What Should You Do If You Discover Asbestos in Your Home?
A Health Care Article Contributed by Tracy Morgan
If You Live in an Older House, Check for Asbestos.
Although it is scary to think that your house may indeed have asbestos products, it is essential that your home is checked thoroughly. Asbestos fibers can be released into the air for decades without being noticed, so it is essential to not only check for asbestos, but to know where to check for the materials that may contain asbestos.
Identifying Materials Likely to Contain Asbestos.
There are certain places where asbestos is most likely to be found. It was used prolifically to insulate older houses and can also be found in paint, tiles and many other older appliances such as water pipes and stoves. Any products using asbestos these days by law must be labeled as such. However, before the potential problems of asbestos were realized, this was not the case.
Therefore, this makes the discovery of asbestos all the more difficult as it is impossible to know whether asbestos has been used just by looking at any particular material. If you suspect that you may indeed have asbestos products in your house, it is strongly recommended that you allow a professional to check out your home. Asbestos fibers will only be released into the air if the materials containing asbestos have been tampered with.
A professional will know what to look for and how to take a necessary sample of the material to be analyzed.
Precautions to Take When Handling Suspect Asbestos Materials.
Although it is highly recommended that a professional is called in to check your house for asbestos, there may be occasions when you may choose to do the inspection yourselves. If anyone wishes to carry out a check of their own home, it is imperative that certain steps are taken to ensure that the likely hood of releasing toxic asbestos fibers is kept to a bear minimum.
Therefore, ensure that any room you suspect contains asbestos is not used - for example if you believe the paint on the walls of your bedroom contain asbestos, do not allow any other families member access to that room. Asbestos fibers will travel quicker and more effectively if a particular room is warm, therefore, before attempting to take a sample, ensure that all heating in that room is switched off.
It is of paramount importance that gloves are worn when collecting a sample and that your hands are washed thoroughly afterwards. Only a tiny sample is needed to be sent away for analysis, so try to ensure that only a small piece of suspect material is removed. Before cutting a sample from the material you will also need to ensure that a plastic sheet is covering the floor - this will catch any falling fibers and prevent them from dispersing on the carpet or floor covering.
After taking the required amount of sample, it should be placed in a container that is sealed, thus ensuring that none of the fibers can escape into the air, and then sent to the relevant organization for analysis to be carried out.
