Top San Diego Mesothelioma

San Diego is California’s second largest city, and many thousands of the city’s working residents have been exposed to asbestos as far back as the 1800s. The economy has been held up through the many decades by an active naval presence, an aviation center, manufacturing, biotechnology, tourism, and other industries. Many of the employers in and around San Diego are on the jobsite list of companies that have allegedly exposed employees to asbestos, a fibrous mineral. Asbestos is useful for a wide range of purposes in a number of industries. It is, however, a substance that has been banned in dozens of countries around the world because it causes many serious and deadly diseases, including pleural mesothelioma, which is the most common asbestos-related disease.

More about Asbestos, the Mineral

Asbestos is a mineral that got its name in ancient Greece; it means “inextinguishable.” Greeks gave the mineral this name because of their fascination with its power to resist fire. A few centuries after that, manufacturers discovered that asbestos can be incorporated into many different products in order to provide strength and heat-resistance. Every branch of the United States military and numerous industries adopted the use of asbestos, due to its impressive qualities and its cost-effectiveness.

San Diego County is one of many in California where asbestos has been mined. Up the coast from San Diego in King City, CA, which is in Monterey County, is where the last operating asbestos mine in the U.S. was closed, which occurred in 2002.

There are six types of asbestos identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These minerals are all fire-resistant, heat-resistant, and chemical-resistant. They are made of durable, fine fibers. They are now known to cause mesothelioma and pleural mesothelioma, which are deadly forms of cancer. Asbestos also causes other hazardous and life-threatening diseases. The following are the names of the six types of asbestos as well as a little about them and some of their uses:

• Chrysotile is the type of asbestos used for commercial purposes 90% of the time, and it has countless uses. It is serpentine asbestos, and the other five are amphiboles. Serpentine means the fibers are long and curly. Note: Amphiboles, below, are, in general, a complex group of hydrous silicate materials. Fibrous amphiboles can be used to make fireproof articles.
• Tremolite is often found beside talc deposits. This type of situation infamously led to asbestos contamination in Libby, Montana, one of the country’s most devastating man-made environmental disasters. The story goes back to 1919 and continues today, with more people still being diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases. Tremolite is useful for insulation material. Under one brand name alone, this type of asbestos was installed in more than 35 million homes in the U.S.
• Crocidolite is considered the most hazardous type of asbestos, and it is not commonly used in the U.S. but is still thought to be responsible for about 10% of all cases of mesothelioma. Due to its color, crocidolite is known as “blue asbestos.” This type of asbestos has straight, long fibers that crumble easily. Individuals near airborne crocidolite are very much at risk for inhaling toxic fibers.
• Amosite is mainly found in South Africa, and it is popular for use in construction projects, in spite of the fact that it is more toxic than the more commonly used chrysotile. This is the second most commonly used type of asbestos in the U.S.
• Anthophyllite has been mined primarily in Finland but also in Georgia and North Carolina. It is not as abundant or as popular for manufacturing as other forms of the mineral.
• Before the hazards of asbestos were fully realized, actinolite was widely used in construction materials such as paint, drywall, and insulation.

San Diego Companies Linked to Asbestos Exposure

Asbestos exposure has been widespread in the U.S. and in San Diego specifically. There are many, many jobsites in the city where it is known that asbestos exposure occurred. The following are a few of the company names on the lengthy list:

• Avco Office Building
• Blue Print Exhaust
• Chermetron Corporation
• Munger Laundry
• Naval Hospital
• Progressive Aircraft
• San Diego Electric Railway Company
• San Diego Marine Shipyard
• University of California
• V E Wood Company
• Wellington Boiler

Health Risks of Asbestos Exposure

Symptoms of asbestos-related illnesses typically don’t appear until at least 10 years and up to 40 or 50 years after exposure. Thousands of people die from diseases caused by asbestos every year. Peak mortality rates are projected to be in the period between 2010 and 2020. The following are diseases known to be caused by asbestos:

• Mesothelioma, including pleural mesothelioma
• Asbestosis
• Laryngeal cancer
• Lung cancer
• Testes cancer
• Ovarian cancer
• Pleural thickening
• Pleural effusion
• Pleural plaques

Pleural Mesothelioma San Diego

Approximately 75% of the people who contract mesothelioma, a deadly cancer, get plural mesothelioma. There is no cure for this extremely aggressive cancer. The average life span of a person from the point of being diagnosed with mesothelioma in San Diego and elsewhere is 6 to 18 months.

Pleural Mesothelioma

The linings of the lungs and chest wall are the pleura, and that is where pleural mesothelioma develops. Symptoms include shortness of breath, dry cough, possible weight loss, and chest pain. Because symptoms are somewhat nonspecific, physicians often have trouble correctly diagnosing plural mesothelioma.

Four stages of plural mesothelioma have been identified, and they are:

• The cancer is localized to the pleura.
• The cancer spreads to the lung, diaphragm, and lymph nodes.
• Plural mesothelioma continues to spread throughout one side of the chest and into the esophagus, chest wall, and more lymph nodes.
• The cancer spreads into the blood, bone cells, both sides of the chest; and it affects other organs.

The three basic types of treatment for plural mesothelioma are surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.

Asbestos Trust Funds

Individuals with mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases who were exposed to asbestos on the job and their families are entitled to compensation through asbestos trust funds. At least $30 billion in trust funds are available for those who contract illnesses as a result of asbestos exposure. If you or a loved one has a disease such as plural mesothelioma from workplace exposure in San Diego, contact us today.