Why You Should Never Go Near Anything You Suspect Is Asbestos

Even though monumental cleanup efforts have been made in the last forty years to inspect, test, and remove asbestos, new asbestos cases are discovered every day. It would seem that, when asbestos was created, people got a little ahead of themselves and coated everything with this carcinogen. If you purchase an older property and you come across what you think is asbestos, you should never go near it. You should always request an asbestos inspection from a professional asbestos removal team like those at Hutzel & Associates, Inc. Here is why you should not go near suspected asbestos. 

The Professional Asbestos Removal Teams Do Not Go Near Asbestos Without HAZMAT Suits

Just to give you some idea of how dangerous asbestos really is, professional asbestos removal teams never go near anything that may be asbestos without fully suiting up in a HAZMAT suit. Before they can remove the HAZMAT suits, they have to go through a decontamination process. Then the suits are processed separately and cleaned to make absolutely certain that they are free of asbestos particles or fibers before the suits are donned again for another asbestos removal job.

Asbestos Particles Are Small Enough to Be Inhaled Accidentally

The biggest danger associated with asbestos is the fact that asbestos particles are microscopic and can accidentally be inhaled. Once these particles are inside your lungs, you develop all manner of diseases and illnesses. People often die from these diseases and illnesses, something which can be avoided if you do not go near anything you suspect is asbestos.

There Are Three Ways to Die From Asbestos Contact

Mesothelioma is a cancer that develops after contact with asbestos. It often takes years to develop, which is why lawsuits for mesothelioma cases have such a long statute of limitations. There are two other diseases associated with asbestos, and neither of these is particularly pleasant, either. Lung cancer is another disease. Asbestosis creates scar tissue plaques on the lining of the lungs, making it incredibly difficult to breathe when your lungs cannot expand because of the hard scar tissue. That is a lot of pain and suffering that does not need to happen.

Some Asbestos Is Disguised

To complicate matters, some asbestos is disguised as another product. Vermiculite insulation in your walls and attic may contain asbestos. An unbelievable seventy percent of this product contains asbestos, but you would never know it because vermiculite is thin, metallic, and shiny. It looks nothing like a white, powdery substance. For that reason alone, do not enter old attics or open walls in an old home or commercial building without an asbestos inspection first.