Read complete books and articles on: Asbestos

Asbestos - common name for any of a variety of silicate minerals within the amphibole and serpentine groups that are fibrous in structure and more or less resistant to acid and fire. Chrysotile asbestos, a form of serpentine, is the chief commercial asbestos. Varieties of amphibole asbestos are amosite, used in insulating materials; crocidolite, or blue asbestos, used for making asbestos-cement products; and tremolite, used in laboratories for filtering chemicals. Asbestos is usually found comprising veins in other rock; in most cases it appears to be the product of metamorphism. Canada is the chief asbestos producing country; other producers are Russia, Zimbabwe, the Republic of South Africa, Cyprus, and the United States. Asbestos is mined both in open quarries and underground.

Since the 1960s, asbestos has been recognized as a potent carcinogen and serious health hazard. Inhalation of airborne asbestos fibers has been established as the cause of asbestosis (thickening and scarring of lung tissue) and as a cause of mesothelioma (a highly lethal tumor of the pleura) as well as of cancers of the lung, intestines, and liver. In 1972, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration began regulating asbestos and strengthening work safety standards. Large class action lawsuits were filed and won against asbestos companies, which had probable prior knowledge of the dangers involved. In 1989, the Environmental Protection Agency imposed a ban on 94% of U.S. asbestos production and imports, to be phased in over a seven year period. Most current asbestos exposure comes from asbestos in older buildings and products such as automobile brakes.

See P. H. Riordon and V. F. Hollister, Geology of Asbestos Deposits (1981); S. S. Chissick and R. Derricott, Asbestos: Properties, Applications and Hazards (1983).

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16 of the Best Books and Articles on: Asbestos

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

Legal Responses to Indoor Air Pollution (Chap. 2 "The Health Risk from Indoor Asbestos") » Read Now
by Frank B. Cross. 214 pgs.

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The underrecognized but highly significant problem of indoor air pollution is examined in this important study that covers the issue from the relative health risks involved to the shortcomings of regulatory and judicial responses. The book focuses largely upon the three best-known pollutants--radon...
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The underrecognized but highly significant problem of indoor air pollution is examined in this important study that covers the issue from the relative health risks involved to the shortcomings of regulatory and judicial responses. The book focuses largely upon the three best-known pollutants--radon, asbestos, and formaldehyde--exploring their hazards and the tens of thousands of deaths and millions of days of illnesses they cause. The work also synopsizes government action against these pollutants, opportunities for individuals to sue parties for harm, and proposals for government regulation and legislation to effectively protect public health.
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2.

Conflict Resolution and Public Policy (Chap. 5 "The Asbestos Model: Labor and Citizen Groups and a Multipronged Approach to Regulatory Change") » Read Now
by Miriam K. Mills. 216 pgs.

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This work represents a broad-based perspective of the conflict resolution process. Whereas related books have tended to specialize on specific settings, this volume gives in-depth treatment of three various settings--labor relations, rule-making in the public sector, and environmental issues. It...
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This work represents a broad-based perspective of the conflict resolution process. Whereas related books have tended to specialize on specific settings, this volume gives in-depth treatment of three various settings--labor relations, rule-making in the public sector, and environmental issues. It also examines future models for resolving disputes. With its contributions from both practitioners and theorists in the art/science of conflict resolution, this volume properly emphasizes the important role that public policy plays in the settlement of societal conflict.
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3.

The Crisis Manager: Facing Risk and Responsibility ("Manville Corporation and Asbestos" begins on p. 230) » Read Now
by Otto Lerbinger. 384 pgs.

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...concealment of scientific facts about asbestos by Johns-Manville, about the Dalkon Shield...because of the estimated $2 billion in asbestos-related lawsuits filed against...
4.

The Compassionate Conservative: Assuming Responsibility and Respecting Human Dignity ("The Asbestos Scare" begins on p. 155) » Read Now
by Joseph J. Jacobs. 278 pgs.

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In an effort to create a risk-free society, our government has put regulations & entitlement programs ahead of sound planning, with disastrous results. Challenges the assumption that liberals have a monopoly on compassion. The true measure of compassion lies not in the intensity of emotion but in the public good that accompanies an act.
5.

