Asbestos is always dangerous. There’s a reason why it has been essentially banned in the United States. When you buy building materials today, they can’t contain asbestos because the health concerns have become clear. It can lead to a host of serious diseases, including a type of cancer known as mesothelioma. This is an aggressive cancer that is difficult to treat and has a very high fatality rate.
Even though these materials are no longer being used, doing renovations on older buildings can massively increase the risks – both for the team that is carrying out the remodel and for anyone living in the house. This is especially true if no renovations have been done since the 1970s, meaning that it is highly likely that some of the building materials do contain asbestos. Why is a renovation so problematic?
Dust and asbestos particles
The thing to remember about asbestos is that the risk comes from inhaling or ingesting microscopic particles. These particles can then get stuck in the tissues surrounding some of your major organs, such as in your abdomen or your lungs. Once this happens, those particles may eventually cause you to develop mesothelioma at that location.
As such, doing a renovation is dangerous because breaking up all of the old building materials can release very hazardous dust into the home. Some people think that this dust is relatively harmless. They believe that it’s just from wood, drywall or plaster. But with old building materials, the dust could also contain invisible asbestos particles, so inhaling it is far more dangerous than people realize.
If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or other health issues related to asbestos exposure, take the time to carefully look into your legal options.