Dangers of asbestos exposure

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When speaking about premises liability, the greatest areas of concern include companies, apartments, schools and other buildings that expose occupants to asbestos. A New Jersey electrical worker was exposed to asbestos at his workplace. What was worse that his wife, who did not work at the same place, is suffering from mesothelioma, an irreversible type of cancer, due to asbestos exposure after washing the clothes of her husband. Though the exposure occurred at the workplace, the point is that no type of exposure to asbestos in any form can be considered acceptable. Regulatory departments cannot label any sort of exposure as a safe level. Considering the dangers and long term health consequences that can result from exposure to asbestos and asbestos like materials, citizens of any community have the right to be concerned about the presence of asbestos. Such exposure can lead to asbestosis, lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma. What's worse, the adverse health effects from such exposure may not occur for years or even decades. By that time, it may be difficult to figure out those responsible for other individuals being exposed to the asbestos. Those responsible for the asbestos exposure may also be judgment proof at that point or shielded from liability. Asbestos exposure is a hidden danger that needs to be taken seriously by manufacturers because of the dangers that such materials present. Sadly, safety cautions and procedures are not always enough to prevent exposure from occurring. In certain cases it may take the threat of litigation for manufacturers to take the asbestos health care risks seriously. Source: Environmental Health News, "Opinion: U.S. policy must move toward carcinogen-free workplace," by Richard Clapp, Molly Jacobs, David Kriebel and Joel Tickner, March 9, 2012