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Asbestos Attorney
Asbestos (Greek a-, "not"; sbestos, "extinguishable")
is a group of fibrous metamorphic minerals. The name is derived for its
historical use in lamp Wicks. It was also used in fabrics such as Egyptian
burial cloths and Charlemagne's tablecloth, which, according to legend,
he threw in a fire to clean.
The fibers are typically mixed with cement or woven into fabric or mats.
It was used in brake shoes and gaskets for its heat resistance, and in
buildings for its flame-retardant and insulating properties, its tensile
strength, flexibility, and resistance to chemicals.
Asbestos is now known to be carcinogenic and is banned in many countries.
Most respirable asbestos fibers are invisible to the unaided human eye
because their size is about 3.0-20.0 µm in length and can be as thin
as 0.01 µm. Fibers ultimately form because when these minerals originally
cooled and crystallized, they formed by the polymeric molecules lining
up parallel with eachother and forming oriented crystal lattices. These
crystals thus have three cleavage planes as other minerals and gemstones
have. But in their case, there are two cleavage planes that are much weaker
than the third direction. Thus when sufficient force is applied they tend
to break along their weakest directions, resulting in a linear fragmentation
pattern and hence a fibrous form. This fracture process can keep occurring
over and over until they have been broken down to their smallest unit dimensions.
For this reason, one larger asbestos fiber can ultimately become the source
of hundreds of much thinner and smaller fibers in a normal environment over
the course of time. As they get smaller and lighter, they become more mobile
and more easily entrained (wafted) into the air, where human respiratory
exposures typically result.
Asbestos exposure has been proven to cause lung cancer, asbestosis,
mesothelioma, and other cancers. If you suspect that yourself or someone
you know is suffering or has suffered from these medical conditions due
to Asbestos exposure you may have grounds for an Asbestos Lawsuit.
A lawyer specializing in Asbestos Lawsuits is familiar with the medical
conditions associated with Asbestos Exposure as well as the intricacies
of Asbestos Lawsuit cases.
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