Report: Asbestos in The Homes of Boston

Many of the homes and other structures in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, especially in Boston, were built at a time when asbestos was heavily used in nearly every part of the construction process.  There is often asbestos in roofing materials, tiles, pipes and pipe insulation, drywall and drywall compound, insulation, and variety of other building materials.

This asbestos material was deadly to the miners that unearthed the toxic fibers, and it was also deadly to the factory workers who refined the asbestos into building products and the workers who installed the material in homes around the nation. Once the material was safely in place, it was generally considered safe for the residents.  However, once the home was renovated or allowed to fall into a state of even slight disrepair, the dust was capable of being inhaled once again, and that is why many are in danger of asbestos inhalation these days.A recent news article from Yahoo News, looks at where asbestos may be in your home and what you can do about it.  The first thing to understand is that if your home was built before 1979, there is a very high chance it contains at least some asbestos.

The first thing to understand is what exactly we mean by asbestos.  Asbestos is actually a naturally occurring substance that was mined from the earth.  It is technically considered a mineral, and there are actually six different types of asbestos.  Regardless of the type, being exposed to the fibers can result in the victim developing malignant mesothelioma.  It is also important to note that, while most people know inhaling asbestos fibers can lead to cancer, as our Boston mesothelioma attorneys have seen, ingesting the deadly asbestos fibers can also lead to malignant mesothelioma. The reason for this is because the disease starts when the asbestos fibers become lodged in a layer of tissue known as the mesothelium. There is such a layer in the abdominal cavity, and when tumors form there, it is known as malignant peritoneal mesothelioma.

The different types of asbestos that could be found in your home are chrysotile, amosite, tremolite, crocidolite, anthophyllite and actinolite. All of these different asbestos minerals can lead to cancer if inhaled or ingested, but chrysotile is one of the deadliest forms.  Unfortunately, it is also one most common forms of asbestos found in homes across the nation.

If you are concerned that there is asbestos in your home, and it is your own home, you should hire a professional asbestos inspector.  He or she will come to the home and take samples and send the samples to a hazardous materials testing lab to perform a microscopic analysis.  If you are renting, you should speak with your landlord. Microscopic analysis is the only to way to know for sure, and you never try to collect samples yourself or just assume you are dealing with asbestos.  Another thing to keep in mind is that asbestos can be contained in vermiculite insulation that was fraudulently sold as a safe alternative to asbestos.

If you or a loved one is diagnosed with mesothelioma in Boston, call for a free and confidential appointment at (617) 777-7777.

Additional Resources:

Is Asbestos Hiding in Your House? How to Tell—and What to Do, November 2, 2016, By Lisa Kaplan Gordon, Yahoo News

More Blog Entries:

New Effort to Strengthen Asbestos Litigation, June 28, 2016, Boston Mesothelioma Lawyer Blog