Who knew that tiny little asbestos fibres could cause such great suffering to thousands of employees who were once exposed to it? Once inhaled, the deadly filaments of this fibrous mineral could be fatal. Yet the public is still quite apathetic towards it. With the rising sufferers of mesothelioma every year, we can no longer rest easy and just stay quiet. Now more than ever, there is a great need for more people to get in–depth information about asbestos cancer.
How Can You Get It?
There are many ways to develop asbestos cancer. One of the most common scenarios is through extended periods of exposure through work. Industries like mining, automation, refinery, construction, shipping, and many others were notoriously involved in work that dealt with asbestos. Most often, they had workers in an enclosed area with no personal protective equipment (PPE) to handle asbestos.
But being back at home provides no comfort as well. There are many homes, especially those that are built in the 60s and 70s, that are ridden with asbestos. From the floorings and walls to roofing and ceilings, asbestos was such a popular construction material that was used for virtually any part of the house! Just because you spent most of your time in the house does not make you safe, unfortunately. There have been many cases to prove just that.
Mesothelioma, or asbestos cancer, is supposed to be a rare disease that should not even be suffered by a human through natural means at all. But due to the lack of health and safety regulations back in the day, there was never enough tests conducted to contest the safety of asbestos as an insulation material. Now, mesothelioma is no longer as rare as it should be. If proper legislation was established, there would not have been as many asbestos cancer sufferers as we have today.
Know the Asbestos-Related Laws
The dangers of asbestos were only known until it was too late. It is unfortunate to those who have lost their lives to the horrors of asbestos, but there is still hope for those who haven’t been exposed to the material. In Australia, numerous abatement programs aim to shed light on the dangers of the material and how to properly dispose of it. This includes not scratching the material through sawing or drilling. Any other related protocols are practised by construction companies today.
Checked As Soon As Possible
There is no way of telling if a portion of your house contains asbestos unless you have had experience working with the material. One sure-fire way of determining asbestos contamination in your home is to scrape off a portion and sending it to the nearest laboratory for analysis. If the results come out positive, be sure to call on professional asbestos removalists to remove asbestos from your home.
Remember to also get your house checked by professionals every once in a while. But your dwelling is not the only thing that should be checked. Head on over to your lung physician’s clinic and run some tests on your lung health as regular as you can.