In addition to providing programs and services for our
Veterans and their families, VSSA would like to introduce guest bloggers whose
posts will enhance your VSSA experience. Our next guest is Asbestos.com,
brought to us by The Mesothelioma Center.
The Health Effects Asbestos has on Veterans
By Tim Povtak
Anyone who served in the United States military probably was
aware of the outside dangers that came with the job of protecting the country,
whether at war or in peacetime. No one, though, was warned of the threats from
within.
Asbestos was supposed to help and protect the service men
and women, but it was quietly poisoning them, slowly causing a number of future
respiratory illnesses, including mesothelioma cancer.
Asbestos was once so coveted by military leaders that it
became ubiquitous, used by the Army, Marines, Air Force and especially by the
Navy. A naturally occurring mineral, asbestos was flexible, durable and
economical, able to be woven into or mixed with almost anything. Its ability to
resist heat and prevent fires was highly desired.
It also exposed the brave men and women to an invisible
danger. No one told the soldiers and seamen that asbestos could kill them.
Asbestos is a primary cause of mesothelioma, which strikes
an estimated 3,000 Americans annually, nearly one-third of which are military
veterans who were once exposed to asbestos fibers. These fibers unknowingly
were inhaled, setting a table for cancer growth decades later.
The U.S. military has dramatically reduced the use of
asbestos over the past three decades and also taken costly steps to remove it,
but many veterans who were exposed years before are just now showing symptoms
of asbestos-related diseases.
It typically takes 20 to 50 years after asbestos exposure
before mesothelioma develops and is properly diagnosed. And from there, the prognosisis not good for many patients.
Although all branches of the service were using asbestos, no
one used it more than the Navy, which mandated it be used from bow to stern on
ships. It was in engine rooms, boiler rooms, mess halls and
sleeping quarters, all in the name of preventing overheating and possible
fires. It was mixed into the paint that covered the ships and part of the
insulation that lined it. The wiring, pipes and munitions rooms all had
asbestos.
The Army, Marines and Air Force used it, too, in barracks
where soldiers lived and slept, in cafeterias where soldiers dined and even in
the trucks and planes in which they rode. As an example, asbestos was one of the top contaminants that
required a $1 billion cleanup before dozens of Army bases around the country
could be closed or renovated in the 1990s. The U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs today even lists a wide range of duties from all branches of the
service that may have exposed veterans to asbestos when they were working.
Although the hazards of asbestos were known as far back as
the 1930s, military leaders overlooked the dangers because of the demand for
the fire and heat resistance it provided. Until public pressure in the mid-'70s
became too great, asbestos was still being used in the military.
And veterans still are paying the price today.
About the author: Tim Povtak writes about asbestos,
mesothelioma, veteran’s issues and cancer survivors for Asbestos.com. Tim is a
former award-winning journalist for a major metropolitan newspaper.
