This means that in contaminated environmental areas we all breathe asbestos; the risk associated with exposure always exists and must be evaluated, it is clearly greater in the case of prolonged exposure, but it is still real even in situations of single exposure or occasional exposure: remediation is the only effective solution to reduce this risk.
Perfect Choices Now
For those subject to medium or long exposure times (this is the case, for example, of workers who deal with remediation operations) a strict health surveillance protocol must be applied, which provides for the periodic execution of a series of clinical checks between such as spirometric examination (to be carried out at least annually or every two years), capillary alveolus diffusion test, verification of the presence of any asbestos corpuscles in the sputum, ENT specialist examination, X-ray and CT scan of the chest. Also recommended are periodic magnetic resonance tests and blood samples to measure the levels of osteopontin and SMRP (two proteins whose concentration in the blood is higher in subjects with mesothelioma). Using the local asbestos contractor happens to be the best option here.
Danger of asbestos roofs
Eternit is a compound of cement (85-90%) and asbestos (10-15% for the remaining part). It is therefore a compact material which in itself is low in asbestos. This does not make it free from wear over time and, as such, a risk factor for exposure to asbestos dust: an asbestos roof becomes dangerous when it begins to crumble.
So what to do in the presence of an asbestos roof?
The current legislation provides that each region carries out a census in its own area of competence of all the buildings in which there are still asbestos slabs, and provides a plan for their removal and disposal.
Similarly, any property owner (be it a natural person or an institution) has the specific duty to report the possible presence of eternit to the ASL, so as to allow the start of the relevant surveys and investigations.
The mandatory removal of asbestos roofing is decreed after a careful examination of the same, in the event that the sheets are damaged even minimally (with the consequent possibility of asbestos fibers being released into the environment). If no traces of wear and deterioration are found, the asbestos roofing can be simply insulated by encapsulation.
Roof eternit house
Each of these operations must be carried out by an authorized company (registered in the register of environmental managers) through specialized personnel.
And if the neighbor’s house has an asbestos roof, what to do if the neighbor does not decide to send a report of the presence of an asbestos roof to the competent authorities? In a similar situation, the initiative can be taken by forwarding the report – even anonymously and via the internet – to the ASL, or to the Traffic Police or to the Ecological and Environmental Protection Unit of the Carabinieri. Once received, the report will be passed to the ARPA which will initiate all necessary checks.
Is Burnt Asbestos Dangerous?
Asbestos, subjected to controlled heat treatment, can be irreversibly converted into an inert and amorphous material, no longer dangerous; with regard to this aspect, there are proposals in Italy for the implementation of various heat treatments with ovens fueled by methane, the effectiveness of which has already been evaluated with laboratory tests.
