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Asbestos Curtains - Mesothelioma and Asbestos Exposure Risks

The flame-retardant and fire-resistant properties of asbestos have historically made it a very popular and wide-spread choice in manufacturing fire-resistant protective clothing, insulation, and other products such as protective curtains to limit the spread of fire in large public buildings such as theatres.

Heat and fire resistant protective curtains were made using asbestos between 1900 and 1985. Asbestos curtains typically contain a minimum of 40% asbestos, and may contain up to 100% asbestos. They were often used in commercial theaters in the twentieth century, and in school theatres and auditoriums as well.

Unfortunately, many older theatres - even large Broadway theatres - may still contain asbestos curtains that are still in regular use, and even asbestos curtains that are no longer used but were never removed. People who work in such theatres are at risk of developing mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases, and the danger increases as these curtains age.

Intact asbestos products, such as asbestos curtains, that are in good condition are relatively safe, but older asbestos-containing materials become much more hazardous as they dry out, as asbestos fibers are more likely to be released into the air and inhaled into the lungs. Tragically, even though the dangers of asbestos are now well-known and well-documented, many theatre workers attend their places of work every day not knowing that they may be at great risk for developing deadly asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma.

Asbestos and Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a particularly rare but very deadly form of cancer that typically affects the lining of the lungs, and more rarely the abdomen or heart. Approximately two thousand Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year. Unfortunately, because mesothelioma commonly takes two or more decades to develop after long-term asbestos exposure, and because the symptoms of mesothelioma are very non-specific, this form of cancer is very difficult to diagnose in the early stages. The long latency period of mesothelioma, combined with the difficulty of making an accurate diagnosis, make mesothelioma a particularly lethal form of cancer. There is currently no cure for mesothelioma, and the average patient will live just two years post-diagnosis.

Your Legal Rights

If you are at risk of developing mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease as a result of exposure to asbestos curtains or any other product containing asbestos, or have already developed such a disease, it's important to know that you have some legal rights.

These types of cases - where theater workers develop mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos curtains - are relatively rare, but they have occurred in the past, and such cases have been successfully prosecuted.

Because mesothelioma is invariably fatal, many people with this disease find it important to provide for their families, replace lost income, obtain compensation for emotional and physical suffering, and more importantly, obtain some justice for the tragedy that has occurred.

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Select... Mesothelioma Lung Cancer Asbestosis Severe Asbestosis Unknown

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