Mesothelioma

This disease, according to doctors at the conference, develops in the mesothelium, a protective lining that covers most of the body's internal organs.

Its most common target is the outer lining of the lungs and the chest cavity.

Most people who develop Held under the auspices of the Drexel University School of Public Health and the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS), about 100 people turned out to listen to medical professionals, scientists, politicians and concerned citizens discuss the debilitating effects of the carcinogen.

"Like most Americans, people don't know asbestos has not been banned, but its deadly diseases are all preventable," Reinstein said.

She described kinds of afflictions often caused by asbestos, including malignant and benign diseases, citing a sum 65 percent of people exposed to asbestos develop cancerous cells in their body.

"It reduces the ability to breathe so it wreaks havoc on your heart and lungs, and lack of oxygen kills you, causing cardiac arrest," she said.

People who have been exposed to asbestos can develop symptoms in a matter or days or a matter of years.

Even those not in direct contact are at risk.

Reinstein used the example of New York City's World Trade Center collapse.

She said the nearly 400 tons of...

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