Since the 1800s doctors have seen a link between exposure to asbestos in the workplace and lung disease. It was not until the 1970s and the Industrial Revolution that EPA has issued warnings about exposure to asbestos in the workplace, but at this time of growth and prosperity, many employers and employees ignored these warnings and continued to handle asbestos materials loaded without adequate protection. It was the Agency of Environmental Protection has begun placing restrictions on the use of asbestos materials that the real threat of asbestos was heard.
Exposure to asbestos in the air can cause a form of cancer called mesothelioma. This cancer may affect the coating of internal organ and is only treatable in some cases. The presentations used throughout the last two decades to asbestos in the workplace are often struck by diseases linked to asbestos. Because asbestos was used regularly until the 1970s, it can still be found in many building materials materials on old houses like shingles, insulation and flooring, on auto parts such as brakes, and as insulation in many operations requiring high heat -shielding material. Because of the widespread use of asbestos and the continuation of the isolated use of this dangerous material, asbestos still poses threats to many in the workplace.
There are many careers that involve a risk of exposure to asbestos, and that all employees in these areas suffer from a disease related to asbestos, there are many professions that have a risk factor higher than others. The miners who excavated vermiculite and talc were often exposed to asbestos in the air and, of course, employees of factories that manufacture asbestos products are at a constant risk of exposure. Steel mills, oil refineries and power plants that require high strength insulation products to heat and fire used many asbestos products as thermal insulators. The railways and shipyards used asbestos materials for many purposes, and repair of these materials are usually handmade and without protection against airborne particles that cause mesothelioma and other diseases asbestos. Most construction workers were exposed to asbestos on a daily basis, as most construction materials drywall and stucco to shingles and flooring contained asbestos levels that could be harmful. These risks extend to demolition teams hired to demolish older buildings. Motor vehicle repairers are also at risk of exposure, as brake pads and drums were built in asbestos materials.
Today, a job that always meets the high risk of exposure to asbestos every day is the life of a firefighter. Homes and businesses built before the ban on asbestos materials burn like another, and firefighters come to the rescue with each flame. Each time a firefighter responds to a fire in an old building, they run the risk of being exposed to asbestos fibers in building materials. In order to conduct the fight against fire techniques, firefighters must cut through walls, ceilings and floors; and each ax in an old building; more asbestos could be released into the air. Most firefighters wear protective masks when inside a building, but there's really no stopping these materials to escape into the outside air when a building collapse. The irony of the firefighter's career is that most of protective equipment they wear is made from asbestos materials because of its thermal properties and fire resistant. Firefighters are trained on the dangers of asbestos exposure, and most wear face masks with HEPA filters to reduce their risk of exposure.
Although the bans were placed to restrict the use of asbestos, and regulations must be posted in workplaces where exposure to asbestos is still a possibility, threat diseases linked to asbestos, such as mesothelioma yet exist for many of today's workers. Before making your next career or to plan your next great job change, make appropriate inquiries about your risk of exposure to asbestos in the workplace.
