Modern Day mesothelioma and asbestos risk

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure. There are three types of mesothelioma, pleural (lung), peritoneal (abdominal) and Pericardial (heart). Cancer develops as a result of inhaling asbestos fibers, so that over seventy percent of all cases are pleural. It can be fatal, but can also be treated with chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery.

While developed countries no longer use asbestos in the construction process, there is a significant danger to workers in the field of demolition. The older buildings are being demolished to asbestos insulation and men and women involved in work are at risk for mesothelioma, a disease that may not appear until years or even decades later.

On 11 September 2001, two thousand nine hundred seventy-six (2976) of people were killed when two airliners crashed into the twin towers of World Trade Center in New York. Thousands more were affected by exposure to asbestos in the dust that arises when the towers collapsed. The long-term effects of this tragedy will be felt for decades by New Yorkers who lived and worked in the area.

The SS Blue Lady, known as the SS Norway and previously the SS France, was finally dismissed after the two-year battle over workers in the health and environmental hazards would be exposed in its demolition. The ship was once the largest and fastest cruise line in the world was finally removed on 12 July 2008, when he was removed from his bow and sent to Paris to be displayed as a national monument.

These cases are just two of many that demolition workers put and nearby residents at risk of exposure to asbestos and in danger of descending to the cancer known as mesothelioma. Not just a threat in third world countries like India and Pakistan, where the ship demolition meters are situated. There are plenty of buildings in the U.S. and the UK that are riddled with asbestos and will at some point. If you're in the demolition field make sure you know what you are working.