Corporate Corruption: The Abuse of Power ("The Deadly Asbestos Industry" begins on p. 97) » Read Now
by Marshall B. Clinard. 215 pgs.

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This insightful book is a comprehensive examination of corporate misbehavior and abuses. Turning a harsh spotlight on America's prestigious Fortune 500, Clinard reveals that despite their massive production powers, far too many of American's proudest industrial giants have abused the public trust...
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This insightful book is a comprehensive examination of corporate misbehavior and abuses. Turning a harsh spotlight on America's prestigious Fortune 500, Clinard reveals that despite their massive production powers, far too many of American's proudest industrial giants have abused the public trust, the people who consume their products, their stockholders, the environment, and even the Third World that they profess to help. Clinard identifies the auto, oil, pharmaceutical, and defense industries as the major offenders. He devotes a chapter to each of them, as well as chapters on corporate violence and bribery, and a final discussion of how to correct these widespread abuses. While avoiding the undignified zealotry of tabloid muckraking, this volume examines the disparity between the facts of corporate misconduct and the glowing image that advertising and other media portray of these corporations.
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6.

Radon and Asbestos: A Study of Agenda Setting and Causal Stories, in Policy Studies Journal » Read Now
by Denise Scheberle. 13 pgs.

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...Radon and asbestos: a study of agenda setting and causal...environmental carcinogens, radon and asbestos, became part of the congressional agenda...United States policies...
7.

The Asbestos Cancer Epidemic, in Environmental Health Perspectives » Read Now
by Joseph Ladou. 6 pgs.

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...The Asbestos Cancer Epidemic. by Joseph LaDou The asbestos cancer epidemic may take as many as 10 million lives before asbestos is banned worldwide and exposures are...
8.

Radiographic Abnormalities and Exposure to Asbestos-Contaminated Vermiculite in the Community of Libby, Montana, USA, in Environmental Health Perspectives » Read Now
by Lucy A. Peipins, Michael Lewin, Sharon Campolucci, Jeffrey A. Lybarger, Aubrey Miller, Dan Middleton, Christopher Weis, Michael Spence, Brad Black, Vikas Kapil. 7 pgs.

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...Radiographic abnormalities and exposure to asbestos-contaminated vermiculite in the community...processing, and personal or commercial use of asbestos-contaminated...
9.

Mechanisms of the Genotoxicity of Crocidolite Asbestos in Mammalian Cells: Implication from Mutation Patterns Induced by Reactive Oxygen Species, in Environmental Health Perspectives » Read Now
by An Xu, Hongning Zhou, Dennis Zengliang Yu, Tom K. Hei. 6 pgs.

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...Mechanisms of the genotoxicity of crocidolite asbestos in mammalian cells: implication from...Dennis Zengliang Yu , Tom K. Hei Asbestos is an important environmental...
10.

Increased Risk of Malignant Mesothelioma of the Pleura after Residential or Domestic Exposure to Asbestos: A Case-Control Study in Casale Monferrato, Italy, in Environmental Health Perspectives » Read Now
by Corrado Magnani, Paola Dalmasso, Annibale Biggeri, Cristiana Ivaldi, Dario Mirabelli, Benedetto Terracini. 5 pgs.

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...after residential or domestic exposure to Asbestos: a case-control study in Casale Monferrato...mesothelioma (MM) and nonoccupational asbestos exposure is currently...
11.

An Unusual Case of Mixed-Dust Exposure Involving a "Noncommercial" Asbestos, in Environmental Health Perspectives » Read Now
by Ronald F. Dodson, Jeffrey L. Levin. 5 pgs.

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...Exposure Involving a "Noncommercial" Asbestos. by Ronald F. Dodson , Jeffrey...consistent with silicosis with a suspicion of asbestos-induced changes as well. A sample...
12.

Toxic Apportionment: A Causation and Risk Contribution Model, in Environmental Law » Read Now
by Gerald W. Boston. 101 pgs.

