Weavers

A textile weaver is responsible for making cloth using yarn processed from raw materials. Weavers often work inside a textile mill, thereby exposing them to asbestos, the raw material used by most textile mills until the mid-1970s. The popularity of asbestos stems from the fact that it is the only known natural mineral made of fibers that can be converted into cloth. Although available in different forms, chrysotile asbestos was the most popular for textile manufacturing. The long fibers from chrysotile allowed for easy conversion into cloth.

Asbestos Exposure

Maximum risk of asbestos exposure occurs when fibers are disturbed. It is obvious that fibers are thoroughly disturbed during the textile manufacturing process of separating, carding, spinning into yarn and weaving. Such disturbance diffuses asbestos dust, which when inhaled by weavers, leads to medical complications.

Excessive Use of Asbestos

Till the mid-1970s, most of the textile mills in and around the United States relied partially or even completely on asbestos as raw material for textile production. It was only when incidents of asbestos contamination became increasingly evident that these textile mills had to consider variation in operations methodology. While some mills attempted to restructure their manufacturing model by eliminating asbestos contamination, others were completely shut down.

Recent Studies

Recent studies have established beyond doubt the risks associated with working in an asbestos contaminated environment. A study conducted in England established that weavers in textile mills using asbestos had 300 times the level of asbestos as compared to the rest of the population. This information, coupled with the medical acceptance of asbestos as a carcinogenic, underlines the increased probability of textile weavers developing cancer. Studies have established that approximately 2 percent of all textile workers exposed to asbestos eventually develop mesothelioma.

On-the-job Risks

It is widely accepted that certain jobs are riskier than other ones. Still, in America today, we generally expect that job-related hazards will be kept to a minimum, risks will be clearly understood, and companies will attempt to maintain a safe workplace. Even as recently as the 1980s, however, in terms of exposure to asbestos, employees often toiled unprotected by respirators or other safety gear in environments where asbestos dust clouded the atmosphere.

Asbestos and How It Affects Health

Asbestos is divided into two types. The most frequently used was chrysotile (sometimes called "white" asbestos), or the serpentine type. Generally not linked to mesothelioma or asbestos cancer, this type is a relatively pliable variety of the mineral. Irritation to the interior surfaces of the lungs may happen when chrysotile particles are breathed in, however. This in turn causes a build-up of scar tissue that can then be a leading factor in the development of asbestosis.

The other classification is called amphibole asbestos and is much more dangerous to human health. Lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma, an unusual but often lethal disease affecting the mesothelium (the tissue that lies between the lungs and the pleural cavity), are the most frequently occurring malignancies that are caused by being exposed to amphibole asbestos. More unusual forms of mesothelioma include pericardial and peritoneal mesothelioma; these cancers are also caused by extensive contact with amphibole asbestos.

Why It Was Used

Given what we know today, it is ironic that asbestos was used in erecting plants and factories and in manufacturing numerous products because of its ability to save lives. Chrysotile asbestos is one of the most effective insulators known when it comes to flames and heat and has been used for the purpose for centuries. In addition, the amphibole varieties possessed other useful characteristics. For instance, amosite, also known as "brown" asbestos, is high in iron content, making it resistant to caustic chemicals. "Blue" asbestos, or crocidolite, was commonly utilized on electrical equipment since it is highly resistant to electrical current. Depending on the application, various types of fibers were combined to create asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) that safeguarded lives and property against fire, high temperatures, electrical contact and chemical burns.

As long as it remained solid, asbestos offered little risk. As these ACMs aged, however, they were prone to becoming friable (i.e., easily reduced to powder by hand pressure alone). Asbestos fibers, when they are friable, can be readily released into the atmosphere; swallowing asbestos fibers may lead to diseases like cancer. Unfortunately, it was not just workers who were in danger; secondary exposure often happened when workers brought asbestos fibers home on their skin, in their hair or on their clothing.

The Time Bomb

Asbestos-related diseases, unlike most on-the-job injuries, which are easily observed and known about immediately following the incident, can take ten, twenty, or even thirty years to develop. The symptoms of asbestos-related diseases - pain in the chest or abdomen and dyspnea (i.e., shortness of breath) - may often be confused with those of other, less serious disorders. Especially with mesothelioma, the earlier it is diagnosed, the higher the odds of surviving or at least of enjoying an improved quality of life. Therefore, if you worked as textile weavers, or spent significant time near someone who did, it is vital that you notify your physician about the chance of exposure to asbestos. Typically, the mesothelioma survival rate is discouraging. However, early diagnosis and treatments like mesothelioma radiation may improve the prognosis for this cancer.

Sources

Asbestos Institute - ASBESTOS TEXTILE MANUFACTURE
http://asbestos-institute.ca/safemanual/section5/section5e.html

Bowker, Michael. Fatal Deception: The Untold Story of Asbestos (New York: Touchstone, 2003)

Environmental News Service - Textile Mill Loaded with Asbestos Debris to Be Demolished
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmens/is_200410/ai_n8608683

Hebden Bridge Web - Asbestos: the legacy of Acre Mill
http://www.hebdenbridge.co.uk/features/acremill.html

Mt. Sinai Medical Center - Asbestos FAQ
http://www.mssm.edu/cpm/wtc_health/asbestos_faq.shtml

University of Wisconsin - Asbestos Containing Material (ACM) - Laboratories and Shops
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/EHSRM/ASB/acmimages3.html

University of Wisconsin - Asbestos Disposal
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/EHSRM/HAZEXCEPTIONS/a.html

J C Wagner, G Berry and F D Pooley - Mesotheliomas and asbestos type in asbestos textile workers: a study of lung contents
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1499413