December 2015

History of Asbestos with House Architecture

History of Asbestos with House Architecture

There tons of different construction materials used for construction whether it’d be for business infrastructures or just homes for families.  By the late 19th century, nations around the world were operating massive mines to meet a burgeoning demand for the mineral. Manufacturers used the majority of the output from these mines to produce construction materials, including asbestos cement and insulation for buildings and machinery.

 

The most common construction materials that had Asbestos were:

  • Flooring, ceiling and roofing tiles were commonly made with asbestos. The adhesive used to lay down flooring tiles has also been a source of exposure.
  • Asbestos-containing cement was used in building materials because the fibers provided strength without adding much weight. Its insulating and fire-resistant properties also made the mineral an ideal substance to add to cement.

And Asbestos materials were quite common just before different regulations and laws about the prevention of it’s usage came close to year 2000’s. Another thing about it is that it’s difficult very difficult to identify the presence of asbestos just by looking at it. As a general rule, certain building materials installed before the late 1980s may contain asbestos. However, the only way to be certain is to have a sample of the material analyzed by a laboratory.

For certain at one point Asbestos was quite commonly used by majority of the countries around the world due to it being cheap, durable, flexible and fire-resistant. And mass production of it was inevitable.

Though over the years eventually people discovered that Asbestos was potentially harmful and tons of different regulations from different countries was passed for the Asbestos. And studies of Asbestos done over the years were also a big part of the laws and regulations that eventually allowed Asbestos to be not be used for construction over some countries like Australia among others.

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Asbestos Effect on Architectural House Plans

Asbestos Effect on Architectural House Plans

A home is an environment where people reside, feel comfort and grow as a person as time passes  be it  physically, mentally and emotionally.

It is a given that most homes are houses and such place is provides people the feeling of comfort and security . Now if homes act as “safehavens” for us wouldn’t it be fair that without knowing while we live our everyday lives we are potentially on a risk of harm and not visibly but because of our home itself.

Now we know that Asbestos has had a great application when it comes to infrastructure constructions and even houses that people live. And Asbestos as we know it presents risks for people that reside on environments with it.

Being that in some cases exposure to Asbestos may be unavoidable and certainly that’s why homeowners needed to be informed about the risks of Asbestos at homes.

One of the hazards that asbestos made houses presents is that Renovating or demolishing houses containing asbestos products can release asbestos fibres, which are extremely fine and can stay in the air for hours. Breathing in asbestos fibres may cause serious health problems, including lung disease and cancer

Not only that Asbestos may cause illnesses but death may happen for those unfortunate ones. With this in mind it is important that homeowners and eventual homeowners must make sure that they are informed about Asbestos Awareness and how to avoid the risks of being exposed to these harmful elements. Another thing you could do as a homeowner would be having the Asbestos-containing materials should be identified and removed by someone trained in asbestos removal and wearing protective clothing and a respirator.

Knowing that houses are homes where one can grow, we all have to make sure that the houses that we will reside for a long time will really give us the shelter that it should give for us to grow and live life to the fullest. Not harm.

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Importance of Asbestos Training to Construction

It is not a surprise to know that being exposed to asbestos can cause harm to anyone. It is also known that asbestos materials comes with different useful applications to many aspects despite the risks it pose to those who will get exposed to it.

When it comes to building constructions whether the infrastructure is for home or industrial or commercial purposes, there are cases that Asbestos materials has been used for it.

It is important that when any environment that exposes people of Asbestos, the people that will stay around the environment must be informed and trained of the risks of Asbestos.

This concern of Asbestos risks is not only about the potential harm to the people around the workplace or at home, but also if the building with Asbestos materials used for it’s construction if without precaution and proper preparations for it . The building itself may end unusable for it is deemed to dangerous and that would be a financial disaster.

For the content of the training and information for the Asbestos Training it must include the following:

  • The properties of asbestos and its effects on health, including the increased risk of developing lung cancer for asbestos workers who smoke.
  • The types, uses and likely occurrence of asbestos and asbestos materials in buildings and plant.
  • The general procedures to deal with an emergency, an uncontrolled release of asbestos dust into the workplace.
  • How to avoid the risk of exposure to asbestos.

Asbestos Awareness is incredibly important, employees and employers themselves must make sure that such matter will be provided for the supervisors and/or the employees around the environment with heavy exposure to it.

