Asbestos Around Us : Are You Endangered?

Photo source: Matthew Niemi

Still quite a short time ago, asbestos used to be admired for its great qualities such as resistance to heat, fire, chemicals or wear. All this made it a very desirable substance.

For a long time, people used to make a lot of things out of asbestos, such as building material, clothes or toys. But then, some 50 years ago, it was found out that it was poisonous. Asbestos poisoning – what is it actually? The advantage and curse of asbestos at the same time is its durability, which has been exploited in various industries. On the other hand, when present in human bodies, the body has no means of disposing of it.

As long as asbestos stays compound in the substance it is part of, then it is harmless. What is dangerous for humans is breathing in the tiny needle-like asbestos fibers, when they become airborne. The trouble with asbestos poisoning is that its primary symptoms such as dry cough, tightness in the chest or shortness of breath match the symptoms of numerous less serious diseases. Regarding also the long latency period, it often happens that the real cause of the problem is found out only when it is too late.

The most often diseases that have been linked to asbestos poisoning are asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer. The lungs of an asbestosis patient are attempting to dissolve the asbestos fibers and they create an acid that scars the tissue which then hardens. Eventually, the person can breath only with problems. Mesothelioma is a kind of cancer that affects the outer lung lining. There is currently no known cure for this disease. Mesothelioma can be caused also by only a brief, even accidental exposure to asbestos poisoning (unlike asbestosis). Asbestos-induced lung cancer has been responsible for more than half of all deaths triggered by asbestos poisoning. On the other hand, when treated in its early stage, patients can enjoy an active lifestyle for many years after the diagnosis.

Asbestos in Canada: Canada used to be one of the main producers of asbestos in the world. The asbestos mines in Quebec are still functioning and Canada still supports asbestos use in less harmful forms. Nearly all office and public buildings or schools finished before the 1980s used asbestos for thermal, fire and sound insulation. The most ‘at risk’ people tend to be the workers who have installed asbestos materials, mainly if they ignored the health and safety guidelines and allowed dust from the installation process to escape into the atmosphere and then breathed in this poisonous toxin. The use of asbestos still hasn’t been banned in Canada. However, things have improved a little – using asbestos as insulation material has been banned in Ontario in 1973. Local governments have made an effort to get rid of asbestos from public buildings, and any job involving asbestos installation or removal is under very strict regulations.

Asbestos in Toronto: Ontario has severe rules concerning asbestos in buildings, especially since 2007. If a landlord finds any strange substance deteriorating in the building he owns, he has to submit it for examination. If the presence of asbestos is confirmed, elimination by certified professionals has to take place without delay. If there is any danger of continuous deterioration, the whole affected area has to be removed, again following strict safety regulations.

The most common use of asbestos in non-domestic buildings: – insulation on pipes – ceiling tiles – panels boards – cement panels – sprayed coatings on walls – asbestos ropes and cloth – textures coating The most common use of asbestos in residential homes in Toronto: – exterior surfaces: deck undersheeting, roof felt and shingles, window putty – all kinds of insulation – flooring: vinyl asbestos sheets, tiles and undersheeting – interior surface: sprayed-on acoustic ceilings, acoustic tiles – appliances: water heaters, range hoods, clothes dryers and dishwashers A sufficient solution for the whole issue of asbestos hasn’t been discovered yet. A year ago, there was the Sunrise Propane blast, as most of us can still recall. Asbestos debris hit 5 streets and around 3000 residents had to leave their homes, until the whole region was carefully cleaned up. The danger posed by asbestos is still here and local governments have to keep struggling with it. But it is really difficult to say how dangerous asbestos actually is. It has been found out that only 0.5% of asbestos in material is really poisonous, so that’s also why it is so difficult to trace back all the possible dangers.

There are professional companies that you can call and they will inspect your home in case you have even the smallest suspicion it might have been affected (there is a list of such companies available in the GTA region). Anyway, people should never try to manipulate with the suspect material on their own!