Most of us , when we think of asbestos , imagine ofthe insulation in honest-to-goodness buildingsup for demolition . But asbestos roughage are naturally occurring minerals , and their natural habitats are deposits that meander all over the U.S. , concentrated especially in the West . When breaking wind bollocks up asbestos off the hills , just how dangerous is it ?
That ’s the question at the heart of a controversy in Nevada , where geologist are locked in a battle with the state ’s wellness department . In theNew York Times , Deborah Blum reports on the employment of geologist Brenda Buck and Rodney Metcalf , who have map out Nevada ’s of course occurring asbestos in more detail than ever before .
In the past times , when we still used asbestos , the hempen mineral were mined from big deposits in the West . In Libby , Montana , the site of a former asbestos - contaminated vermiculite mine , one - fifth part of the occupant ended up with asbestos - related lung disease . The long , skinny shape of asbestos fibers means they are easily lodged in the lung , and a case of Crab called mesothelioma is often tie in with asbestos exposure .
The asbestos mine in Libby , Montana . AP Photo / Rick Bowmer
Are Nevada ’s asbestos deposits , abundant but unmined , harming people ? When an epidemiologist Francine Baumann conducted a preliminary analysis that she says found an unusual issue of mesothelioma fount , Nevada responded by shut out down her entree to the State Department cancer register . The state health department says they ’ve conducted their own depth psychology find out no danger and Baumann ’s inquiry was but misguided . The Times hasmuch more detail on the contestation .
Cancer clusters are rarely as clearly - cut as Hollywood portrays it in Erin Brockovich . More often than out , it comes out to an unglamorousarguments over statistic . But naturally occurring asbestos is more prevailing than we previously think . Geologists arefinding themin the midwestern United States and on the east seaboard . Asbestos have been around us all along , but we ’re only now beginning to figure out exactly how dangerous they are . [ New York Times ]
Top image : A sample of tremolite , a type of asbestos . AP Photo / Rick Bowmer
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