What Causes Mesothelioma?
In a typical case, a mesothelioma victim in the Buffalo, NY area either inhaled or swallowed asbestos “dust,” meaning airborne asbestos fibers, many years in the past. Such an exposure can result in mesothelioma after the inhaled fibers make their way to an individual’s lungs and become lodged in the pleura, which is the thin, cellophane-like membrane lining the lungs. Similarly, swallowed fibers can cause mesothelioma after they settle in the victim’s stomach.
In the United States, some 2,500 to 4,000 patients are diagnosed with mesothelioma and asbestos-related diseases each year. New York is among the states with the highest numbers of asbestos-related deaths. For its part, Erie County has suffered the most deaths among upstate New York counties from asbestos-related diseases since 1979.
If you or a loved one in the Buffalo area has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, it’s important to have the most current, reliable information about the disease at your fingertips.
The law firm of Belluck & Fox, LLP, handles mesothelioma cases in every county in New York State, including Buffalo and the surrounding communities. Our Buffalo, NY, mesothelioma attorneys provide personalized and professional legal representation, and we can advise you of the legal options available for you and your family.
For more information, use our online contact form or call Belluck & Fox, LLP’s mesothelioma lawyers toll-free at 877-MESOTHELIOMA (637-6843).
Asbestos In Modern Use
The term “asbestos” includes a group of six naturally occurring fibrous minerals that have properties which are useful in many commercial applications. Most forms of asbestos are stable at high temperatures or are even fireproof, for instance. Asbestos also resists acids and other strong chemicals; acts as a thermal and electric insulator; and can be woven.
By the late 1800s, the known properties of asbestos made it a popular material for use in many building and construction industries, and it began making its way into a wide variety of industrial and consumer products. Asbestos was present in thousands of products by the time its use peaked by the late 1960s and early 1970s. Such products included: roofing materials; insulation in buildings and ships; cement pipes and other cement products; flooring materials; friction surfaces for items like vehicle brakes and clutches; protective clothing; gaskets; plastics; paper products; and many more.
Buffalo’s economic success in the first half of the 20th century was based in large part on industrial manufacturing. In particular, Buffalo has a significant history of supporting manufacturing and construction industries where fire and excessive heat were a concern. The Buffalo, New York, area also served as the locale for large-scale chemical plants such as the DuPont Yerkes Plant in Tonawanda, just outside of Buffalo.
This meant that asbestos was in common use in Buffalo and neighboring regions, whether as a building material specified for use in industrial centers, or as a substance used throughout chemical plants. In the chemical industry alone, asbestos might be found in uses as diverse as chemical factory buildings, lab equipment, bench tops, and even employees’ safety clothing.
Asbestos-containing materials, in short, were commonly used when erecting and operating Buffalo-area industrial plants and chemical plants, creating the potential for countless exposures to persons who worked in and around the numerous facilities over many years.
Asbestos Exposure
The dangers of asbestos exposure eventually led to limits on its use for many purposes in the mid-1970s. Even so, the risk from exposure continues today because it takes a long time to develop an asbestos-related disease. Mesothelioma’s latency (inactive) period can range between 10 – 60 years after a victim’s asbestos exposure. This means that asbestos continues to be a threat to workers and their families who were exposed to asbestos even decades in the past. Experts predict that mesothelioma diagnoses will continue to increase in the United States for at least another 10 to 20 years.
A Buffalo worker’s exposure to asbestos does not have to last for a long time in order for the person to be at risk of developing mesothelioma. In some cases, mesothelioma has been reported in persons who were exposed to asbestos on just one occasion.
A worker in Buffalo’s many industries can suffer hazardous asbestos exposure in several ways. Occupational exposure occurs when someone’s job places them in an environment where they encounter airborne asbestos fibers. In the past, this typically occurred when workers used asbestos materials in the construction and manufacturing sector and when they were exposed to asbestos while repairing or maintaining buildings, ships, and products containing asbestos parts.
Asbestos fibers are so toxic that the families of Buffalo industrial and trade workers have an increased risk of developing mesothelioma from exposure to particles that cling to the worker’s clothing, shoes, skin and hair. This type of “second-hand” exposure to asbestos is known as “paraoccupational secondary exposure.”
Asbestos exposure remains a past and present risk, too, for persons involved in building renovations. Many buildings remain standing which were constructed before asbestos use was banned. Working on such buildings creates a significant risk of exposure if asbestos-containing building materials are disturbed and their asbestos fibers are released into the air to contaminate nearby surfaces.
Given Buffalo, New York’s long history as a base for significant heavy industrial manufacturing, chemical processing, and construction activity, it’s not surprising that the area appears in databases that track asbestos use and identify hotspots where asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma occur at higher than average rates.
For more information on the dangers of asbestos, the injuries it causes, and what the asbestos companies knew about its dangers while they continued using asbestos, see our mesothelioma FAQs.
Contact Our Buffalo Mesothelioma Illness Attorneys Today
If you or a loved one in the Buffalo area has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the asbestos injury attorneys of Belluck & Fox, LLP, can help. Our Buffalo, NY, mesothelioma attorneys handle asbestos exposure cases from Buffalo and the surrounding communities. Use our online contact form or call Belluck & Fox, LLP’s mesothelioma lawyers toll-free at 877-MESOTHELIOMA (637-6843).
