What exactly is asbestos? If you want me to put it in simple terms, it’s a commercial term for six naturally occurring fibre materials that was used back in the day before planet earth hit the 20th century. And why were they used again? That\’s because asbestos is resistant to chemical and thermal degradation. If that didn’t awaken a brain cell in you, then basically what I meant was that asbestos was used in materials that were used to build residential and industrial buildings for fireproof and insulation purposes. But the important thing to note here is that, this material is still present in buildings, and when it’s handled, damaged or disturbed, all hell breaks loose. Yup. If they\’re inhaled by workers, they can be exposed to a significant health risk. But what exactly are these health risks? Read below to be enlightened of just a few of them.
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Mesothelioma.
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The name of this disease sounds pretty Greek, but what it exactly is kind, of terrifies me. Well nothing new I guess, with the various names given to different types of cancer, this is yet another one killing more people with every increasing year. Anyways, about the disease, it’s a cancer that affects the lining of your lungs and the lining surrounding the lower digestive track. Again, this type is specifically caused by inhaling asbestos, be it during an office demolition or a right house demolition. The worst part is that, like most cancer diseases, by the time it’s diagnosed it’s almost always fatal. One step you could take to reduce this disease from killing hundreds of people is by simply hiring a demolition contractor who would be responsible for the safe removal of asbestos.
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Asbestosis.
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Just like depression that follows after a heartbreak, asbestosis is a condition similar to it. It can slowly, progressively kill you, twenty to thirty years after you\’re exposed to or breathed a considerable amount of dust or asbestos in the cause of your work. If you\’re working anywhere around dust, or have a fetish to hammer and drill and do carpentry work for your entire life, then I guess you need to be extremely careful. What exactly happens is that, the more you work with it, and breath it, asbestos can scar your lungs and shrink them, which in turn will result in you getting short of breath, as your lungs cannot hold much air as they used to. So whether you\’re working at a demolition Brisbane site or simply doing it as a hobby, all you have to is take the necessary precautions to be less exposed to it.
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Pleural Thickening.
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Once again, another common result of asbestos exposure. Pleural thickening occurs when extensive scarring thickens the lining of the lungs causing the person affected to have trouble breathing and chest pains. According to studies carried out, from around 5 to 13.5 percent of asbestos exposed workers carry this disease with them. And the worst part? You don’t see the symptoms kick in early. In fact, in most cases there\’s a twenty year gap between the exposure to asbestos and the doctor\’s diagnosis of plural thickening. However, there are other causes of pleural thickening like, chronic pneumonia, tuberculosis and a few other lung diseases, but the asbestos related one, affects both lungs whilst the rest usually affect only one. All I ask is that if you or anyone who you know have a history with asbestos exposure, then keep in mind to get accurate diagnosis before it’s too late.