Asbestos Overview
Early Grecian culture had a name for a material that was “inextinguishable”; it was “asbestos”. This material was considered miraculous, as it had the ability to tolerate heat and flames. Methods were thus developed to apply asbestos to daily use, such as cloths and lamp wicks. However, asbestos was not widely popular until the late 1800’s, when large amounts of this it were discovered in Canada. As soon as its insulation properties were realized, asbestos’s utilization was found everywhere that heat reinforcement was required. Commercial mining of asbestos thus began in the United States, Canada, South Africa, and the Soviet Union.
Eventually, the benefits of asbestos became realized. It served countless home and business purposes; the uses seemed almost countless. It helped significantly with acoustic, heating, and fire insulation. As these applications grew, asbestos was placed within roofing, flooring, pipes, ducts, suspended ceilings, decking, and steel beams for heat protection as well as strength. It was also utilized in wallboard, siding, partitions, and shingles. In fact, it was often sprayed or spread on surfaces with a binding agent. As the 20th century became more sophisticated, asbestos found more uses in ironing board pads, artificial fireplaces, pot holders, toasters, and furnace door gaskets, hairdryers, and wiring. It was even found in auto brake pads and linings, spackling compounds, tiling, and even textured paint.
Once the dangers of asbestos were realized during the 1970’s, it was banned from many applications in home construction. But older structures and many items still contain some amount of asbestos, and products from other countries frequently do not label any asbestos. There could still be hundreds of products containing asbestos available to the public.
Asbestos is soft and fluffy, in colors from white to pale gray. As long as it is strongly bonded to other fibers and encapsulated, there is little if any danger. However, asbestos fibers in crumbling materials can become dislodged and start drifting away on air currents. The same can occur if the asbestos is scraped, sanded or filed, such as during remodeling or demolition. If the host material is undamaged, sealing or covering it to prevent additional release may be a temporary fix. Removing asbestos legally requires a licensed contractor who must follow federal and state disposal regulations. Local testing companies or state health agency can collect samples to analyze and determine the type and percent of asbestos. There is a good chance that all of the asbestos will need to be removed. This is to prevent even the tiniest piece of asbestos from entering the air and drifting into an unsuspecting victim’s nose or mouth.
A government mortality records and epidemiological results followed asbestos-related illnesses and deaths since 1979. The first two decades are incomplete. It is believed that methods of diagnosing, reporting and tracking may have overlooked 80% of mesotheliemo cases, as well as connections to lung and gastrointestinal cancer. Data from 1979, up to and including 2001 found that asbestos-caused deaths accounted for one out of every 125 men who died after reaching age 50. Other statistics which added the total loss of life from lung and gastrointestinal cancer reflect a total of 230,000 lives lost during this 21 year period. It’s also been estimated that 114,506 approximate life-years have been lost to asbestosis during 1990-1999 alone, and it is expected that the number of related deaths will reach 7000 in year 2015.
Since asbestos is still not banned, contamination is present in existing industries, materials, and building structures. Millions continue to have exposure to toxic asbestos in insulation, soundproofing, and fireproofing. Any resulting diseases may not appear until the next decade or even later. Although the Occupational Health and Safety Administration adopted strict asbestos exposure limits a decade and a half ago, workers still face unsafe conditions. This is especially true in mining, manufacturing and construction industries. (There have even been reported incidents of conditions being even worse than decades ago.)
Sadly, asbestos has gone from being a “wonder” mineral to one that has harmed the health of over one million individuals. It is a very disturbing that the very properties which allow asbestos to be so useful are the same ones that make it lethal.
