A lot of people are worried about asbestos, but what they do not realize is that undisturbed asbestos usually poses little or no problems. On the other hand, everything should be done to prevent the release of asbestos fibres as they can cause serious damage to your health, especially to your lungs and be the cause of cancers. That is why asbestos surveys or asbestos removal should be done as soon as you find out that there is asbestos somewhere. It is usually very difficult to see whether there is asbestos or not in a building or a home and that is why if you are not sure or have doubts, you should contact a company that will carry out asbestos surveys to find out more. It is important to know though that if you think that you are living in a house with asbestos there is no need to panic. As long as asbestos is not damaged or disturbed, it is safe. That is why you should never do any type of work on asbestos materials like sawing it or drilling it. The best thing to do is to contact specialists that will advise you of what to do and if an asbestos survey is necessary or if you need asbestos removal straight away. As asbestos was commonly used between the fifties and the eighties, you will be most likely to find some in places like rainwater fall pipes, fire blankets, garage and shed roofs or even in floor tiles. Interestingly, most people are exposed to a very low amount of asbestos that is present in the atmosphere but this as no effects of their health. This is completely normal since asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral. On the other hand, asbestos fibres and dust are pretty dangerous if inhaled over a certain period of time and in higher concentrations. This inhalation can even cause lung diseases like cancer for example. People really need to be aware of the danger of asbestos since it is the greatest single cause of deaths at work in the United Kingdom, and that is why asbestos awareness training are being done more and more in companies and that asbestos surveyors inspect many building to do asbestos surveys and find out whether the buildings we are working in are safe or not. Asbestos related diseases are responsible in the United Kingdom of around four thousand deaths every year.
Author:
The author is working for a company doing asbestos surveys, legionella risk assessment
