Why Asbestos Exposure Can Be Dangerous
Exposure to asbestos in the past currently causes around 4,000 deaths each year in the UK, and this is expected to increase to a peak of 5,000 over the next few years.
Thousands more people who worked with the product, either knowingly or unknowingly, are suffering from the debilitating lung disease called asbestosis.
Asbestos was widely used in the building industry for over a century, and was found in tens of thousands of products.
The properties of the material mean it is strong while being flexible, and also heat and acid resistant.
It was used to lag pipes and insulate electrical cables, prevent heat loss in walls and lofts and as wall boards, ceiling tiles and even combined with bitumen for roofing felt.
Unfortunately, asbestos material is made of thousands of tiny fibres which are easily inhaled if they become separated from the main body or material they are bonded with - if the roofing boards are broken or ceiling tiles are drilled, for example, this can release fibres into the air.
This means that people who work as electricians, plumbers or builders may be at high risk of exposure to asbestos if they are working on building erected or renovated before 2000, when the ban on asbestos products came into force.
Once they are breathed in, they lodge deep in the lungs where the bodies own defences actually cause problems.
The area around the fibres becomes inflamed, before the fibre eventually becomes covered with scar tissue which is not as efficient at gas exchange as the rest of the lungs.
The more fibres that have been breathed in, the greater the damage to the lungs that is likely to occur.
Asbestosis has no cure, and can only be managed with oxygen therapy and other treatments.
The other diseases associated with asbestos exposure, lung cancer and mesothelioma, have low survival rates and even those few who are treated successfully do not regain the lung function they had previously.
Don't risk your health.
If you have any work that requires asbestos removal then contact a professional company that have a good track record and all of the safety equipment required to remove asbestos safely without the risk to the health of others.
Thousands more people who worked with the product, either knowingly or unknowingly, are suffering from the debilitating lung disease called asbestosis.
Asbestos was widely used in the building industry for over a century, and was found in tens of thousands of products.
The properties of the material mean it is strong while being flexible, and also heat and acid resistant.
It was used to lag pipes and insulate electrical cables, prevent heat loss in walls and lofts and as wall boards, ceiling tiles and even combined with bitumen for roofing felt.
Unfortunately, asbestos material is made of thousands of tiny fibres which are easily inhaled if they become separated from the main body or material they are bonded with - if the roofing boards are broken or ceiling tiles are drilled, for example, this can release fibres into the air.
This means that people who work as electricians, plumbers or builders may be at high risk of exposure to asbestos if they are working on building erected or renovated before 2000, when the ban on asbestos products came into force.
Once they are breathed in, they lodge deep in the lungs where the bodies own defences actually cause problems.
The area around the fibres becomes inflamed, before the fibre eventually becomes covered with scar tissue which is not as efficient at gas exchange as the rest of the lungs.
The more fibres that have been breathed in, the greater the damage to the lungs that is likely to occur.
Asbestosis has no cure, and can only be managed with oxygen therapy and other treatments.
The other diseases associated with asbestos exposure, lung cancer and mesothelioma, have low survival rates and even those few who are treated successfully do not regain the lung function they had previously.
Don't risk your health.
If you have any work that requires asbestos removal then contact a professional company that have a good track record and all of the safety equipment required to remove asbestos safely without the risk to the health of others.
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