Even just homeowners that the materials  used for the construction of their homes involved Asbestos materials, are urged to learn about Asbestos awareness and be informed of the risks that it presents.

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Common Hazardous Substances in a Workplace

Common Hazardous Substances in a Workplace

For some workplaces, it is unavoidable for workers that the environment contains dangerous or hazardous substances that may bring harm to them if not careful or worse death.

Hazardous substances may be harmful however a lot of workplaces whether it’d be Agriculture, industry, medical etc commonly uses hazardous substances for work applications.

The most common hazardous substances that can be found at work or even at home are :

  • Acids
  • Caustic substances
  • Disinfectants
  • Glues
  • Heavy metals, including mercury, lead, cadmium and aluminium
  • Paint
  • Pesticides
  • Petroleum products
  • Solvents.
  • Grease
  • Dust or fumes

And many other hazardous materials that may be found at workplaces.

There are many different means in which these hazardous substances will bring harm towards employees.

This are the common means of harmful workplace substances causing problems for the empoyees:

  • Skin Exposure to harmful substances
  • Inhaling Chemical fumes
  • Prolonged exposure to harmful substances
  • Intake of harmful subtances or the substances injected in the bloodstream.

There are different means and different amount of risk that it bring. However all are risky and could be avoided if necessary.

The common side effects of being exposed to harmful work substances may vary. Depends on the duration of exposure and how concentrated the amount of harmful substance the employee is exposed too.

The following are the common harmful side effects that workers experience with improper overexposure of harmful workplace substances:

  • Poisoning
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Headache
  • Skin rashes, such as dermatitis
  • Chemical burns
  • Birth defects
  • Disorders of the lung, kidney or liver
  • Nervous system disorders.

It is essential that employers and employee alike are aware of the risks and what the risks are upon exposure of this certain harmful substances can do. Though unavoidable to work around this substances especially considering that most of them are vital for some of the application in the workplace there is always ways to minimize the risks of it.

Outside proper equipment and training for employees, turning the workplace environment into properly designed to lessen the risks of exposure may also help, monitoring employees health and even as simple as making signs/labels as a warning for possible exposure of harmful substance in the workplace also helps a lot.

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Laws Of Health

Even back during the earliest civilizations of mankind, laws has always been an important part of humanity. There are many laws in everything whether it’d be about enforcing order among men, or diplomatic laws between countries , or matters like mathematics, physics and even engineering about anything has laws and regulations. Health is no exception to this rule.

There are many variations and different kinds of laws and regulation set for healthcare. The health laws have evolved overtime related to as much as humanity advanced in the field of medicine and how human rights has been changing for the better as time goes on.

There are a lot of ethical issues that surface when it comes to discussing healthcare and it was not until recently for example like in 1970’s where homosexuality was no longer considered as mental illnesses. However there are still ethical issues like abortion and euthanasia who are still universally unsolved and are still under debate though for some countries those medicinal methods may not be considered as legitimate.

Health laws also ensure matters like making sure that the personnel of health care industries are well-trained, equipped and knowledgeable for their job or in simpler terms “setting of standards”. Standards and regulations for health care workers, health care environment and manufacturer of supplies and equipments used in healthcare makes sure that it is only the best and less error as much as possible.

Without a doubt Laws about Health are vital for humanity , for it’s purpose is not only to reduce the risks of abuse for those who work at the health care industry but also to make certain that the benefactors of the health care industry which is everybody who lives and breathes will be given the proper healthcare that not only everybody deserves, also for the interest of the further advancement of healthcare, medicine and science.

How to CPR

CPR or Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a first aid technique that can be used if someone is not breathing properly or if their heart has stopped.

It is a medical technique to be used immediately but only with the trained hands because unable to execute CPR properly may just lead to more complications and other worse scenario.

Of course keep in mind that it is very important that even if you are knowledgeable and trained to do CPR that you still call for 911 even if you are  about to perform CPR. It’s to ensure that the person may be in a situation where CPR is not the only solution he needed.

CPR can be done in following this guideline:

  • Open airway and give 2 rescue breaths
  • Compress chest 30 times
  • Give 2 rescue breaths
  • Compress chest 30 times
  • Continue cycles of 2 breaths and  30 compressions

Now for more details

Adults

  1. Place the heel of your hand on the centre of the person’s chest, then place the other hand on top and press down by 5–6cm at a steady rate, at approximately 100 compressions per minute.
  2. After every 30 chest compressions, give two breaths.
  3. Tilt the casualty’s head gently and lift the chin up with two fingers. Pinch the person’s nose. Seal your mouth over their mouth and blow steadily and firmly into their mouth. Check that their chest rises. Give two rescue breaths.
  4. Continue with cycles of 30 chest compressions and two rescue breaths until they begin to recover or emergency help arrives.

