Asbestos Questions Answered!
Health Risks
How long does it take for the affects of asbestos exposure to show?
Aug 12th
Exposure to asbestos is not in itself deadly. However it can cause specific fatal diseases. These diseases often have a high latency period from when the asbestos fibre is inhaled to when the signs of the lethal diseases it causes start to take affect.
Mesothelioma is one of the diseases most commonly caused by exposure to asbestos. This is an uncommon form of cancer that is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos. It usually forms in the lungs but can reach the heart or stomach. The symptoms may not appear until between 30 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos occurred.
Other diseases caused by asbestos exposure include lung cancer, asbestosis and pleural plaques. These can have an equally long latency period, yet once they start to show their symptoms, their victims have little hope of survival and the illness takes hold quickly. In the recent asbestos Scotland news item we published about asbestos in a golf club in Scotland it didn’t take long at all for symptoms. See that article below this post.
Can anyone remove asbestos?
Jun 14th
The short answer to this is no. The HSE generally require anyone handling asbestos to carry a license to do so. It is essential that this is adhered to, in order to ensure that no one who does not know the dangers of asbestos and how to handle it safely is exposed to the lethal asbestos fibres. If asbestos is disturbed, its fibres will be released into the air and can then easily be breathed into the lungs by anyone nearby. Once in the lungs, asbestos fibres become highly dangerous. They can cause many serious and even deadly illnesses.
To avoid this, it is best practice to make sure only someone with the knowledge and skills required is set the task of handling or removing any material that is likely to contain asbestos. Licensed asbestos management consultants will be prepared with the correct personal protective equipment needed to ensure complete safety around asbestos.
Why is asbestos dangerous?
Feb 20th
Asbestos was commonly used throughout the 20th century and particularly from the 1950’s onwards, during the rebuilding process from World War 2. It was popular because it was known to be highly heat and fire resistant, so it was often used in building materials. However, the substance is now banned in the EU and many other countries because it is now known to cause a multitude of highly dangerous and life threatening diseases.
The main danger from asbestos comes when asbestos fibrous crystals are released into the air and can be breathed into the lungs. Once in the lungs, these fibres can seriously damage the lungs and cause illnesses such as asbestosis, mesothelioma, lung cancer and pleural plaques.
Unfortunately, when caused by asbestos fibres, all these diseases have a considerable latency period. This can sometimes stretch up to 40 years. The consequence of this was that asbestos was used in building materials across the world for an extensive period of time before it was linked to these deadly diseases.
It is now expected that asbestos related deaths will increase dramatically over the coming years as people begin to be affected by asbestos that they may have been exposed to up to 30 or 40 years ago when its dangers were unknown.
