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Frequently Asked Questions about Asbestos

Q: What is asbestos?

A: A microscopic threadlike fiber, asbestos is a common mineral found throughout the world. It is mined and used in consumer products and construction materials because of its strength and flexibility and its heat-resistant properties. If asbestos becomes airborne and dustlike, it can be breathed into and lodged in the lungs. Asbestos particles in the lungs can cause terrible - even fatal - diseases, such as asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancer, which can take decades to develop after asbestos exposure.

Q: Who are the typical victims of asbestos disease?

A: Most typically, victims of asbestos disease and injury are people exposed to high concentrations of asbestos in industrial settings over extended periods of time. Workers in the following industries and professions have been historically at high risk: asbestos mining; manufacturing of asbestos-containing products such as insulation, piping, and ceiling and flooring materials; shipbuilding; welding, plumbing, pipefitting, and steam fitting; railroads; building demolition; and construction. These occupational exposures have declined drastically since the 1970s when the federal and state governments started heavily regulating asbestos.

It can take from 10 to 40 years for symptoms of an asbestos-related condition to appear.

Working with asbestos is the major risk factor for mesothelioma. A history of asbestos exposure at work is reported in about 70-80% percent of all cases.

Since the early 1940s, millions of American workers have been exposed to asbestos dust.

Approximately 2% of all miners and textile workers who work with asbestos, and 10 percent of all workers who were involved in the manufacture of asbestos-containing gas masks, contract mesothelioma.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that there are asbestos containing materials in most of the nation's approximately 107,000 primary and secondary schools, and 733,000 public and commercial buildings.

To schedule an appointment with a Asbestos Ltigation Attorney at Cooney & Conway please call or Email Us Today.

Cooney & Conway, founded in 1958, is a plaintiffs only firm located in downtown Chicago, Illinois. The firm currently has thirteen exceptional attorneys, all with years of successful litigation experience. The main practice area of the firm is asbestos litigation, where our attorneys serve as advocates of victims of asbestos related injuries and their families. In our years of practice, we have successfully handled large numbers of asbestos litigation cases in Illinois and throughout the United States. In northern Illinois alone, we handle approximately 90% of all mesothelioma cases.

Asbestos - An Overview

Asbestos is a fibrous mineral that has been used as insulation and a fire retardant in a wide variety of products. Because of its durable, fibrous nature, asbestos can produce dust that, when inhaled, becomes deposited in the lungs. Asbestos in the lungs can cause or contribute to the development of illnesses including asbestosis (a fibrous scarring of the lungs) and mesothelioma (a malignant form of cancer in the lining of the chest or abdominal cavities).

Because of health concerns, all new uses of asbestos in the United States were banned in July 1989. That year, the EPA published the Asbestos: Manufacture, Importation, Processing, and Distribution in Commerce Prohibitions, the effect of which was to eventually ban about 94 percent of the asbestos used in the U.S. (based on 1985 estimates). Most asbestos uses established before that date are still allowed, but are now strictly regulated by the government.

Asbestosis Basics

If you have a history of asbestos exposure, you may be at risk of developing asbestosis, a noncancerous respiratory disease. Microscopic shards of threadlike asbestos fibers breathed into the lungs become lodged in the lung tissue. The body excretes an acid in response to the foreign object, causing scarring, or fibrosis. The scarring makes the lung tissue stiff and restricts its ability to expand and contract with breathing. Eventually the lung tissue becomes pockmarked. The disease can take years to develop after asbestos exposure.

Asbestos-Related Cancers

Exposure to airborne asbestos fibers increases the risk of developing two major cancer types: mesothelioma and lung cancer. Asbestos exposure also increases the risk of contracting other cancers such as stomach, gallbladder, larynx, and kidney. Cancer can take decades to develop following asbestos contact. Often the disease will manifest after retirement from a career that involved exposure to asbestos in an industrial workplace.

Legal Redress for Asbestos Injuries

In the past century, many thousands of people were exposed to harmful airborne asbestos fibers in industrial settings and through the use of asbestos-containing products and construction materials. Sometimes the dangerous, often fatal, injuries and diseases that can result are not manifest for decades after the exposure. Even now, people exposed decades ago are developing asbestos-induced illnesses, such as asbestosis and mesothelioma.

Common Aspects of Asbestos Lawsuits

Asbestos is a naturally-occurring mineral used in construction materials and consumer products for its fire-resistant and strengthening properties. When asbestos is released into the air in microscopic, dusty, and threadlike fibers, it can be breathed into the body and lodged dangerously in the lungs, where it can lurk for decades before producing severe, even fatal, disease.

Helpful Web Sites for Asbestos Information

National Cancer Institute
Fact Sheet entitled "Asbestos Exposure: Questions and Answers."

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (U.S. Department of Labor)
Provides information about asbestos in the workplace.

American Lung Association
Provides facts about mesothelioma.

Asbestos Injury Litigation