DIY House Renovators: Individuals with Highest Risk for Asbestos Exposure

A study which is published in medical Journal of Australia these days claim that the increase in the number of mesothelioma cases in Australia over the past ten years is the result of house renovation and DIY projects which include building products which contain asbestos. This domestic exposure has been known as the part of “the third wave” of asbestos caused disease, the first being millers, miners, and transport workers that used asbestos containing products.

Clinical Professor of Respiratory Medicine, Bill Musk, has discussed the risks of asbestos to human health, and hereunder are two most discussed question.

When did we find out about the dangerous impacts of asbestos on human health?

Asbestos was eventually banned in Australia in 2003. The issue is the stuff which is still out there, mostly at homes.

Important Details regarding the Study on Asbestos-related Diseases

The West Australian Mesothelioma Registry has already recorded every single case of mesothelioma which has occurred in the state since the outset of the epidemic in the early 60s. what we have been witnessing is where the exposure to asbestos comes from. In the early time, the most dominant proportion of the cases was those who were involved in the mining of asbestos in Wittenoom Gorge situated in Western Australia’s Pilbara Region. With time, the number of asbestos-related cases from Wittenoom has remained fairly level since the mines there were closed in 1966. They are still occurring yet the number of individuals at risk is decreasing.

The second wave of cases of mesothelioma was in those who had been using asbestos, such as mechanics and carpenters. Anyone that used asbestos as part of trade was at risk and the cases have been greater proportionally.

These days, we have got a number of cases, increasingly, related to people that have been exposed to do-it-yourself house renovations at their homes. The risk for people who undertakes DIY projects, like the others, is proportion to the amount of the exposure to asbestos. However it is very essential to remember that there is no level of exposure at which there is no risk involved. There are a lot of people out there that do their own little work at home and their risks are quite small due to the large number of individuals that do that kind of thing, the number of asbestos-related cases has been rocketing.

Where is the Exposure coming from?

Asbestos was initially used widely in the 50s and 60s as construction material. And there is nothing wrong with it as building material, it is just the health impacts that we are much concerned with. so there were a lot of asbestos roofs used on houses, typically during this period yet it fell soon after because better and safer materials came on board and thus health risks began to be known. It is those older houses that are most likely to have asbestos in their construction. If people think there is asbestos in their houses, they should not touch it, they are supposed to get it identified and in case there are going to removals on the materials, they have to take all the recommended warnings for the removal. This is a curable disease and avoiding the exposure to asbestos is obviously the best way to do so.

 

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