Asbestos fibers can damage lungs years after exposure. Help spread the word about asbestos hazards on Mesothelioma Awareness Day September 26th.
Even though it was mostly banned in the 70s, asbestos is still a danger in old buildings and products.
Hear about dangers current and retired workers face with mesothelioma.
TRANSCRIPT:
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Dan Clark: Why do your lungs hate asbestos? I’ll tell you in a moment, and why you should observe Mesothelioma Awareness Day September 26th.
Hello, I’m Dan Clark of The Safety Brief, tackling health and safety hazards in today’s demanding industrial and construction worksites, a service of Creative Safety Supply. Go to creativesafetysupply.com and use coupon code BIG10 to save 10 percent off of your purchase.
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Asbestos exposure may sound like a problem of the past, but it’s still impacting the lungs of workers and former workers. Asbestos used to be common in construction materials. Insulation, shingles, siding. It was everywhere, from kitchen toasters to car brakes.
Asbestos was banned in the US, for most applications, in the 1970s, but it’s not completely gone. About 30 million pounds are still used annually.
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You can’t see asbestos fibers with the naked eye. They sneak in and scar your lung membranes. This causes long-term problems, including mesothelioma. Even more than 30 years after the peak of its use, asbestos exposure is still the number one cause of occupational cancer in the US.
To help relay the story of asbestos exposure and its effects, Mesothelioma Awareness Day is held on September 26th.
What can you do on Mesothelioma Awareness Day? Here are some ideas:
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• 1. Ensure your worksite has the right protection from asbestos. Appropriate respirators with HEPA filters are a given. Don’t forget to do a fit test.
• 2. Contact your Congress members. Urge them to fully ban asbestos in the US.
• 3. Wear blue. The Meso Foundation, which started the awareness day in 2004, urges you to make blue your primary color on September 26th.
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• 4. And here’s a fun one. Turn your Facebook and Twitter profile picture blue. The nonprofit CureMeso.org as an easy app to do it. The link is in the transcript of this podcast.
Asbestos is hiding out there. It’s in many old homes and buildings built before 1981. Asbestos-contaminated vermiculite still sits in 35 million attics in the US right now.
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Don’t forget: No amount of exposure to asbestos is safe.
That’s all for this episode, Why Your Lungs Hate Asbestos. Come back for more ways to stay safety compliant in today’s ever-changing landscape of safety requirements. I’m Dan Clark of The Safety Brief, a service of Creative Safety Supply. Save 10 percent off your entire order at creativesafetysupply.com with coupon code BIG10.
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