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Protecting Yourself from Asbestos Exposure at Work

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In the last twenty years in particular, the number of asbestos related illnesses has skyrocketed.  If you knew that fact without awareness of how asbestos effects health, you might think that we are currently under a siege of asbestos installations that is causing these problems. Actually, the opposite is the truth.  In the mid 1980s, federal and state governments have passed and enforced strict laws about the use of asbestos in any public property or for any product that will see wide public use.

The explosion of asbestos related lung diseases is the result of a widespread use of asbestos in a huge number of products but most prominently as insulation and building materials for public buildings, offices and homes from 1950 until 1985 when the practice was banned.  We can be grateful that the legal system finally got involved to put some controls on the ongoing threat this large presence of asbestos posed in the construction of the buildings all of us use every day.  

Adding to the problem was how asbestos related illness was "caught" and how it manifests itself.  Victims of the many asbestos related lung problems probably never knew they were inhaling asbestos fibers.  If asbestos is allowed to get into the air during a construction of a building or even after the asbestos product is in place, the fibers of the substance are so small that they are easily breathed into the lungs where they lie dormant for decades before surfacing as lung cancer and other serious medical problems.

It is helpful to know some of these facts about asbestos and how it can pose a health risk so you can make some determination about the level of risk of you and our family and make some plans on how to avoid contamination at home and at work.  Studies have verified that most asbestos related illnesses were contracted by people who worked directly with asbestos in the line of their employment.  So the first "front" in your battle against asbestos illnesses to make sure you are protected from exposure at work.

The level of risk you are at depends on two factors.  First, the nature of your work will make a big difference the potential that you might be exposed to asbestos fibers.  Secondly, the age of the building you are working in if you work indoors is a factor in your risk as well.  Because the use of asbestos as part of the insulation, siding or any other aspect of building materials was banned without exception in 1985, if the building you work in was built after that date, you have no risk of asbestos exposure.

But even if you are an office worker in an older building, it is likely that the building you are in has either been cleared of asbestos or it never had asbestos in it at all.  Your employer has access to data about the history of the building that they occupy, which can be shown to you upon request.  Even if the insulation of the building did involve asbestos, the only way that aspect of the construction of your building could become a threat is if the insulation is compromised in some way.  

If you have concerns about your safety, you are entirely within your rights to ask your employers about the details about the construction of the building you are in.  If they confirm that the building is insulated with asbestos, they are required by law to give you the details concerning inspections or other methods that have been executed to assure that your safe and the safety of your coworkers has been protected.
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