Asbestos fibers – and their dangers – continue long past the worksite.

Asbestos was once touted as a convenient and cost-effective solution to many of America’s oldest problems. It was used to fireproof buildings, insulate electrical consoles, and reinforce a wide range of consumer products. For nearly a century, asbestos was integral to industry—and, seemingly, irreplaceable. 

We now know, of course, that asbestos is anything but safe. While asbestos’s reign as the nation’s “miracle mineral” may have been short-lived, it has nonetheless left a highly toxic and increasingly uncertain legacy. 

U.S. Regulation of On-the-job Asbestos

The United States began to restrict authorized uses of asbestos in the early 1970s, culminating in a blanket ban on most asbestos-containing materials in 1989. 

However, the Environmental Protection Agency never ordered the asbestos industry to recall its products or warn families living inside asbestos-infected homes. According to some reports, an estimated 30 million homes still contain significant—and potentially life-threatening—concentrations of asbestos. 

For homeowners, families, and hardworking Americans of all ages, asbestos continues to pose a critical threat to public health and individual well-being. If you, or a loved one, believe that your home or worksite could be asbestos-affected, you may need to take special precautions to ensure your own safety.

The Many Risks of Asbestos Exposure 

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral. It can be found across the United States, with large deposits scattered throughout Montana, California, and the Appalachian Mountains.  

Unlike arsenic, mercury, or uranium, asbestos is not inherently dangerous. If it is left undisturbed, it poses little threat to public health. 

However, asbestos has rarely been left alone. Even ancient civilizations traded in asbestos, which was prized for its durable character and resilience to fire, electricity, and corrosion. 

Asbestos Encircles the Globe

In Europe, asbestos extraction began to skyrocket during the Industrial Revolution. 

Meanwhile, in the United States, domestic production of asbestos-containing materials rose during World War I, eventually peaking in the 1970s. Mineral companies sold asbestos to processors, factories, and manufacturers, who would bond raw asbestos fibers with other compounds to create an assortment incredibly versatile products. 

Unfortunately, asbestos’s strength is also its greatest danger. 

When old or unstable asbestos-based products begin to disintegrate, they become friable, or easily crumbled. Friable asbestos fibers are microscopic—light enough to linger in the air, and small enough to inhale. 

Once asbestos is inside the lungs, it is all but impossible to eradicate. It can infiltrate the respiratory system, scarring tissue, inflaming organs, and provoking the uncontrolled cellular growth characteristic of cancer. 

Asbestos exposure has been proven to cause, or exacerbate, medical conditions including, but not limited to, the following: 

However, asbestos-related diseases are very unlike other types of illness. Influenza and novel coronavirus, for instance, have short latency periods—in other words, most people who are infected begin exhibiting symptoms within a matter of days or weeks. 

Asbestos-related conditions, though, have latency periods that are best measured in years and decades. Many people, especially people who once worked with asbestos, never realize their body could be harboring a life-threatening disease until they receive a diagnosis and are told that they are terminal. 

Asbestos Testing: Your First Line of Defense Against Asbestos Exposure 

Every American will be exposed to asbestos at some point in their lives. For most people, the occasional encounter with this carcinogen is incidental and of little consequence. 

Nevertheless, government researchers believe that no amount of asbestos exposure can be considered safe. People who are exposed to asbestos regularly—at home, at work, or in school—are more likely to develop asbestos-related diseases than people who keep asbestos at arm’s length.  

Identifying asbestos can be difficult, though, even for professionals. Some asbestos-containing materials, like loose-fill asbestos insulation, has a distinctive appearance. However, most asbestos products are indistinguishable from non-asbestos-containing products. 

Testing for asbestos is often the only surefire means to confirm, or deny, the presence of asbestos in a home or workplace. 

Common asbestos testing tools include the following: 

  • Asbestos Air Tests: An asbestos air test is typically performed by a government agency or a specially licensed professional. During an asbestos air test, the assessor will use a modified filter and pump to collect an air sample. These samples will then be tested for asbestos using phase contrast microscopy or transmission electron microscopy. 
  • Asbestos Self-Test Kits: Asbestos take-home kits can be obtained through some public health agencies and licensed asbestos abatement companies. An asbestos self-test kit could be used to test suspected asbestos-contaminated clothing, or suspected asbestos-containing building material. Any homeowner who attempts to collect an asbestos sample without professional assistance should exercise ample caution, making sure to isolate the suspected asbestos product before and after testing. 
  • Asbestos Database Test: The Law Offices of Justinian C. Lane, Esq. – PLLC, maintain an asbestos database, including registries of workplaces and companies known to have been asbestos-contaminated. 

If a sample or search returns an affirmative result, confirming the presence of asbestos, homeowners may need to consider their options for removal. 

The Importance of Asbestos Abatement 

Asbestos abatement is the process of removing asbestos from a contaminated home, structure, or other property. 

Asbestos abatement is not always necessary. 

When potential sources of asbestos exposure are sealed away—trapped beneath floors, or left behind walls—they pose little to no risk of inhalation. 

But you may need to consider asbestos abatement if: 

  • You are an employer. Federal agencies, including the E.P.A. and O.S.H.A., regulate asbestos exposure and asbestos applications in the workplace. If aerosolized asbestos concentrations exceed a certain threshold, employers may need to pause operations or consider removed suspected sources of contamination. 
  • You are planning renovations, remodeling, or demolition. Any home that was built during or before the 1980s could contain asbestos. While historical asbestos products are not necessarily dangerous, they could be disturbed during the course of routine home renovations or demolition work. If asbestos products are disturbed, they could crumble and become friable, threatening the health of everyone in their vicinity. 
  • You are a homeowner. Every state has its own laws on liability. However, in many jurisdictions, a homeowner who knows, or should have known, that their property contains asbestos could be held liable for any asbestos-related injuries suffered by guests or future occupants. 

Asbestos Removal Procedures

Asbestos abatement professionals typically employ either or both of the following strategies to remove asbestos from an affected property: 

  • Encapsulation. Encapsulation is considered a cost-effective and less-intrusive alternative to asbestos removal. During encapsulation, the abatement company will place a special sealant over the asbestos-based product. This sealant can envelop friable asbestos fibers within an adhesive matrix, preventing the release of fibers into the surrounding environment. 
  • Removal. If encapsulation is not an option, asbestos may have to be removed from the property and transported to an authorized asbestos landfill. Asbestos removal can be a time-consuming and expensive process, but it is the only way to complete minimize the threat of asbestos exposure and asbestos-related legal liability. 

While professional asbestos abatement is always recommended, some homeowners may elect to remove small amounts of asbestos without assistance. Anyone who handles asbestos without special training should exercise caution and ensure that they are complying with state and federal rules on the safe disposable of asbestos materials. 

Important Steps in Asbestos Abatement

Appropriate precautions for handling asbestos-containing materials, like asbestos ducts or asbestos shingles, could include the following measures: 

  1. Sending suspected asbestos-containing materials to a laboratory for testing;  
  2. Isolating suspected asbestos-containing materials using plastic sheeting; 
  3. Spraying confirmed asbestos products with water or a surfactant to minimize the risk of aerosolization; 
  4. Quickly moving stabilized asbestos products into a labeled, airtight container; and 
  5. Transporting asbestos waste to an authorized asbestos landfill or authorized asbestos recycling center. 

Although asbestos removal and abatement can minimize the risk of contracting an asbestos-related disease later in life, it is difficult—if not downright impossible—to predict the long-term effects of asbestos exposure.