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by Olga Loreto Olga Loreto No Comments

Asbestos? Types and associated fibers

Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate mineralswhich all have in common their eponymous asbestiform habit: i.e. long (roughly 1:20 aspect ratio), thin fibrous crystals, with each visible fiber composed of millions of microscopic “fibrils” that can be released by abrasion and other processes. They are commonly known by their colors, as blue asbestos, brown asbestos, white asbestos, and green asbestos.

Asbestos mining existed more than 4,000 years ago, but large-scale mining began at the end of the 19th century. When manufacturers and builders began using asbestos for its desirable physical properties. Some of those properties are sound absorption, average tensile strength, affordability, and resistance to fire, heat, and electricity. It was used in such applications as electrical insulation for hotplate wiring and in building insulation. When asbestos is used for its resistance to fire or heat, the fibers are often mixed with cement or woven into fabric or mats. These desirable properties made asbestos very widely used. Asbestos use continued to grow through most of the 20th century until public knowledge of the health hazards of asbestos dust led to its outlawing by courts and legislatures in mainstream construction and fireproofing in most countries.

Inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause serious and fatal illnesses including lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis (a type of pneumoconiosis). A concern of asbestos-related illness in modern times began with the 20th century and escalated during the 1920s and 1930s. By the 1980s and 1990s, asbestos trade and use were heavily restricted, phased out, or banned outright in an increasing number of countries.

Despite the severity of asbestos-related diseases, the material has extremely widespread use in many areas. Continuing long-term use of asbestos after harmful health effects were known or suspected, and the slow emergence of symptoms decades after exposure ceased, made asbestos litigation the longest, most expensive mass tort in U.S. history through a much lesser legal issue in most other countries involved. Asbestos-related liability also remains an ongoing concern for many manufacturers, insurers and reinsurers. On July 12, 2018, a Missouri jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay a record $4.69 billion to 22 women who alleged the company’s talc-based products, including its baby powder, contain asbestos and caused them to develop ovarian cancer.

Etymology

Asbestos derives from the ancient Greek ἄσβεστος, meaning “unquenchable” or “inextinguishable”. The name reflects the use of the substance for wicks that would never burn up. The word is pronounced /æsˈbɛstəs/, /æzˈbɛstəs/ or /æzˈbɛstɒs/.

Types and associated fibers

Six mineral types are defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as “asbestos” including those belonging to the serpentine class and those belonging to the amphibole class. All six asbestos mineral types are known to be human carcinogens. The visible fibers are themselves each composed of millions of microscopic “fibrils” that can be released by abrasion and other processes.

Serpentine

Serpentine class fibers are curly. Chrysotile is the only member of the serpentine class.

Chrysotile

Chrysotile, CAS No. 12001-29-5, is obtained from serpentinite rocks which are common throughout the world. Its idealized chemical formula is Mg3(Si2O5)(OH)4. Chrysotile appears under the microscope as a white fiber.

Chrysotile has been used more than any other type and accounts for about 95% of the asbestos found in buildings in America. Chrysotile is more flexible than amphibole types of asbestos and can be spun and woven into a fabric. The most common use was corrugated asbestos cement roofing primarily for outbuildings, warehouses, and garages. It may also be found in sheets or panels used for ceilings and sometimes for walls and floors. Chrysotile has been a component in joint compound and some plasters. Numerous other items have been made containing chrysotile including brake linings, fire barriers in fuse boxes, pipe insulation, floor tiles, residential shingles, and gaskets for high-temperature equipment.

Amphibole

Amphibole class fibers are needle-like. Amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite, and actinolite are members of the amphibole class.

Amosite

Amosite, CAS No. 12172-73-5, often referred to as brown asbestos, is a trade name for the amphiboles belonging to the cummingtonitegrunerite solid solution series, commonly from South Africa, named as a partial acronym for “Asbestos Mines of South Africa”. One formula given for amosite is Fe7Si8O22(OH)2. Amosite is seen under a microscope as a grey-white vitreous fiber. It is found most frequently as a fire retardant in thermal insulation products, asbestos insulating board, and ceiling tiles.

Crocidolite

Crocidolite, CAS No. 12001-28-4, is the fibrous form of the amphibole riebeckite, found primarily in southern Africa, but also in Australia and Bolivia. One formula given for crocidolite is Na2FeII
3FeIII
2Si8O22(OH)2. Crocidolite is seen under a microscope as a blue fiber.

