If you come in contact with asbestos, you just gotta deal with it as-best-os you can.
Hey there, guys, Trace here for DNews.
You may have heard of asbestos as this hazardous material that can be found in old homes and
buildings.
It’s been used commercially in North America for over 100 years, but now, in 2016, the
EPA is evaluating the material as a “high priority risk” with the potential to ban
it entirely.
So what the heck is this stuff and why is it so dangerous?
Ok first, I’m guessing you, like me, have no idea what asbestos actually is -- other
than a scary carcinogen, right?
Asbestos was first identified in ancient Greece by one of Aristotle’s students in 300 BCE.
He noted it looked like rotten wood and had remarkable resistance to fire, even when doused
with oil!
Asbestos isn’t a chemical or human-made substance, it’s stone -- actually it’s
a group of six naturally-occurring silicate minerals found in rock and soil in 900 different
regions of the US alone.
Asbestos is a stronger than steel, soft, fire-resistant mineral, that doesn’t biodegrade, decompose,
dissolve in water, or evaporate.
No wonder asbestos is in everything, it’s a frickin’ wonder-material!
But not all asbestos’ are created equal: amosite is ‘brown’ asbestos, crocidolite
is ‘blue’ asbestos, and chrysotile is ‘white’ asbestos.
The other three types come in a variety of colors and are actinolite, anthophyllite and
tremolite.
According to Scientific American, the “strongest and stiffest” are brown, blue and the other
three, but the white asbestos is “softer and more flexible.”
Because of that flexibility, the white asbestos is used in 95 percent of asbestos products!
Even though it looks like wood or fibers, again, asbestos is technically a mineral!
It’s made of chains of silicon and oxygen atoms with other elements (calcium, iron,
magnesium) incorporated in, which change its properties slightly.
Because of these amazing properties, the asbestos family of minerals have been used in heat-resistant
fabrics, paints and plastics, paper products, car brakes and clutches, and in building materials
such as roofing, siding, flooring and insulation.
And this is where we get to the problems...
While asbestos is basically indestructible under normal circumstances, human bodies are
not.
If asbestos crumbles and gets into the air it breaks into tiny, thin threads, which are
still indestructible, just smaller now…
If those threads become air or waterborne, they can get swallowed or lodged in the lungs,
causing problems.
This is why people who work with asbestos-containing products -- say, in building construction
-- run risks.
They’re dealing with a high concentration of the material, and are more likely to get
it in their body.
You’d expect that inhaling fibers would cause symptoms like coughing, sneezing, or
itching, but -- and this is the scary bit -- asbestos inhalation doesn’t really have
any symptoms!
It doesn’t dissolve, melt or evaporate, and minerals don’t have odor!
So you can’t see, feel or taste asbestos fibers.
This is why people who work with asbestos have to take special care and use protective
equipment.
You don’t want this stuff in your body.
According to OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, asbestos exposure
is a hazard for about 1.3 million construction workers in the U.S.
The EPA describes asbestos as a “known carcinogen” – that is, a chemical that can cause cancer
after exposure.
The health effects from these indestructible fibers entering the body include several types
of lung cancer, mesothelioma -- a rare form of cancer that develops in the lining of the
lungs -- and asbestosis – a serious, long-term disease of the lungs.
According to a meta-analysis from the journal American Family Physician, there are approximately
200,000 cases in the US of asbestosis annually, and over 6000 deaths from asbestosis, lung
cancer and mesothelioma combined related to asbestos exposure.
We’ve been regulating asbestos in the United States since the 1970s.We check for it in
“drinking water, schools, some consumer products, and workplace air.”
A few uses of asbestos are even banned under existing regulations – like certain paper
products and spray-on materials.
But even if the EPA decides to ban it entirely, there will still be asbestos in places like
old buildings.
It’s incredible that this naturally-occurring ancient material has been used so many things
over the centuries and it turns out it was killing us the whole time.
We just have to keep looking for it as-best-os we can.
I had to.
I HAD TO!
If this doesn’t cement the myth that just because something is “natural” means it’s
safe or good for you, I don’t know what will.
I mean, what’s really difference between natural and artificial flavors, for example?
Find out here.
Any other science mysteries you want to know about?
Tell us in the comments, make sure you subscribe and thanks for watching!