Worried about asbestos? Just follow this guide
Mumbai, January 6: What exactly is asbestos?It is a generic name for a group of mineral fibres that is very resistant to heat and chemicals. ‘‘Asbestos is used widely in the manufacturing industry,’’ says Dr P R Arun, a toxics researcher with the India Centre for Human Rights and Law.
The fibre is often microscopic, a few hundred times thinner than human hair, virtually indestructible—and durable.
Though one variety, blue asbestos, is banned in India, it can still be found in old insulation material—and, of course, in old ships that come to India’s wrecking yards.
Do you own any?Most probably, yes. Because the widest use of asbestos is in asbestos cement, which is used to manufacture flat sheets and building boards.
There’s also some asbestos in various laminated products, in friction material like automobiles’ brake and clutch lining and brake pads, some kinds of coating paints, thermoplastics, some vinyl floor tiles, sewage and water supply cement pipes etc.
It’s also used in heavy equipment, petro-chemicals, nuclear power plants and thermal power plants.
So, can your car’s brake pad cause cancer?No, don’t panic. Asbestos is considered safe when bound together with substances that prevent the fibres from entering the environment.
‘‘Some particles could fly from an asbestos-cement roof, but only the fine particles—5 to 10 microns thick—produced in industrial or mechanical process like in factories or ship-breaking yards would reach the lungs,’’ says Vijay Kanhere of the Occupational Health and Safety Centre, a decades-old organisation that tests workers for various occupational health hazards.
Last year, Kanhere and a surgeon tested workers from an asbestos factory in Mumbai.
So naturally, mine workers and labourers in factories where raw materials include asbestos fibres would breathe air containing the carcinogenic fibres.
What’s the health risk?Exposure to the fibre over a period of time causes a gradual build-up of scar-like tissue in the lungs, a condition called asbestosis that several factory workers have been diagnosed with.
Besides, asbestos exposure could cause lung cancer, mesothelioma (a cancer of the lining of the chest and abdomen) or cancer of the gastrointestinal tract, if ingested.
The fibre is often microscopic, a few hundred times thinner than human hair, virtually indestructible—and durable.
Though one variety, blue asbestos, is banned in India, it can still be found in old insulation material—and, of course, in old ships that come to India’s wrecking yards.
Do you own any?Most probably, yes. Because the widest use of asbestos is in asbestos cement, which is used to manufacture flat sheets and building boards.
There’s also some asbestos in various laminated products, in friction material like automobiles’ brake and clutch lining and brake pads, some kinds of coating paints, thermoplastics, some vinyl floor tiles, sewage and water supply cement pipes etc.
It’s also used in heavy equipment, petro-chemicals, nuclear power plants and thermal power plants.
So, can your car’s brake pad cause cancer?No, don’t panic. Asbestos is considered safe when bound together with substances that prevent the fibres from entering the environment.
‘‘Some particles could fly from an asbestos-cement roof, but only the fine particles—5 to 10 microns thick—produced in industrial or mechanical process like in factories or ship-breaking yards would reach the lungs,’’ says Vijay Kanhere of the Occupational Health and Safety Centre, a decades-old organisation that tests workers for various occupational health hazards.
Last year, Kanhere and a surgeon tested workers from an asbestos factory in Mumbai.
So naturally, mine workers and labourers in factories where raw materials include asbestos fibres would breathe air containing the carcinogenic fibres.
What’s the health risk?Exposure to the fibre over a period of time causes a gradual build-up of scar-like tissue in the lungs, a condition called asbestosis that several factory workers have been diagnosed with.
Besides, asbestos exposure could cause lung cancer, mesothelioma (a cancer of the lining of the chest and abdomen) or cancer of the gastrointestinal tract, if ingested.
posted by Chris Placitella | 9:07 AM
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