Crocidolite commonly occurs as soft friable fibers. Asbestiform amphibole may also occur as soft friable fibers but some varieties such as amosite are commonly straighter. All forms of asbestos are fibrillar in that they are composed of fibers with breadths less than 1 micrometer in bundles of very great widths. Asbestos with particularly fine fibers is also referred to as “amianthus”.

Other materials

Other regulated asbestos minerals, such as tremolite asbestos, CAS No. 77536-68-6, Ca2Mg5Si8O22(OH)2; actinolite asbestos, CAS No. 77536-66-4, Ca2(Mg,FeII)5(Si8O22)(OH)2; and anthophyllite asbestos, CAS No. 77536-67-5, (Mg,FeII)7Si8O22(OH)2; are less commonly used industrially but can still be found in a variety of construction materials and insulation materials and have been used in a few consumer products.

Other natural asbestiform minerals, such as richterite, Na(CaNa)(Mg,FeII)5(Si8O22)(OH)2, and winchite, (CaNa)Mg4(Al,FeIII)(Si8O22)(OH)2, though not regulated, are said by some to be no less harmful than tremolite, amosite, or crocidolite. They are termed “asbestiform” rather than asbestos. Although the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has not included them in the asbestos standard, NIOSH and the American Thoracic Society have recommended them for inclusion as regulated materials because they may also be hazardous to health.

Early uses

Asbestos use dates back at least 4,500 years when the inhabitants of the Lake Juojärvi region in East Finland strengthened earthenware pots and cooking utensils with the asbestos mineral anthophyllite (see Asbestos-ceramic). One of the first descriptions of a material that may have been asbestos is in Theophrastus, On Stones, from around 300 BC, although this identification has been questioned. In both modern and ancient Greek, the usual name for the material known in English as “asbestos” is amiantos (“undefiled”, “pure”), which was adapted into the French amiante and Portuguese amianto. In modern Greek, the word ἀσβεστος or ασβέστης stands consistently and solely for lime.

The term asbestos is traceable to Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder‘s manuscript Natural History, and his use of the term asbestinon, meaning “unquenchable”. While Pliny or his nephew Pliny the Younger is popularly credited with recognizing the detrimental effects of asbestos on human beings, examination of the primary sources reveals no support for either claim.

Some archaeologists believe that ancients made shrouds of asbestos, wherein they burned the bodies of their kings, in order to preserve only their ashes, and prevent them being mixed with those of wood or other combustible materials commonly used in funeral pyres. Others assert that the ancients used asbestos to make perpetual wicks for sepulchral or other lamps. A famous example is the golden lamp asbestos lychnis, which the sculptor Callimachus made for the Erechtheion. In more recent centuries, asbestos was indeed used for this purpose. Although asbestos causes the skin to itch upon contact, the ancient literature indicates that it was prescribed for diseases of the skin, and particularly for the itch. It is possible that they used the term asbestos for soapstone because the two terms have often been confused throughout history.

Note: This article is informational only. When making purchasing decisions, conduct your own research.
For more information or support call us we are here to help you.

by Olga Loreto Olga Loreto No Comments

Hurricane Maria: One Year Later

The devastation caused by Maria was unprecedented. The storm wrecked Puerto Rico’s power grid, mangled infrastructure and disrupted the island’s medical system. After an initial blackout, communications came back online, allowing the world to see, frame by frame, the new reality the island would face.

These are just some of the examples of selflessness and generosity that Direct Relief has had the privilege of witnessing over the past year, and without them, the recovery would not be where it is today. This is why EE&G will be hosting commemorative acts of one (1) year of Recovery Efforts. The Principals of our Client and Subcontractor Friends are invited to Attend. This event will take place on Thursday, September 20, 2018, at  El Campeon Restaurant at 5:00 pm.

Note: This article is informational only. When making purchasing decisions, conduct your own research.
For more information or support call us we are here to help you.

by Olga Loreto Olga Loreto No Comments

10 Tips to Protect Yourself from Unhealthy Air I The American Lung Association

We at EE&G support The American Lung Association. This is why we are sharing their article on 10 Tips to Protect Yourself from Unhealthy Air and their efforts to maintain everyone informed on how to get involved in the fight for a cleaner, healthier air.

