Cases of asbestos exposure emerged from workplace related contact with the deadly material. For instance, tradesmen in the steel mills, electrical, plumbing, mining, milling, shipbuilding (navy mesothelioma & asbestos exposure navy ships), and insulation industries, among others, became the breeding grounds of the infection that was eventually diagnosed as mesothelioma. Demolition workers, firefighters, drywall removers, and similar tradesmen continue to be at risk of workplace exposure to asbestos.
Asbestos exposure in your workplace
Workplace exposure regulations were put in place after the huge numbers of cases that emerged to establish the link between mesothelioma cancer and workplace asbestos exposures. Federal and state governments took notice and The Occupational and Safety Health Administration (OSHA) was set up. This agency formulates and enforces workplace exposure laws designed to protect workers from professional health hazards. These laws define the permissible workplace exposure level at 0.1 fibers per cubic centimeter for an eight-hour workday and one fiber per cubic centimeter in any thirty-minute time frame. It has also been made mandatory for employers to provide employees with protective clothing and respiratory equipment, sufficient hygiene facilities (to wash off clinging asbestos fibers), routine health exams, and training regarding working safely with asbestos.
Asbestos exposure and workers health issues
Exposure to asbestos can be dangerous and this can happen anywhere: the work place, the home or the community. Since the time it was first mined in the 1800s and recognized for its numerous advantageous properties, asbestos has found wide application: car brake shoes and clutch pads; building materials, including ceiling and floor tiles; paints, coatings, and adhesives; plastics; vermiculite-containing garden products; and some talc-containing crayons. After mesothelioma was diagnosed in people working with the material and those living close to asbestos mines, the use has been reduced drastically.The attack on the World Trade Center in New York City also directed attention once more to the health hazards related to asbestos as hundreds of tons of asbestos were released into the atmosphere during the attack. Factors involved in asbestos exposure that affect an individual were again enumerated:
- Quantity of asbestos a person was exposed to
- Time duration of exposure
- The size, shape and chemical makeup of the asbestos fibers
- The presence of other lung diseases
- Factors that abetted the risk from asbestos exposure like smoking
Occupational exposure to asbestos
Exposure to asbestos in the workplace cannot be eliminated altogether. So control measures to prevent or reduce occupational exposure to asbestos have to be taken; these include:
- Make sure fibers of asbestos are sealed and not free-flowing or floating in the air. Damaged asbestos must be repaired by wrapping the asbestos, removing it and replacing it with a newer, less harmful substance, or enclosing the affected area.
- Occupations that involve contact with asbestos must mandate that workers wear adequate and right type of gear like a HEPA filtered respirator that has been individually fitted for the worker. Consult an OSHA specialist if required.
- Do not work with dry asbestos; wetting it prevents dust from rising and impedes inhalation of asbestos fibers.
- Educate and train workers on the dangers of asbestos. A major part of both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) is to prevent exposures in the workplace through education.
Non-occupational exposure to asbestos
Asbestos found in nature (near a mine), in a household environment, school environment, and more may cause non-occupational exposure to the mineral ending in the same fatal malady. A number of consumer products like heat resistant fabrics, roofing materials, paints, plastics, ceiling and floor tiles contain asbestos. If these break, the ensuing dust will be inhaled by users and can cause grievous illness. Innocent members of a worker's family are also victims of non-occupational exposure through asbestos fibers brought home in clothing, shoes, hair and other body parts.
Jobs exposing you to asbestos
There are many asbestos related occupations since the material found extensive application. A representative list includes the following:
- mining; insulation specialists and installers;
- military personnel, especially naval workers and officers;
- construction workers; pipe fitters; plumbers; electricians;
- painters; tradesmen;
- maintenance workers; floor coverers; welders;
- mill workers;
- aerospace workers;
- mechanics; and demolition crews