The effects of asbestos related poisoning may only show itself after many years.

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The Dangers of Asbestos
By Jeff Lakie

If you read the newspaper or watch the nightly news, chances are you've heard about some of the dangers of asbestos. What is often ignored in these messages, however, is that asbestos also has a number of useful properties. If used responsibly and maintained in good condition, asbestos can be beneficial without causing harm.

What is asbestos? The term refers to microscopic, naturally occurring fibrous silicate minerals. These minerals have been used for years by the construction industry. The three most common types of asbestos are chrysotile, amosite, and crocidolite. Asbestos is commonly used in insulation, fireproofing, roofing, flooring, and other building materials. The strength of the fibers and asbestos's resistance to heat make these materials very useful.

Why, then, are people afraid of asbestos? Well, asbestos is a carcinogenic, toxic substance. Asbestos-containing materials are not a health risk if they are left undisturbed. However, if these materials become damaged, the asbestos fibers separate and become airborne. This is when human exposure is likely to occur, as asbestos may be inhaled into the lungs.

While no “safe level” of exposure has been determined, health problems are more common with greater and longer exposure to the fibers. Some of these health problems include asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancer. It is not true that asbestos causes headaches or sore muscles, as many once believed. Immediate health issues like these are rarely seen. In actuality, most damaging health effects of asbestos exposure don't surface until many years later. Perhaps this is why building buyers prefer to err on the side of caution when asbestos inspections are done.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed a program for schools and other building owners in order to keep asbestos fiber levels low. In an effort to protect students and residents, the program aims to teach people how to recognize asbestos-containing materials. It also educates people about how to manage these materials and how to avoid exposure. With proper education and careful management, health risks from asbestos can theoretically be prevented.

Jeff Lakie is the founder of Asbestos Resources a website providing information on asbestos.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Asbestos Removal, Management and Control

Asbestos removal covered under property insurance. - Asbestos removal is insurable property damage, but coverage is limited to those policies in force at the time the hazardous material is discovered, according to a recent circuit court ruling in Illinois. The ruling limits the ability of U.S. Gypsum Co. - a subsidiary of Chicago-based USG Corp. - to recover the cost of lawsuits and settlements connected with the removal of asbestos-containing ceiling plaster it manufactured up until 1972, much of which was used in schools and other public buildings.

Asbestos removal firm establishing itself as a leader in emerging field. (Just Asbestos Removal Company Inc.) - Asbestos removal firm establishing itself as a leader in emerging field. Hard times in the Northeast's residentail and commercial real estate markets will remain a fact of life for the foreseeable future. Already, some of the region's largest developments have been foreclosed by skittish lenders desperate to reduce their non-performing loan portfolios under pressure from federal regulators. Unemployment in the construction industry has soared to recession-era levels as builders have reduced new housing and office construction in the face of drastically tightened financing requirements.

Healthy Home Kit: Inspecting for Environmental Hazards Working With Professionals to Avoid Risks Cleaning Up Radon, Lead, Asbestos and More! - Provides authoritative information to help home buyers, sellers, renters, and renovators identify and solve home environmental problems, including radon, lead, asbestos, and water contaminants. Each of the 12 chapters on specific problems opens with a summary chart and includes a checklist to help with problem recognition.

Asbestos: Medical and Legal Aspects - This comprehensive reference for attorneys involved in asbestos litigation includes a complete historical perspective of prior-and ongoing-litigation and covers the evolving knowledge of asbestos hazards, both in open literature and with particular attention to the main defendants in these cases.

Asbestos And Fire: Technological Trade-offs And The Body At Risk - For much of the industrial era, asbestos was a widely acclaimed benchmark material. During its heyday, it was manufactured into nearly three thousand different products, most of which protected life and property from heat, flame, acids, and electricity. It was used in virtually every industry from hotel keeping to military technology to chemical manufacturing, and was integral to building construction from shacks to skyscrapers in every community across the United States. Beginning in the mid-1960s, however, this once popular mineral began a rapid fall from grace as growing attention to the serious health risks associated with it began to overshadow the protections and benefits it provided.

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