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What Is Asbestos?
Is Asbestos Dangerous?
Are All products With
Asbestos A Health Risk?
Do All People Exposed
To Asbestos, Develop Asbestos Related Disease?
What Are Asbestos-Containing
Products?
How Can I tell If I
Have Asbestos In My Home?
If Asbestos Is Found
In My Home, What Should I Do?
What
Is Asbestos?
Asbestos is a mineral fiber found
in rocks, of naturally occurring silicate minerals that
can be separated into fibers. There are several kinds
of asbestos fibers, all of which are fire resistant
and not easily destroyed or degraded by natural processes.
The fibers are strong, durable, and resistant to heat
and fire. They are also long, thin and flexible, so
that they can even be woven into cloth, because of these
qualities, asbestos has been used in thousands of consumer,
industrial, maritime, automotive, scientific and building
products.
The above photo shows a typical
asbestos insulated heating pipe found in older homes.
During the twentieth
century, some 30 million tons of asbestos have been
used in industrial sites, homes, schools, shipyards
and commercial buildings in the United States. There
are several types of asbestos fibers, of which three
have been used for commercial applications: (1) Chrysotile,
or white asbestos, comes mainly from Canada, and has
been very widely used in the US. It is white-gray in
color and found in serpentine rock. (2) Amosite, or
brown asbestos, comes from southern Africa. (3) Crocidolite,
or blue asbestos, comes from southern Africa and Australia.
Is
Asbestos Dangerous?
Asbestos has been shown to cause
cancer of the lung and stomach according to studies
of workers and others exposed to asbestos. There is
no level of exposure to asbestos fibers that experts
can assure is completely safe. Some asbestos materials
can break into small fibers which can float in the air
and these fibers can be inhaled. The tiny fibers are
so small they can not be seen with the naked eye. They
can pass through the filters of normal vacuum cleaners
and get back into the air. Once inhaled, asbestos fibers
can become lodged in tissue for a long time. After many
years cancer or mesothelioma can develop.
Are
All products With Asbestos A Health Risk?
No. A health risk exists only
when asbestos fibers are released from the material
or product. Soft, easily crumbled asbestos containing
material has the greatest potential for asbestos release
and therefore has the greatest potential to create health
risks.
Do
All People Exposed To Asbestos, Develop Asbestos Related
Disease?
No. Most people exposed to small amounts of asbestos
do not develop any related health problems. Health studies
of asbestos workers and others, however, show that the
chances of developing some serious illnesses, included
lung cancer, are greater after exposure to asbestos.
What
Are Asbestos-Containing Products?
What is common to many asbestos-containing
products is that they were (are) used to contain heat
(i.e. thermal insulation.) This was the main reason
for their use. It is impossible to list all of the products
that have, at one time or another, contained asbestos.
One of the most common products asbestos is found in,
is in the insulation material found on heating pipes
and ducts of homes built before 1960.
Some of the other common asbestos-containing products
are insulating cement, insulating block, asbestos cloth,
gaskets, packing materials, thermal seals, refractory
and boiler insulation materials, transite board, asbestos
cement pipe, fireproofing spray, joint compound, vinyl
floor tile, ceiling tile, mastics, adhesives, coatings,
acoustical textures, duct & pipe insulation for
heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems,
roofing products, insulated electrical wire and panels,
and brake and clutch assemblies.
How
Can I tell If I Have Asbestos In My Home?
People who have frequently worked
with asbestos (such as plumbers, building contractors
or heating contractors) often are able to make a reasonable
judgment about whether or not a material contains asbestos
on a visual inspection. Many profession home inspectors
also can make a reasonable visual judgment. To be absolutely
certain, an industrial hygienist would have to make
the identification.
If
Asbestos Is Found In My Home, What Should I Do?
In most cases, asbestos containing
materials are best left alone.
When it is necessary to disturb asbestos, you should
contact a licensed asbestos contractor. You can also
obtain a copy of Asbestos in the Home published by the
U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (800-638-2772)
which discusses the situation and makes recommendations.
Remember, do not dust, sweep, or vacuum particles suspected
of containing asbestos fibers.
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