Asbestos is a killer. Steve McQueen famously blamed his own exposure to the mineral as the cause of the tumours that lead to his death. McQueen though is but one person whose death has been attributed to the exposure to the mineral, and many people have been exposed to it unknowingly. Asbestos has long been used in the construction industry, both domestic and industrial, due to its heat resistant capabilities.

-The Dangers of Asbestos

Asbestos is a mineral that appear in nature, and there are low levels of asbestos in the air that everyone breathes. The problems occur though when people are exposed to high concentrations of the asbestos dust and fibres, something that often occurs when building material made from it is disturbed. These asbestos fibres have been shown to lead to a number of diseases, including lung cancer. In the United Kingdom today it is the greatest cause of work related deaths.

-Identifying Asbestos

Asbestos is something that is extremely difficult to identify. In the United Kingdom asbestos was widely used in the building of homes and industrial units from the 1950s through to the 1980s, before the health implications of its usage was widely known. This means that many hundreds of thousands of homes could well have some element of asbestos usage within them. Without testing it is impossible to know if there is definitely asbestos present, and so it is much better to be aware of where asbestos has been used.

Outside of the house, asbestos was used in guttering and drainpipes. Inside though the mineral was used where heat needed to be insulated. Walls, ceilings and doors were often constructed with asbestos as part of the construction material, and insulation between floors was often also manufactured from it. The insulation of hot water pipes and storage heaters was also asbestos based.

Today the most common part of the home that still may have asbestos in its make up is not in the main building but is to be found in the roofs of garages and sheds. To this end when sales of properties are arranged a test is normally called for.

It is though worth remembering that asbestos was not just used in building materials, and the heat resistant properties of the mineral were also used for many years in the construction of oven gloves, ironing boards and fire blankets.

If there is any possibility that asbestos is present in the home then it is best to call in the experts, and local governments will have lists of those professionals certified to deal with it.

Learn more about this author, Tim Harry.
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