Where Do You Normally Find Asbestos?

Asbestos is normally found in three places: in the ground, in many industrial products, and in talc-containing products. The widespread and reckless use of asbestos, which began in ancient times, poisoned millions of people. Since the widespread and reckless use of asbestos continues, there is no telling how many more people will develop mesothelioma and other asbestos exposure illnesses.

The government has done pretty much all it can do in this area. The EPA has banned the extraction, development, and use of most kinds of asbestos. So, it’s now up to a nationwide asbestos exposure lawyer to protect people. The large settlements that victims usually receive usually convince polluting companies to change the way they do business and put people before profits.

Asbestos Mines

This fireproof substance is one of the most plentiful minerals on Earth. It’s also easy to extract, because in most cases, underground asbestos deposits are very near the surface. The U.S. government banned asbestos mining in 2002, but mining-related exposure illnesses are by no means yesterday’s news.

Mesothelioma and other asbestos exposure illnesses usually have about a fifty-year latency period. Therefore, many people who were exposed to raw asbestos may not show signs of illness until at least mid-century.

Asbestos deposits are widespread in the United States and create several kinds of victims. The town of Chrysotile, Arizona, is a good example (chrysotile asbestos, or white asbestos, is the most common form of refined asbestos).

• Direct Occupational: Prospectors found asbestos deposits near Chrysotile around 1910. Pictures taken at the time clearly show cowboy prospectors digging raw asbestos out of the ground, using nothing but picks and shovels.
• Indirect Occupational: Miners then took raw asbestos into town, where wholesalers bought it and sold it to companies like Johns-Manville. The wholesalers usually did not handle asbestos, but they breathed its fibers.
• Direct Ambient: Chrysoile turned into a ghost town in the mid-1940s, when asbestos deposits played out. But for nearly half a century, every man, woman, and child who sauntered through the dusty streets of Chrysotile did not know that the dust contained asbestos.
• Indirect Ambient: Today, the remains of Chrysotile are a popular stop on Arizona ghost town tours. The asbestos that miners dug out of the ground a century ago poisoned the ground where these people walk.

All four kinds of victims are entitled to the same compensation because, in the United States, everyone is equal under the law, at least theoretically.

Industrial Use

As mentioned, the asbestos in mines went to large companies, who used this substance in their manufacturing process. Industrial products laced with asbestos include:

• Building materials,
• Auto parts,
• Cigarette filters,
• Navy ships,
• Zippo lighters, and
• Ironing board covers.

Asbestos use is still legal in Russia, China, and many other countries that export a high volume of goods to the United States.

Cross-Contamination

Asbestos and talc are chemically similar. So, asbestos and talc mines are often adjacent to each other, or even interlaced with each other. As a result, mostly due to poor quality control practices, asbestos often leaks into talc products, such as talcum powder.

Corporate denial contributed to the problem. In the 1970s, Johnson & Johnson executives learned that the company’s talcum powder was laced with asbestos. But instead of correcting the problem, they buried it and continued aggressively selling talcum powder to women.

Tens of thousands of talc-asbestos claims are pending in courts throughout America, and tens of thousands of additional victims may step forward in future years.

Contact a Savvy Asbestos Exposure Lawyer

Mesothelioma victims need and deserve significant compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced nationwide mesothelioma lawyer, contact the Throneberry Law Group. Virtual appointments are available.