Asbestos safety is an important topic every family must know about, especially when children’s safety is concerned. Although asbestos and asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) are tightly regulated by federal and state environmental agencies and are no longer widely used in the U.S., this doesn’t mean that you or your kids are not at risk of being exposed to the toxic minerals or products which contain asbestos. However, knowing the facts about asbestos and how to keep your family from being exposed will help keep you and your kids safe.
What is Asbestos?
Asbestos is the name given to a group of six naturally-occurring minerals which share certain physical traits and attractive properties. These minerals are fibrous in form and can be found in every region of the world. Their fibrous nature gives them so much flexibility that they can be woven into fabrics. They also resist high temperatures, fire, chemical reactions, cold, and electrical currents.
In the U.S. and most of Western Europe, asbestos and ACMs were once used in large amounts. Until the U.S. government identified asbestos as a health hazard, ACMs were used in a wide range of industrial and consumer products. The asbestos industry and various government agencies touted the mineral as essential for safety, especially when it was used as fire retardant or insulation. Numerous factories, power plants, oil production and storage facilities, auto repair shops, public buildings, and residential homes built in the first 70 years of the 20th Century contained one or more products made from asbestos.
What many people did not realize was that asbestos is highly toxic to people. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), asbestos exposure can cause lung cancer, asbestosis, and malignant mesothelioma, a rare but deadly form of cancer. Because the asbestos industry covered up medical reports about its products’ toxic effects, the resulting increase in asbestos-related diseases has triggered a large number of mesothelioma lawsuits.
What You Need to Know About Asbestos
Before the EPA officially declared asbestos as a toxic substance, it was interwoven into several aspects of 20th Century American life. In construction, building materials such as roofing shingles or insulation were made with asbestos. Pipes that conducted steam and boilers contained components made with asbestos. Parts such as brake pads and clutches were manufactured with ACMs. Even people who didn’t work directly with asbestos were exposed, including teachers, school-age kids, and parents. Schools and homes were built with materials derived from asbestos. In addition, many appliances made from 1930 to the late 1970s had components that contained ACMs.
Asbestos in the Home
Asbestos has been replaced by other materials that have the same beneficial properties but not the toxic side effects. However, there are still millions of houses, public buildings, and abandoned job sites which contain dangerous amounts of asbestos.
If you live in a house built before the 1980s, it might contain asbestos in many areas, especially in the insulation, pipes, or furnace. Under ordinary conditions, the asbestos deposits in your home are safe unless human activity, such as tearing down old walls or upgrading the insulation in the attic, stirs them. Once the fibrous dust gets into the air, it can be inhaled or swallowed. Everyone in your family is then at risk unless the asbestos is removed by a licensed asbestos-removal contractor.
Asbestos in Schools
If your child attends a school that was built between 1930 and 1980, it might still contain asbestos deposits. Every school district has strict regulations on asbestos-abatement programs that comply with EPA guidelines, and maintenance procedures are designed to keep your kids safe. You also have the right to know about these procedures and any plans made in the event that asbestos is disturbed. Contact your school’s administration department to learn about its asbestos removal policy. It’s important to remain proactive. If you feel your child’s school isn’t doing what needs to be done to protect students, contact the EPA immediately.
