Can You Cover Over Asbestos Soffits?

Asbestos Exposure Illnesses

Asbestos, a fibrous mineral that’s chemically similar to talc, isn’t inherently harmful. However, a single airborne microscopic fiber could cause many serious illnesses which are usually fatal.

Mesothelioma, perhaps the condition most commonly associated with asbestos exposure, is a good example. This rare form of heart-lung cancer, which only asbestos exposure causes, is very aggressive. Once these tumors fully develop, cancerous cells quickly spread to other organs, mostly because the heart and lungs supply oxygen to the entire body.

These tumors are also very difficult to treat. Mesothelioma’s latency period is up to seventy years. Most people show no illness symptoms until it’s too late. Furthermore, doctors often don’t perform routine diagnostic tests in this area of the body. Bombarding the heart and lungs with X-rays isn’t a good idea. 

This location also affects traditional radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy treatments. Most patients cannot tolerate extensive radiation treatment in the meso lining between the lungs and heart. There’s too much collateral damage. Because strong radiation therapy isn’t an option, surgery and chemotherapy aren’t effective.

Making matters worse, misdiagnosis issues are common. If a patient shows signs of lung cancer, doctors usually assume NSCLC (non-small cell lung cancer), the most common form of lung cancer, is the culprit. The treatments that control NSCLC do nothing to contain mesothelioma.

Other asbestos exposure illnesses, like asbestosis, have similar issues. Asbestosis is a lung scarring disease that also has a very long latency period. At first, victims are simply out of breath following periods of intense exercise or other physical exertion. Eventually, as scar tissue blocks breathing passageways, these victims are short of breath even when they are at rest. By the time a doctor diagnoses asbestosis, the only treatment is usually a risky radical lung transplant.

Liability Matters

If the decorative soffits on your home were made before 1980, there’s a presumption that the owner knows about the danger of asbestos exposure. As a result, if the owner had a duty of care, the owner could be financially responsible for mesothelioma and other asbestos exposure diseases.

Landowners Can Be Liable for Not Inspecting a Building for Asbestos

In most states, this duty applies to business invitees, like shoppers, suppliers, and vendors, as well as invited social guests. A lesser duty of care could apply in some situations.

These owners may be able to pass the buck to the company which built and/or installed the soffits. Of course, that’s assuming this company is still in business. In the 1980s, many U.S. companies which used asbestos-laced products declared bankruptcy. Many such foreign companies are still in business. The strong civil court system in the United States forced asbestos companies to change the way they do business. That deterrence didn’t happen in countries that have more industry-friendly legal systems.

For landowners, addressing the hazard head-on is definitely the best approach, in terms of liability. It’s also the only way to protect the health and safety of business invitees and social guests.