Ireland Getting Double the Victims
Article Added July 20th, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story
In the past decade, the number of asbestos victims seen in North Ireland hospitals has doubled. Some analysts think that the numbers will not peak for another 40 years.
In 2004, North Ireland hospitals saw 208 victims of asbestos diseases; ten years before the number was barely 100. As more asbestos victims come forward for treatment, Ireland does not expect the numbers to go down until around 2050. Hundreds of Irish were exposed to asbestos in the 1970’s and 1980’s while working with machines or insulation. The diseases that follow exposure, asbestosis, emphysema and mesothelioma, often take decades to manifest, causing the uprising in the numbers of victims seen today.
After repeated exposure, victims can develop many respiratory diseases, including mesothelioma, a type of aggressive lung cancer. The disease is a result of asbestos fibers becoming lodged in the lungs, keeping the tissue from absorbing oxygen. The tissue surrounding the area becomes oxygen deficient and dies as well, thus suffocating the victim over a period of years. Signs of the disease can take many years to develop, and is often untreatable at the time of diagnosis.
Article Added July 20th, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story
- Ron Eddins, Founding Partner
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