What Is Asbestos? Asbestos was commonly used in construction before its potentially deadly heath effects were discovered. A naturally occurring mineral fiber processed into thousands of building materials before 1980, asbestos was banned from use in most building materials in the 1970s after the EPA proved inhalation of the fibers could cause incurable lung diseases, lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer with no known cure caused by asbestos exposure.
When asbestos is released into the air, the fibers remain airborne for inhalation. Since asbestos fibers have no detectable odor or taste, for decades workers and families alike were inhaling the dangerous fibers without any knowledge. The asbestos fibers, once inhaled, attach to the lungs, where they can remain for years, and sometimes forever. It can be decades before any asbestos related illnesses appear.
Asbestos fibers are so dangerous because of the deadly health effects exposure can cause, and because the fibers do not dissolve in water or evaporate and are resistant to heat, fire, chemical and biological degradation. The same properties that make asbestos so dangerous are why asbestos was so widely used in manufactured products like building materials, friction products and heat resistant fabrics. Most people are unaware that even today, asbestos containing products surround them wherever they go.
Just because there are still many asbestos containing sources in our homes, workplaces and schools, does not mean people are at a heightened risk for suffering asbestos related illnesses. If undisturbed, asbestos fibers can remain within the source and will not release its fibers into the air. When disturbing or making repairs on materials made of asbestos or remodeling homes that are constructed with materials containing asbestos, a certified asbestos abatement contractor must properly remove affected materials.
Even though the number of people that are newly exposed to asbestos, and the risks associated to it, are at the lowest level in years, asbestos disease awareness groups have argued some illnesses, like mesothelioma, can take 30 to 50 years to develop. The number of newly diagnosed cases of asbestos illnesses like mesothelioma, as a result, is expected to continue to dramatically increase in coming years.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, an estimated 1.3 million employees in construction and general industry face significant asbestos exposure on the job. The heaviest asbestos exposures occur in the construction industry, specifically during the removal of asbestos during renovation or demolition. During the process of manufacturing asbestos products workers can also be exposed.
|
