Know About Asbestos

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What you
need to know
today about
asbestos
Frequently
Asked
Questions
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Say the word asbestos
and most people think
you are mentioning something from the past
something
that has no relevance to people today. But that
perception is
far from accurate. Shockingly, asbestos, a known
carcinogen,
is responsible for approximately 10,000 deaths a
year in the
United States alone. And due to powerful
industry lobbying,
the use of asbestos is still not banned in the
United States.
As one of the first law firms to ever
successfully win an asbestos
cancer lawsuit, Baron Budd is proud of the work
we have done
to expose the companies responsible for
knowingly exposing
innocent people to asbestos. And we are proud
that, over and over
again, we have been able to seek and win
financial compensation
for our clients, the victims of this terrible
tragedy.
In addition to representing people in the
courtroom we also
consider it part of our duty to inform and
educate the public about
the dangers of asbestos.
We hope that this brochure is helpful and
encourage you to call or
email us, day or night, with your questions.
Thank you for your interest in this important
environmental issue.
Russell W. Budd
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Why is asbestos a problem today?
or ingested. The asbestos fibers also can
eventually trigger cancers like
During the last century asbestos was widely used
in all types of construction.
mesothelioma and lung cancer.
For example, it was frequently used in drywall
compounds, paint texturing,
ceiling texturing, gaskets, sheetrock and
other routine construction
Is asbestos still being manufactured and used
today?
materials. During the construction process many
workers were exposed to
Over 50 countries today have banned the use
of asbestos but due to
asbestos as they worked to build homes and other
buildings. The common
powerful industry lobbying, the United States is
not one of them. Products
practice of using asbestos in building
materials continued through the
1970s. Since the latency period of
asbestos-related cancer is so long, the
problem today is twofold one, people who
worked in construction or in
other contaminated environments decades ago are
just now becoming sick
and two, the buildings originally constructed
with materials that contained
Over 50 countries
asbestos are now often being remodeled, which
means that the dangerous
today have banned
material is once again being released into the
air.
the use of asbestos
but due to powerful
Wouldnt I have known if I was exposed to
asbestos on the job?
industry lobbying,
Many people have been exposed to asbestos without
their knowledge. For
the United States
example, common construction materials such as
sheetrock, popcorn
is not one of them.
ceiling materials, vinyl floor tiles, gaskets
and other construction materials
contained large amounts of asbestos and were
manufactured and installed
for decades without any warning labels or caution
given to workers. Asbestos
may not have even been listed as a product
ingredient. Also, asbestos often
breaks off and becomes airborne in such small
pieces that it is invisible to
the human eye. Yet even those invisible particle
can be inhaled and cause
containing asbestos are still allowed into the
U.S. in the form of some
asbestos cancers.
construction materials and auto parts, to name a
few.
Is there any safe level of exposure to asbestos?
Why is asbestos exposure a health hazard?
The health risks of asbestos occur when these
tiny fibers are released
The overwhelming worldwide scientific consensus
is that there is no safe
into the air through normal handling of the
material and are breathed
level of exposure. Although overall risk rises
with increased exposure, even
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