Here are some simple, effective tips for protecting you and your family from the dangers of air pollution:

  1. Check daily air pollution forecasts in your area. Download the American Lung Association’s State of the Air app on your mobile device through the Google Play Store or the iPhone iTunes store. Other sources include local radio and TV weather reports, newspapers and online at airnow.gov.
  2. Avoid exercising outdoors when pollution levels are high. When the air is bad, walk indoors in a shopping mall or gym or use an exercise machine. Limit the amount of time your child spends playing outdoors if the air quality is unhealthy.
  3. Always avoid exercising near high-traffic areas. Even when air quality forecasts are green, the vehicles on busy highways can create high pollution levels up to a one-third mile away.
  4. Use less energy in your home. Generating electricity and other sources of energy creates air pollution. By reducing energy use, you can help improve air quality, curb greenhouse gas emissions, encourage energy independence and save money! Check out the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s easy tips for conserving energy at home.
  5. Encourage your child’s school to reduce exposure to school bus emissions. To keep exhaust levels down, schools should not allow school buses to idle outside of their buildings. Many school systems are using the U.S. EPA’s Clean School Bus Campaign to clean up these dirty emissions.
  6. Walk, bike or carpool. Combine trips. Use buses, subways, light rail systems, commuter trains or other alternatives to driving your car.
  7. Don’t burn wood or trash. Burning firewood and trash are among the major sources of particle pollution (soot) in many parts of the country.
  8. Use hand-powered or electric lawn care equipment rather than gasoline-powered. Old two-stroke engines like lawnmowers and leaf or snow blowers often have no pollution control devices. They can pollute the air even more than cars, though engines sold since 2011 are cleaner.
  9. Don’t allow anyone to smoke indoors and support measures to make all public places tobacco-free.
  10. Get involved. Start by checking out Fighting for Air which has more information about what you can do.

Note: This article is informational only. When making purchasing decisions, conduct your own research.
For more information or support call us we are here to help you.

by Olga Loreto Olga Loreto No Comments

4 Tips to Keep Your Home’s Air Clean

In this article, we will mention 4 tips to keep your home’s air clean. Indoor air quality can be two to five times more polluted than outdoor air, and since the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that people spend 90% of their time indoors, this is a big deal. Poor air quality can threaten your family’s health, so it’s important to keep things out of your home that causes pollution and ensure that your house is well-ventilated. Follow these tips from the American Lung Association to get started on purifying the air you breathe maintaining your air clean every day.

Some Indoor Air Pollutants Can Kill.

  1. The Deadly Three. Among the most dangerous are these three: Carbon monoxide: 400 die and thousands are sickened annually. Secondhand smoke: 7,500-15,000 children are hospitalized or sickened with respiratory tract infections, and smoke puts older adults with cardiovascular or lung illness at higher risk for health problems. Radon gas: It’s silent. It’s odorless. It’s found in many American homes, and it is the second biggest cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoke.
  2. Don’t Allow Smoking Indoors. Since cigarettes are so harmful, never let anyone smoke inside your home. The Surgeon General states that there is no safe level of secondhand smoke.
  3. Install a Carbon Monoxide Detector. Carbon monoxide poisoning claims the lives of over 400 people each year and thousands of others become ill or seek medical attention after exposure to the odorless gas. Early symptoms might resemble the flu, but look for these differences: If more than one family member has symptoms — even your pets — and you feel better away from home, you may have a carbon monoxide problem. Protect yourself by installing a carbon monoxide detector near your sleeping rooms. Also, have all fuel-burning appliances inspected by a qualified technician once a year to keep the deadly gas away from your home. Ask smokers to take it outside.
  4. Don’t Idle the Car (Or Run Other Fuel-Burning Engines) in the Garage. Burning gas or other fuels indoors can produce dangerous levels of indoor air pollution and deadly carbon monoxide. Fumes from cars or lawnmowers left running in enclosed spaces, like garages, can endanger your health. To that point, you should also only use gas stoves and heaters that vent directly to the outside. Never use charcoal grills indoors.

Note: This article is informational only. When making purchasing decisions, conduct your own research.
For more information or support call us we are here to help you.

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