The Asbestos Risk
With this post I want to bring awareness of the risks and the measures that the law currently requires to take cover in case your house is made of asbestos sheets, or more generally, if you have detected the presence of asbestos-containing parts of the building (eg, covered shelters, storage tanks, containers, etc. …).
Asbestos is a health hazard because of which it is composed of fibers that may be present in the workplace and life, and unknowingly inhaled. Releasing fibers into the environment can be done either at a physical handling / treatment or spontaneously, as in the case of brittle materials, worn or subjected to vibration, air currents, shocks, etc..
Exposure to asbestos fibers is associated with respiratory diseases such as absestos and malignant tumors of the lung, such as cancer, and serous membranes, especially the pleura, such as mesothelioma. They occur many years after exposure: 10 – 15 for asbestosis to even 20 to 40 for lung cancer and mesothelioma. In flat sheets and corrugated asbestos-cement, often used for roof construction in the postwar years until the ’70s, asbestos is not friable incorporated into a matrix, which, when in good condition, prevents the release spontaneous fibers. After years of installation, however, the covers show a deterioration by the action of acid rain, the temperature changes, wind erosion and plant organisms that cause corrosion with surface outcrop of the fibers and subsequent release of these in the air. The release of fibers in the shell is easily broken at the plates and areas where the cement matrix is corroded.