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Asbestos
Briefly on Asbestos
:For years asbestos was known as the "material of a thousand uses." It was used for insulation, fireproofing and soundproofing in offices, homes and theaters around the county, as well as a host of other applications.But in recent years asbestos has been found to cause chronic and often fatal lung diseases, including asbestosis and certain forms of lung cancer.
Forms and Uses
Asbestos is a naturally occurring family of minerals formed by combinations of magnesium and silicon. These minerals take the form of hollow, microscopic fibers which are nearly indestructible and can be densely packed - making a tough, flexible and very useful material.
The forms of asbestos covered by the final OSHA standards include:Chrysotile, or white asbestos - used as insulation, fireproofing and soundproofing.Amosite, or brown asbestos - used in high-friction application such as brake shoes and clutchesCrocidolite, or blue asbestos - not as common as the other two formsCompounds of "asbestiform" minerals - bond chemically with asbestos.
Since its earliest use, asbestos surfacing material was applied for decorative and acoustical purposes in buildings and was later applied as insulation coating to protect structural steel during fires.
Health Effects
Asbestosis
When bonded together, asbestos fibers pose little hazard. But if they are released from their bonding material - or matrix- these fibers can break down into microscope "fibrils" as small as five microns (five millionth of a meter) in length.
These tiny fibers are what make asbestos so dangerous. If inhaled them, they can enter the lungs and lodge in tiny air sacs called "alveoli." It is through these air sacs that oxygen enters the blood and carbon dioxide is removed.When asbestos fibers enter the alveoli, they irritate the thin alveoli membrane, leaving scar tissue which oxygen cannot penetrate.
This condition is called asbestosis. As more and more of the alveoli are affected, oxygen starvation sets in, resulting in severe disability or death.
MESOTHELOMIA
Another area which can be affected is the pleura - the membrane lining the lungs. Asbestos fibers may migrate from the lungs into the pleura and cause a rare form of cancer called malignant mesothelioma.There are no warning signs that asbestos is causing problems in the body. It doesn't have any acute or short-term symptoms to alert you. In fact, many harmful effects do not appear for 20 years or more.Smoking can further increase the risk from asbestos exposure.
Asbestos fibers may irritate the lungs, making them even more sensitive to the risk of cancer from cigarette smoke. In fact, smokers who have worked with asbestos face as much as 90 times the risk of cancer as non-smokers.Recognizing Friable AsbestosOSHA records show that almost all asbestos products may in time become hazardous, especially if their bonding material - or matrix - is disturbed.Although all ACM may release fibers when their matrices are disturbed, certain minerals are known to be more easily damaged or to suffer more deterioration, and thus cause higher airborne fiber levels than others.
CONTAINING ASBESTOS FOR REMOVAL
Removal procedures
If removal is to be performed when users are still present in the building, it is usually necessary to relocate some users temporarily. Typically, the part of the building from which asbestos is being removed has to be sealed off in order to prevent contamination of the other areas. Methods of sealing off an area often include the use of Polyethylene film, duct tape and negative air pressure machines which are fitted with HEPA filters. The idea is that the contained area is pulling fresh air in as to not allow asbestos fibers into the surrounding environment.
Only a special vacuum cleaner that's designed for asbestos containment (class H) can be safely used when cleaning up during and after asbestos removal. Ordinary vacuum cleaners cannot be used, even those fitted with a HEPA filter.[1] An ordinary vacuum cleaner will expel the asbestos fibres into the room air.
If the building is closed to normal users, it may be necessary to seal it off from outside atmosphere so that no accessible air is contaminated. Examples of asbestos removal enterprises include the Jussieu Campus (begun circa 1996 and still going on as of 2005) and the Tour Montparnasse (in 2005, projected duration was three years if the tower was emptied of its users, and ten years if it were not).
Removal is not the only means of asbestos abatement. Asbestos and asbestos-bearing materials may be "enclosed" or "encapsulated" to prevent building occupants from being exposed to the fibers.
An asbestos-containing building that is to be torn down may have to be sealed, to have its asbestos safely removed before ordinary demolition can be performed. The asbestos removal may take longer and cost more than the actual demolition. For example, the former seat of parliament of East Germany, the Palast der Republik, was stripped of most of its asbestos between 1998 and 2001, before it was finally demolished starting in 2006.
