Cloth, paper, cement, and plastic all have something in common. They all used to be made out of a dangerous mineral called asbestos. Asbestos is an extremely effective insulator and was also able to strengthen any of the materials it was used to make, such as the previously mentioned cloth, paper, cement, and plastic. Asbestos was also used in the construction of many homes and other buildings. These buildings currently have to go through some sort of abatement process if they have been shown to contain asbestos in them. Asbestos is an extremely dangerous mineral. Exposure to the mineral will result in multiple types of cancers and diseases. Most of the diseases and cancers affect the lungs due to the airborne quality of asbestos fibers. Asbestos fibers can cause disease on any human surface that they touch, however.
When asbestos is detected within a home, it must undergo an abatement process. During the abatement process, a specially trained team will enter the building, set it up for asbestos removal, and remove all of the dangerous asbestos. Oftentimes, asbestos is found within the insulation of a building, meaning that asbestos abatement can be a long and arduous process. The nature of the asbestos also makes asbestos removal difficult. Asbestos fibers are incredibly small, so small that they can easily go airborne. They are also so light that when airborne, they will stay within the air for up to 72 hours before they settle. Due to this fact, asbestos abatement teams often need to wet down the entire area before removing the asbestos in an attempt to dissuade as many asbestos fibers as possible from going airborne.
Although asbestos is known to be a very dangerous mineral, it is still not completely banned in the United States. Asbestos is still relied upon for a few industries, including the Chlor-alkali industry. Proponents of the use of asbestos in some of the industries in the United States state that the asbestos is handled very carefully and none of the workers are at risk for harmful asbestos exposure.
Asbestos still remains to be a very dangerous mineral, if you have asbestos in your home or building, be sure to get it abated today!