Asbestos kills around 5000 workers each year. Around 20 tradesman die each week as a result of past exposure to asbestos.
However, asbestos is not just a problem of the past. It is present today in any building built or refurbished before the year 2000.
If an item that contain asbestos is disturbed or damaged, fibres are released into the air, when these fibres are inhaled they can cause serious diseases. It can take anywhere between 15-60 years for any symptoms to develop after exposure, so these diseases will not affect you immediately but may do later in life, but once diagnosed, it is often too late to do anything. This is why it is important that you protect yourself now.
It is also important to remember that people who smoke, and who are also exposed to asbestos fibres, are at a much greater risk of developing lung cancer.
Asbestos can cause the following fatal and serious diseases:
Mesothelioma - is a cancer which affects the lining of the lungs (pleura) and the lining surrounding the lower digestive tract (peritoneum). It is almost exclusively related to asbestos exposure and by the time it is diagnosed, it is almost always fatal.
Asbestos-related lung cancer - is the same as (looks the same as) lung cancer caused by smoking and other causes. It is estimated that there is around one lung cancer for every mesothelioma death.
Asbestosis - is a serious scarring condition of the lung that normally occurs after heavy exposure to asbestos over many years. This condition can cause progressive shortness of breath, and in severe cases can be fatal.
Pleural thickening-is generally happens after heavy asbestos exposure. The lining of the lung (pleura) thickens and swells. If this gets worse, the lung itself can be squeezed, and can cause shortness of breath and discomfort in the chest.
Asbestos may be part of any commercial or domestic building which was built or refurbished before the year 2000. Asbestos can typically still be found in any of the following:
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Asbestos is a general name given to several naturally occurring fibrous minerals that have crystallised to form fibres. Asbestos fibres do not dissolve in water or evaporate, they are resistant to heat, fire, chemical and biological degradation and they are mechanically strong.
Asbestos is generally divided into two sub-groups; serpentine and amphiboles. Serpentine asbestos (chrysotile or white asbestos) was the most commonly used type of asbestos.
Chrysotile asbestos fibres are soft, flexible and curved and far less hazardous than the amphibole type. Amphibole fibres (crocidolite -blue asbestos, amosite- brown asbestos, tremolite, actinolite and anthophyllite) are brittle fibres and are often rod- or needle-like in appearance. It is this form that is more hazardous to health. Crocidolite was the most commonly used amphibole asbestos in the past.
