February - March 2008
asbestos!
Widespread, little noticed killer in your rubbish
It’s not just the isolated case of the Pearl Harbor shipyard worker or the occasional case you hear of asbestos in a school.
You
might remember a state building being closed for a year for asbestos removal
and think, “Well, I’m glad there’s none where I live.”
Or work.
The truth is asbestos is everywhere. It’s been listed as a carcinogen since 1973. But it’s not been banned. And it affects nearly everyone. Especially you, yes you, the one living in a condo.
Asbestos kills more people in the US than tuberculosis, Hodgkins disease, fires, drowning, ashma, hepatitis, skin cancer. On the bright side, it kills less than the discharge of firearms, alcohol, liver disease, and aids.
“We investigate and inspect asbestos complaints on a daily or weekly basis,” says Thomas Lileikis, environmental health specialist for the state department of health, noise, radiation and indoor air quality branch. Lileikis gave a presentation for the Hawaii chapter of the Indoor Air Quality Association recently.
His message highlight was that condo and apartment buildings are not exempt from federal and state asbestos laws.
The key is that owners doing renovation and demolition must use a state certified asbestos inspector to identify suspect asbestos containing materials prior to renovation and demolition.
If asbestos materials are found — a likely scenario if your building was constructed before 1980 — a licensed and certified asbestos contractor must be used to properly remove, containerize and dispose of the regulated materials.
This means asbestos rubbish. Deadly opala.
“We have more cases today because of the housing sales boom. There are a lot of people renovating. We get calls about small jobs from neighbors who are concerned and large jobs where people see workers in white protective suits,” Lileikis said.
Lileikis said there are more than 3,600 commercial products that still contain asbestos.
A state health flyer said that asbestos is not dangerous if the material is in good condition. It’s when renovation or demolition disturbs the material that a problem occurs.
“Most residential buildings contain some asbestos,” the flyer said.
These are contained in everything from wall materials, flooring, ceiling, insulating materials, textured paint, roofing, siding, thermal insulation on pipe, and ductwork.
“Basically anything not glass, metal or wood is a potential asbestos product, it’s not just popcorn ceiling.”
Asbestos is a natural occurring mineral fiber which is fire resistant, very strong and very light weight. The problem is if you inhale it.
More than 10,000 workers have been exposed to asbestos at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard since World War II, and many more at building and construction sites in Hawaii, according to a Star-Bulletin report.
One Honolulu law firm has represented about 2,000 claimants in asbestos related cases, 90 percent of those related to the shipyard.
Nationwide 2,000 to 3,000 Americans die of mesotheliaoma, a disease in the US only caused by exposure to asbestos.
Hawaii is now a leading research center for mesotheliaoma.
