Asbestos is a fibrous mineral that is found in nature. It is fireproof, chemical resistant, and extremely solid. It is quickly woven into fabric and used to produce fireproof garments. Even though it is a beautiful material, it is very dangerous to the workers and labourers who deal with it. It causes diseases such as asbestosis, fibrosis, asbestos warts, and even cancer. Asbestos Removal Oxford is been researched all over the world.
Mesothelioma, a fatal illness, is the most heinous of all the diseases affected by asbestos contamination. As a result, several countries outlawed asbestos use, logging, and manufacturing a few decades back. However, several nations, including India and China, have not banned asbestos completely. And developing nations that have removed asbestos are also suffering the consequences of asbestos contamination. This is attributed to the long delay time of diseases caused by asbestos contamination. For example, mesothelioma can grow up to four decades after asbestos exposure.
One issue with asbestos is that when it is extracted and handled, a large amount of asbestos dust and fibres are released into the environment. Since they are light and transparent, the workers can quickly inhale them. The problem begins after that since these fibres are very dangerous when inhaled. For example, when asbestos fibres come into contact with the mesothelium lining, they react negatively with the cells, resulting in tumours. Tumours may develop in organs such as the lungs, heart, and abdomen. Mesothelioma is the medical term for this condition. These tumours can also spread across the body, eventually due to a lack of food.
Asbestos is a highly favoured material in all forms of building work because it is extremely solid, flexible, and fireproof. Asbestos is used in paints, mortar, tubing, pipes, and boards, among other things. Asbestos pollution threatens not only miners but also tenants, schoolchildren in classrooms, officers in workplaces, and everyone else.
Volunteer Firefighters:
Previously, firefighters wore asbestos-woven clothing. As a result of asbestos contamination, this fireproof clothing posed several health risks. Even now, firefighters are vulnerable to asbestos as old structures crumble due to flames. Firefighters are more at risk in older structures built since the 1980s. Asbestos is an extremely friable substance, meaning that it quickly breaks off and becomes airborne when disturbed or destroyed by fire. Firefighters will inhale vast quantities of these microscopic fibres, increasing their chances of contracting an asbestos-related disease such as mesothelioma unknowingly.
Two new research on cancer risks in firefighters discovered a rise in mesothelioma occurrence in the United States and Nordic countries such as Norway and Sweden. According to these statistics, mesothelioma is an occupational hazard specific to firefighting, regardless of geographical area, and one that has been on the rise in recent decades.
Nuclear power plants:
Power plant boilers and turbines are mainly lined. Asbestos was used in power plants to shield equipment from high temperatures. Pipes, boilers, and generators were often insulated with asbestos. As a result, power plant employees were exposed to asbestos. Asbestos-containing chemicals can also remain in power plants, exposing workers to asbestos.
As is also the case for industrial pollutants, some of the same properties that make asbestos so valuable in the industry its incredible resistance to physical and chemical degradation—contribute to its longevity in the atmosphere as well as in the lungs, and hence to the severity of its health effects. Since asbestos is so durable, it normally outlasts the materials of which it is used. When a product, such as asbestos-cement roof tiles, which are now commonly used in India, deteriorates, the asbestos fibres can be released back into the atmosphere.