The amount of exposure that leads to disease in people is up for debate. While there are numerous cases of factory or other workers that have had heavy exposure to free, friable exposure for several years developing disease, there are also cases where exposure has been as short as some months or only a few weeks. Intensity of exposure is most probable as relevant as length of time.
Dust of asbestos is a vicious thing. Due to the chemical structure of the material, the dust is like a cloud of fine glass particles. While they will not harm your skin, they do great harm to the lungs. Making matters worse, asbestos dust is so fine that it is simply raised from asbestos material like ceiling tiles and walls. Once in the air, it is all but unseen.
While you're performing a renovation project, below are a number of helpful tips to remove asbestos dust:
- It's best to make use of hand tools to minimize the release of dust. Power tools are more probable to damage asbestos surfaces.
- If you require to sand, make it wet sand. Dry sanding releases asbestos fibres into the air.
- Moisten the asbestos material before working with it to reduce the danger of dust being released. Do not make use of a high-pressure jet.
- Increasing some dish-washing liquid to the water you use will assist soak up asbestos particles.
- Do not make use of an abrasive blasting system or any other high-pressure techniques to clean asbestos roofing, siding or cladding. Always make use of a low-pressure system.
- Clean the area you have been working in completely. Dispose of any waste cautiously and in reference to your local laws.