallic materials and are filled with small air pockets. They include magnesium carbonate, cork, felt, cotton batting, rock or glass wool, and diatomaceous earth. Asbestos was once widely used for insulation, but it has been found to be a health hazard and has, therefore, been banned in new construction in the U.S. 

Founded as the National Asbestos Council, EIA is a resource for professionals in the management and control of health hazards to occupants of buildings, facilities, and industrial sites. It de >elops and disseminates information about asbestos, lead based paint hazards, underground storage tanks (USTs), indoor air quality, solid and hazardous waste. 

Coordinates public programs administered by the federal government that control potential health hazards from exposure to asbestos and other fibrous materials. Has numerous links to asbestos programs, courses and resources. 

When asbestos is handled, microscopic fibers become suspended in the atmosphere and are breathed into the lungs. There, they lodge in lung tissue, where they remain for many years, causing irritation that eventually leads to loss of lung function. Asbestos, which was once used extensively as insulation, is now recognized as a significant health hazard. 

The use of materials such as asbestos in buildings and machinery is now largely discontinued, but poses a health hazard when the material is disturbed. Recognition of the importance of atmospheric particles is reflected in a dedicated volume in this series [3]. In this chapter we emphasise the interaction with the biosphere. 

Whatever distinguishes asbestos fibers—their composition, structure, or other peculiar properties that may contribute to the health hazard—they need to be examined in context, as representative of a class of inorganic fibrous materials. Perhaps then the factors that initiate adverse biologic reactions, and might be responsible for the induction of disease, could be identified. 

Ross, M. (1981). The geologic occurrences and health hazards of amphibole and serpentine asbestos, pp. 279-324. In Veblen, D. R., ed. Amphiboles Petrology and Experimental Phase Relations. Reviews in Mineralogy, 9B. Min. Soc. America, Washington, DC. 

The confusion and frustration of nonepidemiologists, especially those who must act on hehalf of the public, contribute further to the disarray. For ethical reasons, they propose regulations that seek the lowest possible level of asbestos exposure. But economics, not to mention common sense, continues to bring the results of these decisions to our attention. Inorganic fibers are ubiquitous. Are asbestos and other fibrous materials major health hazards for the world s population ... 

Asbestos fibers have been linked to the high incidence of lung cancer and mesothelioma (an otherwise rare pleural cancer) in asbestos workers and are considered to pose a threat to the population at large. Some 5000 deaths per annum in the United States have been attributed to mineral fiber contacts. There is now evidence that the true asbestoses such as amosite or crocidolite have a much higher association with mesothelioma than does the chrysotile used in most commercial asbestos, but controversy continues regarding the health hazards of asbestoses. The problem is evidently a general one with dust particles and fibers of any kind that are small enough... 

Asbestos constitutes several types of hydrated silicate mineral fibers. The types of asbestos, their chemical compositions, and CAS Numbers are presented in Table 3.8.1. These substances occur in nature in rocks, silicate minerals, fibrous stones, and underground mines. This class of substances exhibits unique properties of noncombustibility, high resistance to acids, and high tensile strength for which they were widely used in many products, including floor and roofing tiles, cement, textiles, ropes, wallboards, and papers. Because of the health hazards associated with excessive exposure to asbestos, the use of these substances is currently banned. 

Fibers axe particles with great length in one dimension compared to much smaller lengths in the other two dimensions. Examples are prisms, needles, and threads or mineral fibers such as asbestos. Recent concern over the health hazard posed by inhalation of asbestos fibers has prompted study of fiber properties in air. There is still not as much known about fibers as isometric particles. 

Since ancient times, natural fibers have been used to reinforce brittle materials. For example, thousands of years ago, Egyptians began using straw and horsehair to reinforce and improve the properties of mud bricks. In more recent times, large-scale commercial use of asbestos fibers in a cement paste matrix began with the invention of the Hatschek process in 1898. However primarily due to health hazards associated with asbestos fibers, alternate fiber types have been investigated and introduced throughout the 1960 s and 1970 s. 

There are certain potential health hazards associated with the handling of fibrous materials. These came to prominence when the health hazards associated with asbestos fiber came to light (see Chapter 6). We provide a summary of these. The following characteristics of fibers relate to potential biological activity ... 

Although naturally occurring ceramic or mineral fibers are not as common as natural polymeric fibers, there are two important examples, asbestos and basalt fibers. Asbestos fiber has some health hazards associated with it which have curbed its use. We provide a summary of these two natural ceramic fibers before describing synthetic ceramic fibers in more detail. 

High temperature textiles consisting of continuous filaments of amorphous silica in a variety of forms are available conunerdally. These can he used to replace asbestos-based high temperature textiles because of the health hazards associated with asbestos fiber. These high silica fibers are used for a variety of high temperature thermal insulation products for example, welding curtains. 

Tiny fragments of carbon fiber, if released into the atmosphere, can pose a health hazard to human beings and can cause problems for electrical and electronic equipment. Some of these human health hazards are, as discussed in Chapter 6 with regard to asbestos fiber, common to all very small diameter fibers. They can cause skin and eye irritation and a variety of lung diseases. It turns out that in... 

Standard texts of medical toxicology (e.g., Ellenhom et al. 1997 Goldfrank et al. 1998) do not provide specific information about treatment immediately following exposure to asbestos since the major health hazards of asbestos are associated with chronic rather than acute exposure. 

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