The first commercial asbestos mine in North America was established in the foothills of Quebec in 1879. In the decades that followed, many more asbestos mines sprang up around the United States and Canada. By the 1940s, thousands of men were working in asbestos mines to bring out this so-called miracle material for use in products such as:
More Uses, More Mining
Asbestos that was mined in the U.S. found applications in homes, trains, private vehicles, and ships. Thousands of uses of asbestos meant an increased need to mine more asbestos. The miners who had direct contact with the asbestos were at a great risk of contracting asbestos-caused diseases such as mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis.
Before the OSHA and MSHA Regulations
As early as the 1920s, scientists were talking about the dangers of asbestos. However, it wasn't until the 1980s that safety regulations concerning the mining and uses of asbestos began to be implemented. Both OSHA and MSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Mine Safety and Health Administration) now have regulations designed to protect miners from the dangers of asbestos.
Millions of Tons of Asbestos
It has been estimated that over the last 100 years, more than 30 million tons of asbestos was mined and used in the U.S. alone. Top-level managers in the asbestos mining industry were aware of the dangers that asbestos posed to miners, long before the industry was forced to act to protect their workers.
Asbestos Exposure Can Result in Mesothelioma
During the years preceding and during World War II, thousands of men and women were exposed to dangerous levels of asbestos from mines. The men were directly exposed to the asbestos as they brought it out of the mine and processed it, and the women who were married to these workers, or their children, were exposed to the asbestos fibers that frequently came home with the miners on their clothing, shoes, and hair.
The tragic result for many of these miners and their family members is the onset of mesothelioma or lung cancer. The only known cause of mesothelioma is asbestos exposure, and the symptoms of this fatal cancer take 10 to 50 years to manifest themselves.
To learn more about options for mesothelioma victims and their families, contact us today.