Asbestos was used for quite some time as a major component of building materials. It was utilized in fireproofing, roofing tiles, electrical insulation, covering for very hot pies along with other anti-friction products. It’s however been replaced by some other building materials that are much less hazardous for your health, and for good reason.
The first question, however, is: What is asbestos? Asbestos is a derivative of natural fibres found in rock and soil. It is grey in colour and, if you come into contact with it, can stick in the skin like millions of tiny splinters that you cannot wash off. Because of its fibrous nature, asbestos very easily fragments and gets airborne – a bad thing!
Research indicates that prolonged exposure to asbestos is hazardous for your health. This affects the workers who make the asbestos, those who work with it in their construction careers and people who live with it, either nearby the factory or in their homes. You can be impacted by asbestos disease by either swallowing or breathing in the fibres or even by excessive skin contact.
One of the most serious diseases caused by contact with asbestos is mesothelioma. It is essentially an asbestos induced cancer. The asbestos particles are cancer causing. The particles are generally breathed into your lungs and may lie there, dormant, for many years. Eventually the cancer starts and spread rapidly through the body. It affects the lungs, digestive system, throat, vocal chords and kidneys.
The most typical side effect of inhaling asbestos fibers is lung tissue fibrosis. Fibrosis is essentially the formation of scarring. The scar tissue is brought on by the body attempting to heal the lungs from the punctures caused by the needle like asbestos fibres. When it comes to asbestos disease, it can be so severe that the lung can’t function. The affected person will experience shortness of breath along with other similar symptoms of defective lung functioning.
It is simply because of this that asbestos is not longer used as building materials in several countries around the world. Instead, fibreglass has become introduced as a substitute for asbestos, this is made from silicate fibres similar to asbestos. Other options found in building materials today will be stone and glass wool, natural fibre products, wood fiber and a synthetic fibre called PBI fibre which has a melting point of 760 degrees Celsius. Sleeves, rope, tape and fabric have become common substitutes for asbestos in industrial surroundings.
Fortunately, asbestos is no longer commonly used in construction building materials. Which means that the health of our construction employees and residents in homes built recently are at less risk. If yuo possess a home that used outdated building materials, you might want to check to see if you have asbestos lining in your house and have it swapped out with something safer if you do. Asbestos is hazardous to your health and your children’s health. Do everybody a favour and replace all of the asbestos within your house with a more acceptable substitute.