Asbestos Canvas
For construction and insulation asbestos is one of the products that has been frequently used in the past. Sadly, these are also the materials that put not only you, but your family at risk. Asbestos canvas is one of these dangerous materials. Asbestos canvas is a simple material that can be sprayed on or wrapped around an item to insulate it from extreme temperatures. It is most commonly used for insulation around pipes, water heaters, boilers, and many other items. Sometimes the materials of the pipes themselves contained asbestos.
The type of asbestos used in asbestos canvas is one of the most dangerous, since it can be easily crumbled by hand, a property known as “friability.” Crumbling asbestos-containing materials releases the dangerous fibers into the environment. Due to the fact that it is very hard to destroy these fibers, and because the fibers are very hard to remove, caution should always be taken so as not to release them into the air.
However, the presence of materials such as asbestos canvas in the home is not in itself dangerous or life-threatening. The products generally pose no danger to the inhabitants unless they are disturbed or improperly removed and disposed of. If this should happen, it puts those who inhale the fibers at risk for serious conditions such as asbestosis, lung scarring, or lung cancers such as malignant mesothelioma. These diseases are common in people who have lived in or worked on buildings containing asbestos, and were infected during remodeling or demolition. There is no procedure to remove asbestos fibers once they enter the lungs, so proper precautions must always be taken by those dealing with the disturbance or removal of asbestos-containing materials.
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