ASBESTOS REMOVAL – Abatement And Encapsulation
Asbestos Removal Procedures
Asbestos is an extremely dangerous type of material, if the fibers coming from it are inhaled. It can produce severe complications to the lung (lung cancer, mesothelioma, asbestosis, etc.). However, there is no need to panic if you know that in the building you live or work there has been used asbestos in the thermal system insulation, ceiling tiles, or pipeline structures. Asbestos removal is always an option, and awareness and proper training if you are a tradesman professional is extremely necessary.
If you are not sure whether your home has asbestos components, but you think you have spotted a piece of asbestos somewhere, you should immediately take it for proper lab testing. Only this way can asbestos removal be done properly! There are several professionals out there such as painters or decorators who tend to say that they recognize asbestos from its color, its texture, or even worse, by its taste. Under no circumstances should you entrust such opinions, and under no circumstances should you taste such a dangerous material. Professional laboratory testing is the only procedure that will help you find out whether it is indeed asbestos fiber existent in your home, or at the place you work.
The highest health risk for people is given when asbestos fibers become dislodged, and these are inhaled. If the asbestos stays intact, it doesn’t pose any kind of health danger. But there many professionals who need to do home refurbishment works in places where there is asbestos existent, and they need to work with asbestos removal for example. If that is the case, it is very important to remember that proper disposable clothing is extremely important, plus a security mask, and when you are done you should never use the brush to clean up asbestos particles, but a highly professional vacuum.
It is very important to mention that under all federal rules, asbestos is considered toxic substance, and it should not be used anymore. The use of it has been banned around 1978/79 in the US, but since there were huge asbestos stocks left, many continued to use for the construction/ insulation system in homes and office up until 1985.Basically, there are two types of professional asbestos removal possible: abatement or encapsulation (sealing of asbestos).
WHAT IS ASBESTOS ?
What is Asbestos and to What Degree Does it Represent a Direct Danger to your Health
To the question what is asbestos, the answer could be summarized as follows:
- Asbestos is a mixture of 6 types of silicate minerals, and it is used in constructions for its durable properties mainly
- If asbestos fibers are inhaled by the human organism, severe illnesses can occur such as: mesothelioma, which is a form of cancer directly associated with the exposure to asbestos inhalation), lung cancer, or asbestosis (inflammatory condition, scarring of the lungs).
Asbestos is quite a practical and durable material, but as you can note it can become a true danger to your health. There are basically three main types of asbestos: chrysotile (or white asbestos, used most frequently), amosite (or brown asbestos, originating from Africa, with many potential risks to the health if inhaled), and crocidolite (or blue asbestos, which is the most dangerous type of asbestos; inhaling causes the highest risk of developing severe conditions). Now that you know what is asbestos primarily, there are plenty of other things you need to know about it and its dangerous effects upon your health.
Ever since the 1950’s, asbestos is a very popular construction material, up until 1999 when it has been banned as a building material. One of its positive traits is that Asbestos is an extremely good insulator- it protects the room temperature by keeping the cold outside. Then, it also offers extremely good protection against fires and corrosion of the building.
If you didn’t know until now what is asbestos, it is very important to check if you are exposed on a daily basis to an environment which contains asbestos. If your workplace (the building) has been constructed well before the 2000s, it is most likely that certain parts of the structure contain this material (pipe insulation, ceiling tiles, sprayed coasting or boilers).
What is asbestos and what if I have to work in such an environment?
It is very important to protect yourself from the dangers that asbestos can cause. However, if you are a professional who needs to work with asbestos, you should always make sure to use hand tools and not the electric ones, so that you will not disturb the material too much. Then, if the building has several parts where asbestos has been used, make sure to wear a protective mask while you work. Your health is very important, so do not leave anything to chance. If you have to pack away asbestos waste, be careful to put it in plastic bags that close well, and label them accordingly.
ASBESTOS DISEASE
Health Conditions Directly Linked to Asbestos Exposure
Asbestos is an extremely dangerous material that poses huge risks for the human health. Especially people who have worked in an environment where asbestos fibers could be easily inhaled may develop quite easily asbestos disease. Certainly this is a latent process, and most of the times it takes 10, 20 or even 50 years for the condition to show.
The mineral rock that the asbestos is made of contains tiny fibers that can be easily inhaled, if the individual is not wearing protective clothing, especially a mask when working with asbestos content materials. If a board of asbestos is being disturbed, this makes the tiny particles being released into the atmosphere.
Asbestos disease is not just one single type of condition, but it can mean pleural disease (conditions of the lungs), asbestosis (a lung disease with slow progression, although not a carcinogen disease), lung cancers and mesothelioma (where the membranes of major organs are being attacked).
Asbestos is a material that has been banned from use in America as early as the beginning of the 1980s. However, in several parts of the world it is being worked with asbestos materials, even if illegally. The asbestos products that are already in use are allowed, but people need to be particularly cautious when working with this high risk material. This is why there are several special trainings available on how should asbestos be handled at the workplace, and asbestos awareness programs are being available all throughout the world.
The following are mainly symptoms associated with asbestos disease types:
- Chronic cough
- Shortness of breath
- Sometimes the existence of blood in the sputum that is being released from the lungs
- Sudden weight loss (that is not associated with diets, or weight loss from physical exercise)
ASBESTOS EXPOSURE SYMPTOMS
Asbestos Exposure Symptoms- Conditions, Main Risk Factors & Treatments
If you are working in an office that has been built between 1950 and the end of the 80’s or even 90’s, you are most probably exposed to the risk of asbestos. It is important to know all the asbestos exposure symptoms, so that you can get proper treatment in time, or so that you can protect yourself properly from any further exposure. Exposure to asbestos fibers inhalation can create severe heath complications, and according to estimates from the Occupation Health & Safety Administration, as many as 1.4 million people are being exposed to these risks every year due to their occupational field mainly.
So who which is the number one danger zone? If you have worked in the past 50 years in the following institutions:
- Factories
- Railroad companies
- In the field of construction
- Building & automobile industries
- shipyards
The risk of developing asbestos symptoms is quite increased. It is important to mention that the asbestos exposure symptoms are latent for many years, before they come to the surface with visible effects on health. It is like catching a dangerous virus which will show its effect only after 5, 10, 20 year or even more. Mesothelioma, which is a rare form of cancer that attacks the mesothelium (membrane that covers the thoracic cavity, the abdominal cavity or the heart sac), is a disease that doctors give a latency period of even 30 to 40 years after initial exposure to asbestos inhaling. This is exactly why asbestos exposure symptoms are so difficult to diagnose, because the onset of a condition goes back to several decades when the exposure happened.
The main symptoms of this particularly rare disease include:
- Shortness of breath- this is caused particularly because of the fact that fluid enters the cavity between the lung and the chest wall (also called pleural effusion).
- Pain in the chest wall- which many times can be an indicator of heart problems, yet this kind of pain might also indicate mesothelioma complications
- Weight loss- especially cases when the weight loss is not explainable (such as due to a diet, or physical exercise, which is normal).
Unfortunately, mesothelioma is one of those asbestos exposure symptoms and conditions that come with low chances of curing. The patient is put under chemotherapy, and sometimes even surgery might be needed. Currently, researchers are highly focused on developing tests that can find mesothelioma complications in very early stages, so that successful treatment can be implemented.
