An “asbestos-free” claim about insulation or another building product is meaningless, according to a recent study.

Worldwide, stakeholders’ expectations of zero tolerance for asbestos have not been met. This assertion has been backed by evidence of asbestos contamination in imported building materials throughout recent years. Stakeholders say that the complete prevention of the importation of ACBMs (asbestos-containing building materials) has been delayed because of issues in policy implementations, opaque supply chain activities, lack of transparency and non-adherence to mandatory and self-regulated guidelines.

How It Starts

Asbestos often seeps into the supply chain because, like many other commercially-used minerals, asbestos is embedded in ultramafic rocks. As a result, asbestos often ends up in unexpected places, such as talcum powder. Talc, like asbestos, is a serpentine, ultramafic rock. This beautiful rock is the state rock of California. When these rocks are harvested for one purpose, such as the talc embedded inside them, the desired mineral is laced with an undesired one (asbestos).

From there, asbestos spreads into consumer products. Cosmetics, specifically talcum powder, may be the best example. Talc is also a softening ingredient in a wide range of other makeup products, such as:

• Blotting sheets,
• Antiperspirant,
• Lip liner,
• Baby powder, and
• Eyeshadow.

Many people have most or all of these products in their bathrooms. All these products are suspected to contain asbestos-laced talc.

Talc, and possibly asbestos-laced talc, is also used in paint, insecticides, paper, crayons, chewing gum, ceramics, and dietary supplements. So, this poisonous substance could be in other areas of the house as well.

Other supply chain issues include materiales de construcción, such as asbestos-laced vermiculite. If it came from the Grace Mine in Libby, Montana, and it probably did, this “asbestos-free” insulation product is laced with asbestos. Vermiculite, like talc and asbestos, is an ultramafic mineral which is found in serpentine rocks.

The exposure risk is frightening. According to one study, over a third of American workers labor, or labored, in high-risk asbestos exposure environments. The proportion of possible secondary and tertiary exposure victims is even higher.

Possible Exposure Victims

The list of consumer and industrial products in the supply chain that might contain asbestos is a long list. The list of potential exposure victims is long as well.

The government banned asbestos mining in 2002. But talc, vermiculite, and other ultramafic/serpentine minerals are legal to mine. Therefore, to an extent, asbestos mining is still legal in America. 

Miners usually wear little or no PPE (personal protective equipment). Mining companies are either unaware of the risk or don’t care about it. In most cases, an asbestos exposure lawyer can obtain compensation for asbestos poisoning victims even if the responsible company didn’t know about the presence of asbestos.

Talc-Based Products May Contain Asbestos (Especially Older Products)

High risk direct exposure victims also include the workers who assembled crayons, makeup, paper, and the other aforementioned products. A single airborne asbestos fiber could cause mesothelioma or another serious illness that’s usually fatal.

Industrial workers also worked in asbestos-laced facilities, if the warehouse or other building was constructed before 1980. 

Some Degraded and Worn Products Can Release Harmful Asbestos Fibers

Consumer and industrial products degrade over time. People dip into makeup, creating dust laced with asbestos. Chrysotile (white) asbestos was the preferred kind of refined asbestos in building insulation. This crumbly substance quickly breaks down, releasing toxic dust and fibers into the surrounding air through hairline cracks in walls and ceilings.

We should also mention secondary and tertiary exposure victims. Many workers and miners carry asbestos fibers home, usually on their hair or clothes. These fibers then infect other people in the house. Tertiary exposure victims include disaster-related victims. For example, when asbestos-laced warehouses full of asbestos-laced products catch fire, the toxic smoke infects everyone in the surrounding area.

Enfermedades por exposición al asbesto

Lung disease, such as mesothelioma and pleural thickening, are the most common asbestos exposure-related illnesses.

Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive form of lung cancer. Asbestos exposure is the near-exclusive cause of mesotelioma. 

Asbestos is the Leading Occupational Cause of Lung Cancer and Main Cause of Mesothelioma

Most of these victims have no lifestyle (e.g. cigarette smoking) or genetic (e.g. a family history of lung cancer) markers. Therefore, many doctors do not even test for mesothelioma, even if the victim has trouble breathing or shows other signs of lung cancer. 

The diagnosis delay is often deadly. Doctors usually detect mesothelioma tumors after the cancer has spread from the mesothelium (membrane layer that separates the heart and lungs) into the lung itself. At that point, the cancer is usually in Stage II or Stage III.

Engrosamiento pleural is inflammation of the pleural layer that surrounds the lungs. Inadequate response is common in these cases. Low-level pleural thickening usually is not serious. Extensive pleural thickening could lead to mesothelioma or almost literally crush the lung.690

Your Claim for Damages

Workers’ compensation is often the go-to claim in work-related asbestos poisoning claims. These victims need not establish fault or negligence. Instead, an asbestos exposure lawyer must simply prove that the victim’s mesothelioma, pleural thickening, or other disease was work related. These claims are easy to prove, but the tradeoff is that compensation is usually limited.

Workers’ Compensation and Asbestos

Full workers’ compensation benefits are usually available even if a non-work condition, such as the aforementioned environmental and/or genetic factors, contributed to the risk and/or severity of illness.

Litigio de Asbestos

In contrast, compensation in civil claims, which are available to work-related and non-work-related exposure victims alike, is often very high. In addition to compensation for economic losses, such as medical bills, these plaintiffs are entitled to compensation for emotional distress and other noneconomic losses. In most states, punitive damages are available as well.

Procedural issues and proof problems often hamper these claims. Many states have a statute of repose that cuts off construction defect-related claims, including asbestos poisoning claims, after a short period of time, usually eight or ten years. Additionally, in most cases, an asbestos exposure lawyer must prove negligence, or a lack of care, by a preponderance of the evidence, or more likely than not.

Only a highly-qualified asbestos exposure lawyer properly evaluates cases and determines the best legal option, given all the pros and cons.