What exactly do you know about asbestos? It is severely harmful to your health, or that you shouldn’t remove it without expert guidance or unless you are trained in the removal and disposal of asbestos. Both of these facts are 100% true. However, if you look a little deeper into asbestos, its uses, and the potential harm that can occur from being exposed to it, you can understand what this means for you in the long term should you be living in a house with products or work around asbestos.
When is Asbestos Harmful?
Typically asbestos causes more damage when the fibers are disturbed. When asbestos is damaged, the tiny particles are released into the air, which you then breathe in, and here is when the damage is caused. White asbestos was commonly used in home construction from the 1940s to the late 1970s. It was also widely used in the military around the world. This issue isn’t restricted to the US; asbestos was used worldwide despite some degree of awareness of how harmful it could be.
While asbestos is still used in the US today, it currently isn’t a banned material. It isn’t used as widely as it once was, and many support groups have sprung up recognizing the pain and suffering this harmful substance has caused many people worldwide.
When left alone, for example, in a floor or ceiling tile, the risk of exposure to yourself is relatively low unless it is damaged. Many people are unaware of what it looks like and undertake a home renovation, thus disturbing the asbestos. This is when the exposure is at its most potent.
However, one-off exposure if you are wearing protection to stop you from inhaling the asbestos is unlikely to cause you damage. This is when you are continually exposed to the particles over long periods of time unknowingly. And as the damage can take many years to manifest itself, chances are you will be blissfully unaware until 10, 20, or even 50 years down the line.
What Are the Signs of Asbestos Exposure?
Problems that arise due to ongoing asbestos exposure will become evident over time. People experience a range of symptoms that can be attributed to mesothelioma cancer or asbestosis. These can include;
- Short of breath
- Fluid on the lungs
- Chest pain
- Fever
- Fatigue
- Muscle loss
- Persistent cough
- Wheezing
Generally, symptoms appear around 20 to 30 years after exposure, meaning you likely won’t know you have been exposed or suffered any damage until far later in life. In the case of mesothelioma cancer, it is currently incurable and is always terminal.
Should You Remove Asbestos From Your Home?
In many cases, if the asbestos hasn’t been disturbed and is intact, chances are it isn’t causing damage, and the risk of this toxic substance is low to you as there aren’t any particles to inhale and cause the damage to your body.
However, if you are undertaking work on your home and disturbing the asbestos, you should look to professionals to safely remove this. Asbestos is easily damaged and highly toxic, so if you discover it and notice it has been disturbed, you need to leave the room immediately and thoroughly clean both yourself and your clothing to remove any particles on yourself.
Chances of getting seriously ill from a one-time limited contact are extremely low; however, leaving the substance in your home once it has been damaged can lead to poor health and exposure over time.
Due to the damage caused by the tiny particles that break off from products containing asbestos after damage, you must call in experts who know how to safely and effectively remove it from your home. Keep the area sealed off until all traces are removed, and it is safe to reenter the building or specific room once the removal has been completed.
Identifying Asbestos
It can be hard to identify the presence of asbestos when looking at something, but knowing the type of products that could contain asbestos, such as popcorn ceiling, vinyl floor tiles that we’re ut down in the 1950s, drywall installed before the 1980s, or even car parts on cars made in or around the 1960s, can be an indicator. If you are in the presence of any of these options or products from before the 1980s, you can buy an asbestos tester kit before undertaking any work. If this returns a positive result, you need to call in an asbestos expert to remove the offending article to remove the risk from your home.