Containment of Asbestos Key to Preventing Asbestosis

May 25, 2010

Salt Lake City, UT The onset of asbestosis, a disease caused by contact with asbestos fibers, is a very real concern. Many lawsuits have been filed on behalf of individuals exposed to asbestos fibers 30 years before the onset of asbestosis.



What many fail to realize is that the mere presence of asbestos in a building—such as old fashioned spray-on ceilings or the asbestos wraps around old pipes—does not constitute a safety hazard. The concern emerges when asbestos is disturbed, as during a renovation.



For that very reason the renovation industry is tightly controlled, says Robert Ford, manager of the air quality division for the state of Utah. In the 5/16/10 edition of the Deseret Morning News, Ford noted that of all substances regulated under the federal Clean Air Act, asbestos has been linked to the most deaths.



What some may not realize is that asbestos was never banned outright. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed an asbestos ban to be implemented in three stages over a six-year period, but the proposal was vigorously opposed by industry and was eventually struck down by a federal appeals court.



Asbestos is still mined in Quebec and used in products such as modern-day brake pads. However, its use is tightly regulated, as is its removal from buildings when renovations threaten to disturb existing asbestos.



In Utah, state regulations governing the removal of asbestos go beyond the federal guidelines adopted in 2000. Critics say it goes too far.



"It is a very stringent standard, a very protective standard," Ford told the Deseret Morning News, adding that some have questioned why the division is exercising regulatory oversight on projects as small as remodeling an older home or fixing up a fourplex. "Finding the right level of regulatory control is very challenging for a state agency," Ford said. "There are some who feel the state is too exuberant and others who will say you are not doing enough."



Safety advocates say you can never be too cautious with asbestos. The concern is greater with smaller renovations than larger projects that require skilled contractors and labor who know how to protect not only their own workers, but also bystanders and passersby who may unknowingly come into contact with asbestos fibers.



But individual homeowners or small contractors who may not be aware of the risks to their health and that of their families and neighbors. Homeowners and small contractors may not know, for example, how to treat work clothes exposed to asbestos fibers.



The failure to properly contain asbestos fibers in the immediate work area could affect neighboring residents or passersby, who could unknowingly breath in fibers in the air, or carry drifting fibers on their clothing to their destination.



In Utah, asbestos-related phone calls to the agency average about 5000 per year, Ford said. The agency undertakes about 1400 active inspections each year to ensure regulations are upheld by both contractors and individual homeowners.



Any homeowner or contractor that fails to take the necessary precautions could risk an asbestosis lawsuit, given the possibility for asbestos dust or debris to migrate far beyond the work area if not properly contained.