Friday, April 16, 2010

Did you know abestos comes from mines?

The picture is a mine in Canada, where chrysotile asbestos is mined and where 95 percent of the asbestos mined in Canada is shipped out of the country. It is believed that using the right chemical formulation makes asbestos not have the same risks earlier products using it had, yet it was known for well over a hundred years that there were health concerns related to the older forms of asbestos. While the illness and death of those exposed to asbestos was the source of lawsuits even back in the late 1920's, Mesothelioma was not recognized until the 1960's. While it is considered a rare form of cancer, there have been a number of well known people who have died from it. Including Steve McQueen, though was his exposure from his earlier years in the navy or from his race car days when asbestos was used as an insulation in protective wear worn by drivers has been debated.

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