Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous material that has been a popular building material since the 1950s. It is used as?an insulator?[this relates to clod climates to keep in heat and keep out cold], has good fire protection properties and?protects against corrosion?[the reason it was preferred to Mabati (iron sheets) which corrode faster than asbestos corrugated sheets].
Because asbestos is often mixed with another material, it's hard to know if you're working with it or not. But, if you work in a building [in Europe and Americas] built before the year 2000, it's likely that some parts of the building will contain asbestos. For Uganda think of the housing estates, schools, hospitals, dispensaries, offices built since 1960 to date that have used asbestos?corrugated?sheets for roofing. Many Ugandans used asbestos for their garage roofs.?
Asbestos is found in many products used in buildings, including ceiling tiles, pipe insulation, boilers and sprayed coatings.
The asbestos commonly found in Uganda is via corrugated asbestos roofing. The greatest danger lies with collecting rain water from those corrugated asbestos roofs. The?phenomena?of?insulation?is mainly ?a cold climate issue.
Common uses
Sprayed coating
Found as fire protection on structural supports (eg columns and beams).?It is a high hazard asbestos product and can generate very high fibre levels if disturbed.
Pipe Insulation
Asbestos thermal pipe lagging is a high hazard asbestos product.
Floor tiles
Vinyl (PVC) or thermoplastic tiles often contain asbestos.
Asbestos cement roof sheeting
Asbestos cement sheeting is often found on industrial building roofs and walls.
Textured decorative coating (such as Artex)
Textured coatings contain a small amount of asbestos. The asbestos is well bonded and fibres are not easily released. However, it is still an asbestos product, and as such, needs to be worked with safely.
Asbestos is a hidden killer that can cause four serious diseases (described below). These diseases will not affect you immediately; they often take a long time to develop, but once diagnosed, it is often too late to do anything. There is a need for you to protect yourself now.
Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a cancer which affects the lining of the lungs (pleura) and the lining surrounding the lower digestive tract (peritoneum). It is almost exclusively related to asbestos exposure and by the time it is diagnosed, it is almost always fatal.
Asbestos-related lung cancer
Asbestos-related lung cancer is the same as (looks the same as) lung cancer caused by smoking and other causes. It is estimated that there is around one lung cancer for every mesothelioma death.
Asbestosis?
Asbestosis is a serious scarring condition of the lung that normally occurs after heavy exposure to asbestos over many years. This condition can cause progressive shortness of breath, and in severe cases can be fatal.
Pleural thickening?
Pleural thickening is generally a problem that happens after heavy asbestos exposure. The lining of the lung (pleura) thickens and swells. If this gets worse, the lung itself can be squeezed, and can cause shortness of breath and discomfort in the chest.
The case for our experts is to provide us with stats covering the recent past of the people who have died from the above four causes. Although asbestos as we know it in Uganda does not corrode easily nevertheless the minimal quantities consumed over time could threaten life.
The responsibility lies with Government to provide public information on asbestos. It does not matter now whether the advice on developments that used asbestos were uninformed, incompetent, well intended, etc the public must be told and the Building Regulations and guidelines must be amended to include clauses on asbestos.
IK
Source: http://analisesdomjoker.blogspot.com/2012/07/re-uah-lcpl-otto-asbestos_27.html
snow white and the huntsman peyton manning rupaul drag race walking dead comic kratom broncos broncos
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.