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Asbestos In Your Home
How do you find out if there's asbestos in your home?
BY BRISTER RIENO
People who were old enough to use a hair dryer
in the 1970s may remember their first exposure to the fear of asbestos when their dryers were recalled
as a health threat [source: CPSC].
Others may have grown up with warnings about
staying away from attic insulation or old pipe wrapping in basements, but are
these concerns dated now that the world is more aware of the dangers of
asbestos exposure?
Asbestos has been a part of the modern built
world for more than a century because it is flame resistant, very long lasting
and an excellent insulating material.
Many compound materials benefit from asbestos
because of its taut fiber form.
When materials with asbestos are left alone,
as manufactured and pressed or mixed together, asbestos can be pretty hard to
break down.
Using any process or pressure to cut, sand or
dig into asbestos-containing parts, however, releases dust shards of fiber
particles, launching the asbestos into the air.
When the particles are breathed in, they are
either subsequently released through exhaling, or they lodge themselves into
the organs and air passageways, often causing lung diseases and abnormal,
cancerous growths.
Mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis are linked to
asbestos exposure in the home and workplace, though since the late 1970s, bans
and regulations have helped lessen the risks [sources: EPA, CPSC].
Is asbestos just an old concern, or is it a
continuing, modern problem? Could there be asbestos in your home?
Maybe for sure, maybe not much and maybe none
at all, but it's worth brushing up on the subject.
Air
Apparent?
If your home was built in 1980 or later, it
isn't likely to have asbestos components, and if it does, they
would have to be labeled accordingly.
Homes built before the 1970s likely do have
asbestos in their construction materials, which might include the following:
· insulation: attic and wall
insulation in houses built from 1930 through 1950 (and homes with vermiculite
insulation up through 1990)
· heat-proofing surrounds:
boards and wall and floor treatments around wood-burning stoves and older
furnaces
· heat and water pipes:
exterior wraps and adhesives
· floor and ceiling tiles: in
sheet and drop-tile forms
· roofing and siding:
shingles and sheets with composites of concrete and asphalt
· wall and ceiling treatments:
thick, decorative or soundproofing coatings that resemble popcorn-like grooves
or dried foam cottage cheese
· walls, corners and gaps: joint
compounds and patching materials commonly contained asbestos [source: EPA]
These are just some of the most common areas
where asbestos products were used, and unfortunately, checking to see if it's
in your own home isn't a matter of just eyeing the sources.
Asbestos isn't identifiable by sight alone,
and it's odorless and unlabeled if used before bans were instituted.
Only testing at the microscopic level confirms
the presence of asbestos, and this should always be left to a trained
professional.
If you suspect that your home, whether a
rental or owned property, has hidden asbestos or areas of asbestos dust, it's
best to leave everything as is -- the EPA even advises against dusting or
vacuuming suspect areas [source: EPA].
Most of all don't do anything abrasive to the
area that could cause the release of particles if no dust is visible [source: EPA].
Contact an asbestos professional who can test
and recommend ways to remove or cover and contain the asbestos materials if
found.
Maybe
you're fearful that asbestos is hanging out where you live. How worried should
you be?
RELIABLE
INFO
Many Web sites on
asbestos appear to be backed by institutions, medical associations or academic
centers but are in fact linked to law firms. While some of the information may
be well researched, turning to official sources like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institutes of Health, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and
the Occupational
Safety & Health Administration will provide less
biased data.
Adios
Asbestos?
Living
with asbestos is
a reality for many who reside in older homes, but with containment, covering
and sealing -- or encapsulation -- or removal by a professional, the risk of
harmful exposure is low [source: EPA].
A joint
paper by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC) and the American Lung Association (ALA) summarizes the health
risks as being greatest for those with heavy exposure in factory settings or
those involved in demolition work, mining and milling.
Those
exposed to small amounts in ordinary life are a lot less likely to develop
health problems [sources: CPSC, EPA].
In fact,
the best thing to do with asbestos material in good condition is to leave it
alone [source: CPSC].
Some individuals exposed to asbestos never
develop health problems, but as many as 200 people are diagnosed with
mesothelioma linked to asbestos in the United States each year [source: EPA].
Lung cancer and asbestosis, which is mostly
fatal, is considered a high-exposure outcome for those who breathed in
prolonged and significant amounts of asbestos [source: EPA].
And the EPA emphasizes that
asbestos-related lung cancer is much lower for the general
population and asbestosis is "rarely caused by neighborhood or family
exposure" [source: EPA].
Most people in the United States can breathe a
sigh of relief that asbestos contact will be minimal if asbestos in their home
is left undisturbed or left to the professionals to remove or contain.
ALWAYS
ASK AN EXPERT
National, regional and
local agencies have ongoing efforts to prevent asbestos-related illnesses and
continued exposure.
To find assistance in
your area, check the EPA's regional and state asbestos contacts.
Terri BrisenoAnalytic Specialist, Health Informatics
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Mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis are linked to asbestos exposure in the home and workplace.
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