Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral known for its resistance to heat and fire, as well as its durability and inability to conduct electricity. Regardless of the mineral’s useful commercial and industrial applications, asbestos is very toxic and exposure to asbestos fibers is known to cause several forms of asbestos cancer. As the shipbuilding industry uses many asbestos materials for ship safety, the result of their exposure the seafarers across the globe exhibit a higher rate of mesothelioma.
Experts said that even the protective clothing worn aboard ships was known to be made of asbestos. The asbestos suits were often worn to save pilots from burning aircraft. Unfortunately, the symptoms linked with asbestos-induced disease are notoriously non-specific and are commonly mistaken as other disorders. This can result in many seafarers going years without proper treatment due to a misdiagnosis. Particularly in the early developing stages, symptoms are misleadingly indicative of other illnesses.
Scientists opined that the early warning signs of pleural mesothelioma (which attacks the internal lining of the lungs) are very similar to those of pneumonia and influenza. It is told that the location of the mesothelioma cancer (most commonly in the lungs, abdomen, and heart), symptoms can range from respiratory problems to fever to chest pain.
Therefore, the shipbuilding industry and the seafarers should take this dangerous effect of asbestos into consideration. It is totally unhealthy although it protects from explicit danger or fire. The authority should take stern measures to minimize the affect of asbestos and to improve the health of the seafarers from getting affected from any protective materials.
