TOXIC HAZARDS AND RISK ASBESTOS CONSUMERS

Introduction

Asbestos refer to minerals that are naturally occurring and are fibrous in nature. They can woven together and are characterized by very high tensile strength. These materials are also corrosive resistant and they also resist heat. Asbestos have been utilized in making transmission parts, bark parts, coatings, textiles, cement, paper, ceilings, floor tiles and even roofing shingles. Consequently, asbestos can be found in almost all aspects of people’s lives. In the US, the government usually recognizes certain varieties of minerals as asbestos products and these include; crocidolite, amosite, chrysolite, anthophyllite, actinolite and tremolite. (Pass, 2008)The paper shall look at the hazardous levels of this substance and how dangerous it is to the public.

Section 1
The reason why this chemical threat was chosen was that there are certain health related complications that can arise out of exposure to this substance. There are series of governmental and non governmental bodies that have addressed the issue of asbestos as a chemical threat today. For instance taking the example of EPA; the latter body has formed smaller groups to tackle the asbestos challenge and some of them include the Office of Air and Radiation Planning Standards. This Office is in charge of ensuring that air quality within the US is in order. This implies that the latter body is also in charge of the all the asbestos standards allowable in the atmosphere. Additionally, the Office of Prevention of Pesticides and Toxic substances is also accredited with the standards for training professionals exclusively in the field of asbestos. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration group is largely responsible for ensuring that workers are protected against asbestos use and that overall safety plans in various companies comply with regulations. Additionally, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry is largely responsible for ensuring that the public is informed about the risk of exposure to this product. It is also in charge of the health care concerns that can arise as result of exposure to asbestos. Consequently, as it can be seen from the latter agencies, the issue of asbestos as a hazard is a cause for concern given the fact that most of these agencies have been given task of dealing with it. (OSHA, 2008)

Section 2
It should be noted that exposure to this chemical threat can present very severe consequences in terms of one’s health. It may include any of the following categories of health threats;
• Mesothelioma
• Lung cancer
• Asbestosis

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that attacks the lining of sensitive organs in the body such as the heart, lungs, chest, abdomen etc. This form of cancer is particularly difficult to detect because most of its symptoms usually show up years after exposure. Lung cancer is also another health related concern and is one of the leading causes of death with regard to asbestos. This form of health complication usually attacks those people who work in asbestos rich areas such as mines, mills, constrictions etc. However, even the general public may be affected by it when air quality standards fall below par. When one suffers from lung cancer, they usually begin coughing, feeling chest pains, experiencing anemia and shortness of breath. (Pass, 2008)

The other notorious health complication associated with exposure to asbestos is asbestosis. This is a disease of the lungs that is categorized as a long term one. Most of the people who suffer from this disease are those ones who inhale asbestos fiber. What happen is that the fibers lodge passages in the lungs and prevent the lung from fully performing its functions. When one is suffering from asbestosis, then they are likely to depict crackling sounds from the lungs, shortness of breath and inhalation problems, this form of attack is particularly detrimental owing to the fact that there are currently no know cures for the disease. In fact, the disease can lead to a very slow but painful death.

All in all, when people are highly exposed to asbestos, then they heighten their chances of developing the latter mentioned complications and this makes them particularly difficult to deal with. (EPA, 2007)

Many categories of individuals are threatened by exposure to asbestos products. This
is because asbestos can occur in very many forms. Most of them are highly accessible to the consumer, to workers in certain construction sites and also to workers in industries. The EPA has enlisted some of the kinds of the sources that could lead to exposure to this threat.

All consumers who are not keen on their clothing or textiles may be at risk because certain textiles are made from this substance. Additionally, roofing coatings or non roofing coatings may also contain this substance. Consequently, people who live in homes made of such coating are at risk. Also, industrial and commercial allied asbestos products may also present a series of risks to the groups that use such products. It should also be noted that most of the car related products such as disc brake linings, brake blocks and the like can also cause danger to the affected parties.

It should be noted that most of the latter products were banned during the year 1989; however, many products may still be made up of this components. Consequently, a large portion of the population is still at risk, in fact statistics shows that close to three thousand five hundred people die annually as a result of the latter complications. These estimates also show that the numbers are likely to increase to ten thousand annually if nothing is done about the threat.

However, the remedial actions that are currently in place are supposed to prevent future occurrences of the problem among other parties but very little information is available for those who have already been affected by a health hazards. Consequently, this means that remedial action currently is not that effective for affected persons. (ATSDR, 2008)

The latter problem may be regarded as a target organ threat rather than a system threat. This is because the health complications that are associated with it are largely concentrated on particular parts of the boy and this may bring about problems to that particular area.

The asbestos threat is a chronic one owing to the fact most of its effects take long periods of time before they can start to show. Also, prolonged exposure to the product is what can cause danger; minimal exposure does not. In fact, it is okay for one to be exposed to stable forms of asbestos such as cement.

Section 3-risk assessment
All individuals that are working with asbestos must carry out a risk assessment. This is normally done by checking on the levels of breakages, scratches and damages. Usually, one must ensure that they adhere to health and safety standards that have been laid out by the government.

However, when one does not adhere to the latter regulations, then they put themselves at a greater risk of suffering from the threat. For instance, when materials have not been packaged correctly, then one is likely to put themselves at higher risks of the threat. Additionally, when the materials have not been properly disposed off, then one is also at a higher risk of getting those health complications associated with asbestos. (ATSDR, 2008)

In order to conduct a probability estimate, it is first advisable to determine the areas that could be high in this kind of material. For instance, people are likely to be affected by asbestos through inhalation of air that is rich in the substance. Additionally, they can also be affected if there is dust from soil that has asbestos. In order to determine the risk level of a particular area, one needs to cause disturbance in the soil by raking it. This should then be followed by a collection of air samples from that respective area. In order to estimate the exposure to dredged material. One can also consider activities that occur in such areas and then collect air samples. Some of the activities that ought to be considered include;
-Gardening
-Farming
-Child play
-Dredger
-Walking
-Running

Risk of developing cancer is then calculated using the following formula;
Conc. * TWF * UR = 0.23 PCME
Where Conc. Is the concentration, TWF is the Time Weighting factors and UR refers to the Unit Risk. Estimates have shown that the latter risk is quite high and if left unchecked could lead to death. (EPA, 2007)

Section 4
Risk assessments are usually essential in the event that a health hazard occurs. Consequently, managers and employees too need to equip themselves with the right information required to prevent health risks associated with asbestos exposure. Asbestos exposure is potentially fatal. If the person exposed to this harmful substances is left there for excessively long periods of time, then the asbestos fibers can get to their lungs or to other vital organs, impair normal body functioning and eventually cause their death. Commercial enterprises are still at the risk of this exposure. Also, many asbestos consumers are also at risk if the coating has scratches and breakages. Consequently, individuals must watch out for these sources or else, people may fall ill or even die as a result.

References

EPA (2007): Challenges in risk assessment for asbestos
http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/airpage.nsf/Air+Toxics/summit+region+x/$FILE/Day2-Asbestos-RA-Challenges.pdf. accessed on 13th November 2008
Pass (2008): Asbestos risks and dangers; Associate Press
OSHA (2008): Asbestos fact sheet; retrieved from http://www.pp.okstate.edu/ehs/training/oshasbes.htm accessed on 13th November 2008
Agency For Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (2008): Public Health Statement; retrieved from http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/phs61.html accessed on 13th November 2008

The author of this article is a holder of Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard University and currently pursing PhD Program. He is also a professional academic writer. SuperiorWriters.Com>