Researching Asbestos Removal Brisbane

When you talk about asbestos, it is basically a group of 6 different naturally occurring fibrous minerals that are composed of needle-like, thin fibers. If you are ever exposed to asbestos, it may give rise to several health problems including cancers. In the good old days, asbestos was used largely in building materials. These used to fireproof and also strengthen materials that were used in the construction industry. However, it soon got banned in most of the countries. Unfortunately, it is not yet banned in the United States and is still being used in building structures.

What Exactly Is Asbestos?

The natural occurring mineral called asbestos is composed of flexible and soft fibers that are pretty resistant to electricity, heat, and corrosion. Due to these qualities, asbestos has proved to be rather useful. However, these qualities also make the mineral highly toxic if exposed to it so that is why Brisbane asbestos removal is so important.

Asbestos happens to be an effective and useful insulator that is used in paper, cloth, plastic, cement, and various other materials in order to make them stronger. But if you ever ingest or inhale asbestos dust, some of the fibers from the mineral may get trapped in your body forever.

Over the due course of time, this trapped asbestos fibers can cause scarring, inflammation, and several genetic damages. Mesothelioma, a rare but aggressive form of cancer, is also caused by exposure to asbestos. Various types of lung diseases and other forms of cancers can also be formed due to asbestos exposure.

Different Varieties of Asbestos

When you talk about the types of asbestos, there are basically 6 types that fall under 2 different categories. These categories are serpentine and amphibole.

Amphibole Asbestos

In this category, 5 different varieties of asbestos have been recognized that include crocidolite, tremolite, amosite, actinolite, and anthophyllite. This type of asbestos have straight fibers that are jagged shaped.

Serpentine Asbestos

The fibers of this type of asbestos are normally curly and just a single variety of asbestos has been recognized in this category, which is chrysotile.

What Is The Source Of Asbestos?

Asbestos comes from different parts of the world. However, as far as the primary exporters are concerned, these include China, Russia, and Kazakhstan. There was also a time when the toxic mineral was mined in most parts of North America. It is normally found as contaminates or in large deposits in different other minerals that include vermiculite and talc. Chrysotile asbestos is normally found as the veins in serpentine rocks.

Majority of the commercial asbestos deposits include 5% to 6% asbestos. On the other hand, there are some asbestos deposits that contain a minimum of 50% asbestos. A good example would be the Coalinga deposit.

Diseases Caused By Asbestos Exposure

There are have been several scientific studies that reveal that asbestos exposure can lead to various forms of diseases that also include some types of cancers. Apart from mesothelioma, other forms of cancers caused by asbestos exposure include ovarian cancer, lung cancer, and laryngeal cancer. Other diseases caused by asbestos include pleuritis, asbestosis, pleural plaques, and diffuse pleural thickening.