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5 Things you Probably Don’t Know About Deadly Asbestos

We all know that asbestos is harmful and that there is an entire industry that is dedicated to testing and removing asbestos from structures all over Australia, both commercial and domestic. Here are a few surprising things about asbestos that you probably do not know.

1.       Asbestos is a naturally found material – Many people mistakenly believe that asbestos was a composite and man-made material, when in fact, asbestos is mined in numerous countries around the world, with Russia being a major miner of asbestos, which is still used for some things. Indeed, some countries on the world have not banned the use of asbestos, which is somewhat alarming.

2.       You Should Not Remove Asbestos Yourself – In the event you rip out a sheet of partition that contains asbestos, you are releasing thousands of minute asbestos slivers that become airborne and should a person inhale these, this could result in a serious form of lung disease. These minute slivers are invisible to the naked eye and calling asbestos removal in Perth is the obvious solution, as they can safely remove all traces of the harmful substance.

3.       Asbestos is Not Dangerous if Undisturbed – The fact that your kitchen partition is partly made from asbestos does not put you or your family in any immediate danger, indeed, the material could remain for many years without posing as risk; it is only when the material is agitated that the risk is there. A sheet of asbestos might have several coats of paint and in such a condition, there is no chance that the asbestos can become airborne, but when disturbed, the dangers are present.

4.       100,000 Asbestos-Related Deaths Annually – If you look at the global statistics regarding asbestos related fatalities, around 100,000 people die every year as a result of exposure to asbestos. Malignant cancers are caused by the presence of asbestos in the lungs, which might take 20 or 30 years to show itself, making exposure a very risky thing indeed.

5.       Some Countries Still Mine Asbestos – As strange as it might seem, there are still countries in the world that actively mine asbestos; Russia supplies 75% of the world’s asbestos and other nations like China still mine this deadly mineral. In Australia, the use of asbestos was banned in the 1980s, but if you own a property that was built pre-1980, it is possible asbestos is present.

There are serious risks attached to the exposure of asbestos and if you suspect that your home contains this material, talk to an approved asbestos removal contractor and have them carry out some tests.

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