Author: Bob Draper
Website:
www.insured411.comEmail: info@insured411.com
Did you know for decades, asbestos was the "miracle mineral." because it was strong, fireproof, a great electrical insulator, and resistant to acids and other chemicals. It was woven into fireproof cloth, shaped into half-round pipe insulation, mixed into concrete, and formed into heat-resistant gloves, aprons, and coveralls. These asbestos by products were used in heavy industries, including shipyards, refineries, and steel mills.
In the military, asbestos was used for electric wiring insulation aboard military planes, thermal insulation aboard ships, and just too many to list here.
Asbestos was considered so vital the Navy issued specifications in 1939 requiring its use in all constructed naval vessels. Almost 300 different asbestos-containing products were used in shipbuilding during World War II alone. That's scary.
The military refuses to give statistics for how many veterans have died from asbestos related diseases. But you can find data from other sources online which claims up to 26% of patients that have a mesothelioma diagnosis are former military workers that worked around asbestos manufactured products.
It's strange how the government tries to cover up these facts as I'm sure the numbers are a lot higher then anyone can find. They called it the "miracle mineral", but yet today they are cutting back benefits for people with mesothelioma cancer. One would have to assume that the government thinks the patient must find a "miracle source" of funds to cover heath care for this type of cancer.
Once again, everyone should be as careful as possible to not contract this from of cancer, as asbestos is a silent killer hiding in homes all around the world.
One place where you still may asbestos lingering around is in your floors. I used to lay hardwood floors and a lot of times when we were doing a install, we had to pull the old floor or tile up.
What we would look for is vinyl floor tiles were most often either 9x9 inches or 12 x 12 inches or if vinyl sheet flooring from the fifties and sixties was still in place under the carpet we called in the pros to remove it. Also, the adhesive that was used to lay the floors often contained asbestos.
So if you're planning to replace your floors, you should have the tiles checked before you start or just leave it and add a new floor directly over it.