How can Asbestos Exposure put your Health at Risk?

Asbestos is a kind of mineral that naturally occurs in the world and is used for commercial and industrial purposes. They appear like a bundle of fiber that is resistant to heat, fire, and chemicals. This is the reason why asbestos is used in a wide variety of industries all across the world.

 Asbestos is commonly used in making cement sheeting, drainage pipes, roofing, building boards, brakes, and clutches. But breathing in asbestos can be very dangerous for an individual. There are many individuals all around the world who have been affected by asbestos because they unknowingly inhaled it during working around it for long hours.

The chances of any health hazard can be decreased by regular asbestos safety monitoring. Asbestos testing is one such monitoring process that helps in decreasing the chances of health hazards related to asbestos exposure.

What is asbestos testing?

Asbestos testing is a survey that deals with properly examining the site for any presence of asbestos in it. In this kind of testing, different procedures are undertaken in order to keep the health of individuals present on the site out of any threat from asbestos. If after the test it is found that there is a presence of asbestos at the place, then necessary measures are taken to solve the issue. 

An asbestos survey should be performed every time there is a demolition, renovation, or remodeling of a house, garage, or industrial structure. This should be done to ensure that there is no risk of health hazards that can be caused by asbestos fibers released into the air.

The importance of having an asbestos inventory

An asbestos inventory list consists of all friable and non-friable materials that contain asbestos in them. It also works toward identifying those materials that are confirmed to contain asbestos in them. It is important to keep the asbestos inventory list updated by yearly asbestos testing, this will specifically include the areas from where asbestos has been previously removed.  

It is mandatory for all organizations to create an asbestos inventory list for their work premises. The inventory list is made to identify the locations where asbestos is present, the condition of the materials that contain asbestos, and information about any amount of asbestos that needs to be removed. This list also outlines the safety measures that should be undertaken for any work carried out that have a tendency of disturbing asbestos-containing materials.

There are many benefits of having an asbestos inventory list, some of which are listed below.

• An asbestos inventory list reduces any risk of exposure to employees and other individuals from asbestos. It will help in safely managing asbestos in the workplace. It is the duty of the organization to inform the external parties about the presence and the exact location of asbestos within the premises.
• There are some asbestos-based materials that can only be removed, demolished, or repaired by professional asbestos removal companies that have a proper license. Asbestos inventory comes in very handy in these situations because the removal company will need a copy of that list to carry out the removal process.

But creating an asbestos inventory takes a long time because there are many legal requirements that should be met for creating this list. The below-listed steps are important for creating an asbestos inventory list which will help in the process of asbestos testing.

• First, a detailed history of the premises should be checked for conducting a preliminary study of the inventory sheet.
• A visual inspection should be conducted in all rooms present on the premise.
• The samples that are collected should be sent to a lab that has a proper license to conduct tests on the sample.
• An asbestos management plan should be created with a specific set of priorities according to the type of asbestos, the structure of the surface where it is found, the condition of the asbestos, and many other factors.
• A set of control measures and proposals should be defined for managing the asbestos-containing materials.
• After all the above steps are done, then an official inventory of the applications and the control measures for asbestos should be created.

Health risks related to asbestos exposure

Fibers of asbestos are released into the air when the materials containing asbestos are damaged in any way. These fibers have the ability to cause serious health issues to individuals if they end up inhaling them. These diseases affect in a slow process, which is worse because the ones affected won't even know that they have inhaled fibers of asbestos. It takes a long time for these diseases to develop but they are fatal in nature, so when they get diagnosed it will way to late cure the disease. This is why it is important to have a proper asbestos management plan and conduct regular testing for asbestos. Some of the health hazards that can be caused by exposure to asbestos are listed below.

• Mesothelioma - It is a type of cancer that affects the pleura and the peritoneum. It is caused by exposure to asbestos and this is a fatal disease.

• Asbestosis - This affects the lungs of an individual and causes scarring to them. One of the symptoms of this disease is shortness of breath and severe cases of it are fatal.
• Pleural Thickening - Just like the name suggests, in this condition the pleura thickens and swells up due to exposure to asbestos for a prolonged period of time. The adverse state of this condition causes shortness of breath and chest discomfort.

Key findings

Every organization should schedule routine asbestos testing for maintaining a safe workspace for the employees. A routine survey for asbestos is the only solution to save the lives of people from getting affected by the fatal diseases caused by asbestos exposure.