Should You Leave Asbestos in Your Home?
During the 1970s, a lot of scary information about asbestos came to light. This material has several characteristics that made it a popular choice for manufacturers during the first half of the 1900s. These qualities included its fitness as a fire retardant, its ability to absorb heat, its resistance to corrosion, and its high tensile strength. With so much in its favor, asbestos was used in thousands of different products, many of which can still be found in older homes, workplaces, stores, and even churches.
Asbestos Exposure
Unfortunately, asbestos contamination usually takes several years before symptoms begin to show. This means that families may be affected at home without knowing that they have been affected. Workers in factories that once produced asbestos may find out years later that their health has been comprised. The risks associated with asbestos poisoning include lung cancer and mesothelioma. Over time, the scarring that builds up in the lung tissue can cause death.
Should You Test Your Home for Asbestos?
It is best to leave asbestos alone, but you may not recognize whether or not the items in your home have the material unless it is labeled. If you…
READ MORE →Exposure to PCBs in Homes and the Workplace
PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are manufactured organic chemicals that may be present in homes or offices. The chemicals contain 209 different chlorinated chemicals. The PCBs may take the form of oily liquids or solids. They typically fall within a color range of colorless to light yellow. Because the PCBs don’t burn easily, they make good insulation material. This makes them useful in coolants and lubricants, and they are commonly used in items such as transformers and capacitors, as well as other electrical equipment. Although the manufacture of these chemicals was brought to a stop in 1977, they may still be old fluorescent lights or appliances that still contain PCBs.
Risk of Exposure
It is possible that homeowners are exposed to PCBs without being aware. Office workers could also be at risk because of lingering sources of PCBs. The other most common sources of PCBs, today, include:
- Some foods may have PCBs, such as fish that swam in contaminated waters. Typically, the fish at the top of the food chain have levels as high as the bottom feeders.
- Indoor air in older buildings, such as homes, offices, and schools with…
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