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...if the plaintiff has been exposed to asbestos-containing materials(3) and has a history...definitively.(4) If the exposed person sues asbestos manufacturers for products...
13.

Ultimate Risk: The Inside Story of the Lloyd's Catastrophe (Discussion of asbestos begins on p. 90) » Read Now
by Adam Raphael. 274 pgs.

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In Ultimate Risk: The Inside Story of the Lloyd's Catastrophe, Adam Raphael has written a behind-the-scenes account of this still-unfolding disaster. The result in part of unprecedented natural disasters worldwide and huge numbers of asbestos and pollution claims in the U.S., this ultimate financial...
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In Ultimate Risk: The Inside Story of the Lloyd's Catastrophe, Adam Raphael has written a behind-the-scenes account of this still-unfolding disaster. The result in part of unprecedented natural disasters worldwide and huge numbers of asbestos and pollution claims in the U.S., this ultimate financial nightmare also stems from scandals ranging from skimming profits to conflicts of interest and outright fraud. Few have any idea of the scale of the Lloyd's crisis, which is comparable only to the savings and loan collapse in the U.S. One prediction is that the cost of cleaning up America - for which Lloyd's is in large part responsible, through its insurers in this country - could be as high as $1,000 billion, more than the combined resources of casualty insurers worldwide. If only a fraction of these claims are upheld by the courts and have to be met, the conclusion is inevitable: a number of very important insurance companies in the U.S. will go out of business. And if Lloyd's is unable to pay its U.S. claims - a distinct possibility - it will not be just the biggest financial collapse of the century: hundreds of thousands of American policy-holder claimants, among them the victims of asbestosis, will go unpaid.
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14.

Class Action Dilemmas: Pursuing Public Goals for Private Gain (Discussion of asbestos begins on p. 99) » Read Now
by Deborah R. Hensler, Nicholas M. Pace, Bonita Dombey-Moore, Beth Giddens, Jennifer Gross, Erik K. Moller. 609 pgs.

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Class action law suits abound, but what is their purpose, and who benefits? This independent look at class action practices discusses the history of such cases, the driving forces behind them, and the justice or protection that their settlement provides. A comprehensive picture of class action suits...
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Class action law suits abound, but what is their purpose, and who benefits? This independent look at class action practices discusses the history of such cases, the driving forces behind them, and the justice or protection that their settlement provides. A comprehensive picture of class action suits in the 1990s comes to life in 10 fascinating case studies that will make you question whether the plaintiff attorneys, the defendants, the consumers or the public were fairly served.
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15.

Rational Risk Policy: The 1996 Arne Ryde Memorial Lectures (Discussion of asbestos begins on p. 112) » Read Now
by W. Kip Viscusi. 146 pgs.

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Rational Risk Policy is based on Viscusi's Arne Ryde Memorial Lectures, delivered at Lund University in 1996. The organizing principle of these lectures is that the irrationality of individual decisions is often embodied in government regulations. Rather than overcoming the inadequacies in...
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Rational Risk Policy is based on Viscusi's Arne Ryde Memorial Lectures, delivered at Lund University in 1996. The organizing principle of these lectures is that the irrationality of individual decisions is often embodied in government regulations. Rather than overcoming the inadequacies in individual risk beliefs and behaviour, governmental regulations often institutionalize them. Viscusi examines how consumers and workers perceive risk and the implications of these risk beliefs and behavioural responses to risk for government policy. Hazard warnings efforts, direct regulation, and liability are among the alternative modes of intervention. The role of risk tradeoffs with respect to the value of life as well as the consequences of wasteful regulatory expenditures are considered in a discussion of riskrisk analysis. Rational Risk Policy also includes a critique of the risk analysis practices used by government agencies as well as a consideration of how liability and social insurance should be integrated into a rational risk management strategy.
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16.

Asbestos Litigation Costs and Compensation: An Interim Report » Read Now
by Allan Abrahamse, Scott Ashwood, Stephen J. Carroll, Jennifer Gross, Deborah Hensler, Elizabeth Sloss, Michelle White. 99 pgs.

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