Asbestos is a form of silicate mineral that is widely employed for commercial purposes. There are some important facts about asbestos everyone should know. They are extensively used in workshops and factories because of their flexibility, resistance to heat, chemical and electric damage, flexibility and high tensile strength. Cement is required for the construction of buildings and fibers are used with the mixture. They are also commonly woven into fabrics.
There are two general categories of asbestos, the serpentine class and the amphibole class. The central difference between these two categorizes are their differences in their respective chemical compositions and how dangerous they are as a health hazard when inhaled by humans.
Most fibers are extremely small in width, about 3.0-20.0 micrometers wide and may be as slim as 0.01 micrometers. As such, they remain invisible to the unaided human eye. When chunks of these minerals have their crystal lattices broken by sufficient force, they break up into much thinner and smaller fibers. If this process continues, the fibers get small enough to become airborne and easily exposed to the human respiratory system.
Most commercial forms of the mineral may induce cancer in humans and as such humans should always take extra precautions when handling them. In particular, Amosite and Crocidolite can remain in the lungs of exposed people for very long periods of time which makes them two of the most dangerous forms of the substance. Other forms of the mineral may induce other harmful effects as well.
One example of this is Chrysolite that results in tumors being produced in many people and animals. They may even develop Mesotheliomas, an uncommon but lethal form of cancer that is grown from the protective lining enveloping many of the body's internal organs.
People who fall ill from inhaling the mineral are often workers in mines or factories since they are exposed on a day-to-day basis when working directly with the mineral and therefore breathe in high concentrations of asbestos fibers over a long period of time. On the other hand, diseases are very unlikely to arise from a single, high-level exposure or an extended but low-level expose.
There are some important things to know about control measures. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has passed a law stating that consumer products can still legally contain small amounts of the mineral. Other measures have also been put in place by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. It has set the limit of 100,000 fibers with lengths equal to or shorter than 5 micrometers per cubic meter of workplace air for a typical eight-hour shift.
asbestos
There are two general categories of asbestos, the serpentine class and the amphibole class. The central difference between these two categorizes are their differences in their respective chemical compositions and how dangerous they are as a health hazard when inhaled by humans.
Most fibers are extremely small in width, about 3.0-20.0 micrometers wide and may be as slim as 0.01 micrometers. As such, they remain invisible to the unaided human eye. When chunks of these minerals have their crystal lattices broken by sufficient force, they break up into much thinner and smaller fibers. If this process continues, the fibers get small enough to become airborne and easily exposed to the human respiratory system.
Most commercial forms of the mineral may induce cancer in humans and as such humans should always take extra precautions when handling them. In particular, Amosite and Crocidolite can remain in the lungs of exposed people for very long periods of time which makes them two of the most dangerous forms of the substance. Other forms of the mineral may induce other harmful effects as well.
One example of this is Chrysolite that results in tumors being produced in many people and animals. They may even develop Mesotheliomas, an uncommon but lethal form of cancer that is grown from the protective lining enveloping many of the body's internal organs.
People who fall ill from inhaling the mineral are often workers in mines or factories since they are exposed on a day-to-day basis when working directly with the mineral and therefore breathe in high concentrations of asbestos fibers over a long period of time. On the other hand, diseases are very unlikely to arise from a single, high-level exposure or an extended but low-level expose.
There are some important things to know about control measures. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has passed a law stating that consumer products can still legally contain small amounts of the mineral. Other measures have also been put in place by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. It has set the limit of 100,000 fibers with lengths equal to or shorter than 5 micrometers per cubic meter of workplace air for a typical eight-hour shift.
asbestos
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