Chemicals and chemical hazards

Asbestos fibers can be released from any product that contains the substance and form asbestos dust. The risk of dust formation increases when the product is damaged or when it has been tampered with. The most important factor in determining the risk of asbestos contamination is the amount of asbestos fibers in the material and how easily they are released and turned into dust.

• Asbestos fibers can float in the air like dust for days and enter the body through inhaled air.

• Some fibers are small and thin enough to reach all the way down into the alveoli.

• Asbestos can withstand the immune system’s attempts to destroy it. It can therefore be said that once asbestos has entered the body, it is here to stay.

Inhaling asbestos dust can cause diseases that have long gestation period and might not even appear until after 15-40 years.

Carcinogen

All types of asbestos have been classified as carcinogenic, and working with asbestos increases the risk of many types of cancer and diseases such as:

• Inflammation of the lungs

• Pleurae thickening

• Stone lungs /asbestosis

• Lung cancer

• Mesothelioma

• Tumors of the throat and stomach/intestines

• Other asbestos-related illnesses

It should be borne in mind that probably one asbestos fiber is sufficient to cause damage, as experiments on mice have indicated.

Working with asbestos imposes certain obligations on employers regarding health inspections of the employees who work with it and an assessment of the health of all staff must be available before an exemption is granted.

This assessment shall include:

• A special chest examination.
• A new assessment must be available at least every three years while employees work with asbestos.
• Records on the health of individuals shall be kept in accordance with laws and regulations.

Asbestos-related illnesses are notifiable to The Administration of Occupational Safety and Health and are registered in the Occupational Diseases Register. It is the responsibility of doctors to report.

Inhalation of asbestos-contaminated air carries the risk of pathological changes in the lungs. Therefore, Occupational Exposure Limits are set for asbestos.

• Even if the exposure is below the limit in an asbestos workplace, appropriate protective equipment must still be worn.

• It is not possible to define a safe minimum criteria for asbestos contamination and therefore all contamination from asbestos should be prevented.

Maintenance and demolition of houses that were built in the years 1950–1980 are becoming more and more common as the years go by. It is precisely houses built during these years that are most likely to have asbestos in their building materials. Builders and workers who work on the maintenance and demolition of old houses are therefore increasingly dealing with asbestos in their work. This is unfortunate in many ways because at the same time as the number of asbestos jobs increases, the number of people who used to install asbestos in houses initially decreases and therefore knowledge of the properties and extent of asbestos has been lost.

Asbestos and asbestos-containing products were used as fire retardants, thermal insulation, sound insulation and more in many buildings built before 1980. It is estimated that around 1970, there were about three thousand different products that contained asbestos in some quantity as an additive due to its heat resistance, insulation and adhesion properties.

Construction products:

• asbestos cement

• thermal insulation/pipes

• pipe insulation/trunks

• fire retardants

• asbestos cement pipes

• plasterboards

• spackling paste

• roof tiles

• putty etc.

Textiles:

• fireproof clothing

• rust inhibitor

• canopies etc.

Car products:

• brake pads

• antiruggine

• clutch discs

• sealings

Plastic products:

• reinforcing agents in plastics, floor tiles and linoleum

• fillers in various rubber products

Food and pharmaceutical products:

• filters for microorganisms

Shipbuilding products:

• fireproof insulation

• thermal insulation in the engine room

Table of frequencies:

It is usually impossible to visually identify with certainty whether a given material contains asbestos. With regards to houses you can:

• Check the history of the house, talk to previous owners or someone involved in the construction of the house.

• Check if there is any data on whether asbestos was used as a building material or is found somewhere in the house.

• Take samples from the building material that is suspected to contain asbestos. This is done by gently breaking off a small piece of the alleged asbestos, putting it in a plastic bag, and closing it tightly. The sample is then analysed by a recognized professional in asbestos analysis, who analyses it by microscopic examination. This is neither a time consuming (1-3 days) nor an expensive process.

If it turns out that the sample contains asbestos, an exemption must be applied for for the work, but if no asbestos is found, it is possible to continue without any special precaution.

There are many different types of fibers, both natural and man-made, and some of them have properties that are reminiscent of the properties of asbestos and can therefore replace it. Considerable research is being done to assess the dangers that could be posed by these threads.

In connection with so-called nano technology, various types of graphite and carbon fibers have been developed, which are man-made inorganic fibers that are often mixed with metals. Certain threads with a similar shape to asbestos can lead to cancers like asbestos and are therefore closely monitored for developments in this field.

There are many types of glass and mineral wool threads and these materials are mainly used in sound and heat insulation. Various general discomforts can occur due to working with such materials, but long-term damage to health is not described in the studies.

Asbestos may only be removed of from buildings or other locations by those who have permission to carry out the work.

The Administration of Occupational Safety and Health holds regular qualification courses for those working on asbestos demolition and evaluates applications for asbestos work.

The type and form of asbestos varies and should be kept in mind when asbestos needs to be removed. The work needs to be arranged in such a way that pollution is kept to a minimum and employees who work on asbestos demolition must practice procedures in accordance with working methods described in the Regulation on the Prohibition of the Use of Asbestos in the Workplace.

• Employees who work on asbestos demolition must use personal protective equipment, including a respirator.

• The places where asbestos demolition work is taking place must be clearly marked.

• Once the asbestos has been removed, asbestos dust and asbestos-containing waste must be placed and stored in sealed, marked, closed containers and transported for disposal.

• The asbestos must be disposed of in consultation with the municipal health authority.

• Asbestos should be stored in closed containers; often landfill services in the municipality in question will provide special closed containers for asbestos.

• It is important for the landfill service to know that it is asbestos, as it is landfilled in specifically marked locations.