Articles Posted in Boston Mesothelioma

This year millions of  people have displaced from their homes due to hurricanes, forest fires and other natural disasters. While many think of the obvious problems such as loss of life, property, and personal injury, there is another danger in the form of asbestos exposure. This is not only true in the South and Southwestern United States, but also in areas such as Boston with many older buildings that were constructed at a time when asbestos was used in just about every aspect of construction.

Asbestos was use heavily from the 1800s through the early 1980s. It is actually a naturally occurring mineral made up of six silica elements, and has been used by humans for thousands of years, but it was not until the Industrial Revolution that it was used so heavily.  The reason it was used so heavily at first, was because it has the somewhat remarkable ability to resist heat, fire, caustic chemicals, and electricity.  It was then discovered the inert nature of asbestos could also make it seemingly perfect to use a bonding agent in glues and other construction adhesives and joining compounds. It is seemingly perfect and not actually perfect because the fibers are deadly if inhaled or ingested. Continue reading

With a population shift favoring urban habitation, parts of the city that people had little desire to move to are suddenly becoming expensive places to rent or buy.  Because of this demand, older homes and structures are constantly being renovated. This redevelopment has been good for the city, but has also resulted in serious asbestos exposure risks for Boston construction workers.

Old, rundown residential buildings being gutted to the frames and completely renovated into luxury apartments of condominiums. Land developers are purchasing abandoned factories and warehouses and converting them into high-end residential units. Some buildings are simply too far gone, so the land development firms will simply purchase them so they can be razed with new mixed use buildings constructed in their place.  Mixed use has become a big thing these days where there are retail shops, restaurants, and supermarkets on the lower levels and apartments on the top floors.  There are even some buildings with bars and restaurants on the roof.

Asbestos in building materials was common during the era in which these older buildings were initially constructed.

Continue reading

Boston is a city of buildings that were constructed at a time when asbestos was heavily used in virtually all aspects of construction. Yes, there are historical buildings in Beacon Hill that were built at time before the industrial revolution, but many of the buildings in our city were constructed during the Victorian era at the heart of the industrial revolution in the United States and Western Europe.  This is the reason we have so many Victorian style buildings and Queen Ann Victorians with large round towers and ornate exteriors.

As time went on, and newer buildings were constructed including the three deckers we find all over Boston, asbestos was still used heavily. It was used because of its abundance, which made it cheap, and the fact that it is naturally resistant to heat, fire, caustic chemicals, and electricity.  It is also an excellent chemical bonding agent, as was discovered later.  For this reason, asbestos fibers were added to many different construction products. It was used in flooring materials including tiles, and wallboard materials, as drywall was replacing plaster as the material of choice, and wall joint compounds.  Continue reading