Before you can successfully prosecute a Mesotheliama lawsuit, one of the things you and your lawyer have to determine is how you were exposed to Mesothelioma.

It's not enough in your lawsuit, simply to say that you have the disease, can you pin point for your lawyer how you were exposed to asbestos?

A good Mesothelioma law firm should be able to help you prove prove where and how your exposure occurred.

There are four main sources for asbestos contamination and for legal reasons, victims of Mesothelioma and their families need to be aware of how they came in contact with asbestos.

Naturally occurring asbestos (NOA)

Contamination from naturally occurring asbestos (NOA) happens when the minerals are close to the ground. Asbestos can contaminate ground water. And asbestos strands can also fracture into tiny pieces and become airborne. Asbestos is present in 20 states in the United States, and is especially a problem in California.

Millions of asbestos fibers can be found in the lungs of Americans who have no connection to asbestos.

Since the majority of Mesothelioma patients develop the cancer due to daily, repeated exposure to asbestos there are on-going studies to track our exposure to naturally occurring asbestos and what it means for our future.

Asbestos contamination as an occupational hazard
Following is a chart of products manufactured with asbestos. If you worked for a plant that manufactured these items, then you might have been exposed to asbestos on a daily basis.

Currently, contractors, plumbers, and heating and cooling specialists are at risk for exposure to asbestos. However asbestos products and people who worked in industries that produced or handled the following items are also at risk of developing Mesothelioma:

Asbestos Usage and products

• brake pads and shoes
• bricks
• caulk
• cement sheets and pipes for construction, casing for water and electrical/telecommunication services
• cement shake siding
• clutch plates
• concrete
• decorative spray-on ceiling treatments
• drywall joint compound
• fireproof drywall
• mud and texture coats
• fire blankets
• fire retardant coatings
• fireproof clothing for firefighters
• flooring
• gaskets - acid, heat and fire resistant
• heating system insulation
• interior fire doors
• lawn furniture
• low density insulation board and ceiling tiles
• pipe insulation
• pipes and fireplace cement
• roofing tars, felts, siding, and shingles
• roofing tars, felts, siding, and shingles
• stage curtains
• thermal and chemical insulation (fire rated doors, limpet spray, lagging and gaskets)
• thermal pipe insulation
• transite panels, siding, countertops, and pipes
• vinyl floor tiles, sheeting, adhesives
• World War II ship building

Kent cigarettes, with the first filtered cigarette on the market, used asbestos in its "Micronite" filter from 1952 to 1956, however there is no correlation between smoking and Mesothelioma.

Not only are the factory workers and construction workers at risk of developing Mesothelioma, but also their families, who were exposed to the clothing they wore everyday. So are naval personnel and ship-builders that worked on naval vessels during WWII.