What Exactly Constitutes Asbestos Poisoning?


Asbestos poisoning occurs when a person experiences harmful health complications as a result of hazardous exposure to asbestos. Asbestos is the name of a group of chemicals that were used extensively to make thousands of products between the 1930s and 1970s.
Asbestos exposure is particularly threatening for those employed in the following industries: building and construction, automotive, railroad, shipyard, and factory. click here to learn your rights if you are experiencing abdominal mesotheliomaThough asbestos use is no longer common, many structures still house hazardous asbestos materials that can cause asbestos poisoning. An estimated 1.3 million construction workers still face significant threats of asbestos poisoning on the job.


Asbestos poisoning can occur when harmful asbestos fibers are released into the air and inhaled or ingested. Asbestos poisoning can lead to a number of adverse long and short term physical ailments. The symptoms of asbestos poisoning may not appear for ten to thirty years after a person is exposed. Asbestos poisoning primarily targets the lungs and the digestive system. Asbestos poisoning can cause several forms of cancer, asbestosis disease, pulmonary hypertension, immunological effects, and other damage to the respiratory and digestive systems.

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The most deadly result of asbestos poisoning is the development of cancer. While lung and digestive system cancers have been linked to asbestos poisoning, the most common asbestos poisoning cancer is called mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a cancer that affects the plural lining of the lungs and/or the peritoneal lining of the organs in the abdominal cavity. After asbestos poisoning, mesothelioma can take up to fifty years to produce any outward symptoms. Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma can include difficulty breathing, chest pain, chronic cough, and effusions or fluid build-up in the lungs. Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma can include nausea, weight loss, bowel obstruction, anemia, and edema or swelling in the feet and abdomen. Mesothelioma asbestos poisoning claims the lives of ten thousand people annually and three thousand new cases are diagnosed every year.


Asbestos poisoning can also lead to a non-cancerous progressive disease known as asbestosis. Asbestosis is typified by a build-up of scar tissue in the lower region of the lungs. Asbestosis may not be evident for fifteen to thirty years following asbestos poisoning. This condition significantly restricts breathing and hinders adequate oxygen intake and gas exchange in the lungs. Asbestosis, if left untreated, can lead to serious disability and even death.

The deadly health complications that plague individuals who have suffered asbestos poisoning claim the lives of tens of thousands of people every year. Victims of asbestos poisoning have the legal right to seek compensation for their injuries from those found responsible for the asbestos poisoning. Employers, manufacturers, and even landlords or building owners can be held responsible for the asbestos poisoning their negligence failed to prevent.