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Volver al Blog de AsbestosWhy Gardeners and Farmers may Want to Double-Check Their Soil
Does potting soil contain asbestos? The short answer is maybe.
Use caution in selecting your gardening products, and consider avoiding older products or those from vendors you have doubts about.
Some people have house plants that they nourish like family members while others joke that a plant wouldn’t survive in their presence. But according to National Geographic, there’s no mistaking that “urban gardening” has been steadily rising in popularity over the past 3 decades.
Whether you have a green thumb or know someone who does, you’ve probably seen bags of potting soil in your lifetime. But what you may not have considered is that there could be any inherent risk to using it.
A number of potting soils contain minerals known to have been contaminated with asbestos. Pouring one of these potting soils could potentially send asbestos fibers airborne.
Asbestos is a mineral that was widely used in industry, but is known to cause significant health problems, including breathing diseases like asbestosis, cáncer de pulmón y mesotelioma.
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Si es posible que haya estado expuesto al asbesto, hable con su proveedor de atención médica sobre pruebas y exámenes para ayudar a detectar la presencia de fibras de enfermedades relacionadas con el asbesto.
Is there any asbestos in potting soil?
Potting soil is most often a mix of:
- Organic materials, like compost or animal manure;
- Inorganic materials, like perlite or sand; and
- Fertilizers or other additives.
National Geographic recently looked into the different types of materials used for potting soil. Potting soil, believe it or not, does not always contain any dirt or soil from the earth. Rather, different materials and additives are often combined to give plants a healthy environment to grow in. The combination is usually sterile, so it doesn’t contain microorganisms that cause fungus or other disease for plants.
So, how could asbestos get into potting soil?
The mineral vermiculita – often used to aerate gardening soil – is often found with significant asbestos mineral formations.
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Vermiculite is a naturally occurring mineral that is frequently used in gardening because it helps aerate soil. It does not rot or mold, and helps plants retain moisture and nutrients. Vermiculite has a shiny, flaky appearance in its natural form, but puffs up and appears duller after being heated. It was once often used in construction materials like insulation, just like a certain other mineral we are familiar with (asbestos).
Asbestos-tainted Vermiculite in Libby, Montana
Since vermiculite and asbestos are both naturally occurring minerals that are mined for use, it is possible to mine them together while only intending to mine vermiculite.
 | In fact, a mine in Libby, Montana, that was owned and operated by W.R. Grace, was estimated to have provided as much as 80% of the world’s vermiculite at the peak of its operation. Most of this product was contaminated with tremolite – one of the most toxic forms of asbestos in the amphibole family. |
Would I be able to tell if my potting soil is contaminated with asbestos?
By now, most people are aware that encountering asbestos can be dangerous for your health. The mineral, once reigning in popularity in various products, has been proven to be a carcinogen that can contribute to a variety of health conditions and even fatal diseases.
Asbestos fibers have no smell or taste, and many can only be seen with an electron microscope.
Though asbestos has many properties, a distinct smell is not one of them. Its fibers are also microscopic and therefore undetectable with the naked eye. This is also why it is so easy to inhale or ingest asbestos once the fibers are released into the air, because you likely may not even realize you’re doing it.
Asbestos diseases usually take many decades to appear.
According to the American Lung Association, once asbestos fibers enter the body, some of them never leave. Instead they embed in bodily tissue,
 | Over time, microscopic asbestos fibers damage and scar the lungs and other tissue, interfere with the body’s defenses, and increase the risk of cancer. |
The importance of proper testing for asbestos
If you’re ever in doubt about whether or not you are dealing with asbestos, in potting soil or anywhere else, we’ve covered different methods of asbestos testing aquí.
¿Califica usted para una compensación?
Descubra rápida y fácilmente cómo estuvo expuesto buscando en WARD, la base de datos de asbesto más grande del planeta.
BÚSQUEDA GRATUITA >The three main categories of asbestos exposure:
- Occupational asbestos exposure
- Second-hand asbestos exposure (secondary asbestos exposure)
- Environmental asbestos exposure
Asbestos-contaminated soil and water are 2 examples of environmental exposure. This is exposure to asbestos that does not come from your job (occupational) or from spending significant time with someone else who was exposed and brought fibers home (secondary).
 | Mixing up and digging into vermiculite laced potting soil could possibly increase your risk of asbestos exposure, or even lead to environmental exposure. |
Remember, if you have concerns about potential asbestos exposure from your product and are not able to get it professionally tested, the safest route would be to switch products.
AsbestosClaims.Law
Para Justinian C. Lane, obtener una indemnización por las víctimas del asbesto es algo personal.
Los abuelos de Justiniano y su padre trabajaron con asbesto en su juventud y murieron de cánceres relacionados con el asbesto en sus últimos años.
En el momento de cada una de sus muertes, nadie en la familia de Justiniano sabía que eran elegibles para presentar una demanda por asbesto y buscar una compensación de los fideicomisos de asbesto.
Debido a que nadie en la familia de Justiniano conocía sus opciones, nunca recibieron compensación alguna por la muerte de sus seres queridos.
Si cree que su lesión o la de su familiar estuvo relacionada con la exposición al asbesto, podría tener derecho a una compensación significativa.
Este es dinero que podría usar para cubrir los costos de los servicios de remoción de asbesto, pagar el tratamiento médico y proteger de manera preventiva su bienestar físico.
También hay fideicomisos de asbesto que ofrecen compensación mucho más rápida y fácilmente (sin presentar una demanda).
Si desea ayuda para presentar un reclamo, ponerse en contacto por correo electrónico a [email protected] o llámenos o envíenos un mensaje de texto al (833) 4-ASBESTOS (427-2378) o (206) 455-9190. Escucharemos su historia y le explicaremos sus opciones. Y nunca cobramos por nada a menos que reciba dinero en su bolsillo.
Además de demandas legales, discapacidad de veteranos, seguridad social y protección del empleo como compensación de trabajadores, FELA y La ley de Jones para los trabajadores marítimos, hay fideicomisos de asbesto que se han establecido para indemnizar a los perjudicados por el asbesto sin tener que presentar una demanda.
No hay riesgo ni costo para hablar con uno de nuestro personal sobre su litigio de asbesto. No hay cargos a menos que reciba dinero.
Si tiene preguntas o inquietudes adicionales relacionadas con el asbesto, visite nuestro sitio web y página de YouTube para ver videos, infografías y respuestas a sus preguntas sobre el asbesto, incluida la salud y la seguridad, prueba de asbesto, la eliminación del asbesto de su hogar y edificio, y información legal sobre la compensación por lesiones de asbesto.
Presentamos la base de datos de información sobre asbesto más grande del planeta.
W.A.R.D., que significa Worldwide Asbestos Research Database, ayuda a los clientes a reducir cuándo y dónde pueden haber estado expuestos, así como qué productos aún pueden contener asbesto.WARD también ayudará a indicar los tipos de compensación ya cuánto puede tener derecho una persona.
1 https://www.lung.org/clean-air/at-home/indoor-air-pollutants/asbestos
