Asbestos Exposure Issues
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral fiber that has been mined for centuries. Several different types of asbestos exist such as "white" or chrysotile asbestos, "brown" or amosite absestos, and "blue" or riebeckite asbestos. People are exposed to asbestos fibers through manmade products, sometimes unknowingly. After being exposed to asbestos, some may develop asbestos-related cancers sometimes up to 50 years afterwards.
Additional Information:
Workers Sue Over Asbestos: 150 at Courthouse Join Lawsuit (4/9/07)
More than 150 workers at the Salinas courthouse have filed a lawsuit against contractors allegedly responsible for releasing asbestos into their workplace during an 18-month period beginning February 2005. More...
Asbestos, Minerals, and Toxins: Health Science Stifled (3/12/07)
Asbestos deposits exist throughout our country. Yet we know very little about the six minerals currently defined as asbestos, and we are operating blindly as to the health effects of the other 4,000 known minerals. Only those termed commercially exploited that have been only rudimentarily studied. More...
Asbestos Exposure, Pleural Mesothelioma, and Serum Osteopontin Levels. (12/27/05)
Serum osteopontin levels can be used to distinguish persons with exposure to asbestos who do not have cancer from those with exposure to asbestos who have pleural mesothelioma. More...
By Harvey I. Pass, M.D., Dan Lott, B.S., Fulvio Lonardo, M.D., Michael Harbut, M.D., Zhandong Liu, Ph.D., Naimei Tang, Ph.D., Michele Carbone, M.D., Ph.D., Craig Webb, Ph.D., and Anil Wali, Ph.D. New England Journal of Medicine.
Naturally Occurring Asbestos - California - Study Cites Asbestos Impact UCD research is seen as start to understanding rocks' cancer risk. (6/29/05)
People who live near the kind of rocks that can contain asbestos are more likely than other Californians to contract a rare cancer, according to a study being published in the nation's leading respiratory medical journal. More...
Cancer Seen in Family Members of Asbestos Workers (5/31/05)
People who were exposed to asbestos through a family member who worked with the material appear to run the risk of developing the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma many years later, a new study suggests. More...