Children over one year old

  1. Open the child’s airway by placing one hand on the child’s forehead and gently tilting their head back and lifting the chin. Remove any visible obstructions from the mouth and nose.
  2. Pinch their nose. Seal your mouth over their mouth and blow steadily and firmly into their mouth, checking that their chest rises. Give five initial rescue breaths.
  3. Place the heel of your hand on the centre of their chest and press down by at least one-third of the depth of the chest. Use two hands if you can’t press down hard enough with one.
  4. After every 30 chest compressions at a rate of 100 per minute, give two breaths.
  5. Continue with cycles of 30 chest compressions and two rescue breaths until they begin to recover or emergency help arrives.

Even if you know the instructions it is important that you are still trained to do the task.

What’s Supposed to be Inside the First Aid Kits?

First Aid Kits are a collection of supplies and equipment that may come useful during emergency situations where one may need immediate medical attention.

Accidents and disasters can happen to anybody and it pays to be prepared. It may not mean much but having a handy first aid kit is always a excellent choice. If unfortunate events happens and you have first-aid kit, it may stop situations from ending up into lethal ones. And if disaster never strikes, well it’s better to be safe than sorry.

It is recommended to keep first aid kit at home, on your workplace and in your vehicle. Even when going into trips it is advised to carry one just incase an emergency strikes. As we all know disaster can happen everywhere and it may not be where you expect them.

First aid kits can be personally customized or commercialized/purchased either ways there are common items and supplies that usually makes up for the handy emergency bags.

The items are the following :

  • Adhesive bandages are one of the most commonly used items in a first aid kit. It can also be very handy for everyday uses.
  • Dressings can also be found in first aid kits for wounds that adhesive bandages may not be able to cover. Whether it be Sterile eye pads or Sterile gauze pads or others. This handy piece of clothes can be used to prevent eventual infections with open wounds.
  • Bandages is used either to support a medical device such as a dressing or splint, or on its own to provide support to or to restrict the movement of a part of the body.
  • Antiseptics and Soap are also found in first aid kits they function as disinfectants of the possible wounds or just to prevent infection.

Other items that can be found inside first aid kits that aren’t related to injuries are:

  • Flash Lights
  • Radio

There are also other supplies and items found in first aid kits which varies per kit.

Asbestos Survey

For the past 150 years. Asbestos has been widely used for many useful purposes and applications. Despite that even as long as we started using Asbestos, the amount of cases of medical illnesses and deaths caused by heavy exposure to it has been there all along.

The more common health diseases that are caused by Asbestos exposure are :

Malignant Mesothelioma  is a cancer that starts in cells in the linings of certain parts of the body, especially in the linings of the chest or abdomen. Typically appear several decades after an exposure to asbestos

Mesothelioma Claimed More Than 37,000 Lives in the United States From 1999 to 2013. The rate of mesotheliomas in the United States increased from the 1970s to the early 1990s, but since then it has leveled off and even gone down slightly.

Each year there are 2000 to 3000 new cases of Malignant Mesothelioma .

Lung Cancer is also another type of cancer which is caused by overblown exposure to Asbestos. National Cancer institute first confirmed that asbestos causes lung cancer in 1942. Most asbestos-related lung cancers take between 15 and 35 years to develop from the time of initial asbestos exposure.

Other causes of death has also occurred with the exposure of Asbestos as of 2013 deaths from asbestosis without mention of mesothelioma are around 477 (Asbestosis register 2013).

On average, 40 percent of pleural mesothelioma patients survive at least one year after starting treatment. By year five, survival drops to 8 percent. Research shows that men are exposed to asbestos more often. One study reported that 13.4 percent of women survive for five years after treatment, compared to only 4.5 percent of men.

It is very clear that no matter what studies are done. Asbestos exposure is dangerous and even sometimes the problems of it occurs around later of somebodies life. While the usage of Asbestos is unavoidable, minimizing the risks it brings is certainly doable with careful following of the regulations of the matter, lives that may have been lost might be saved.

Asbestos Regulations

Long exposure to asbestos fibers may cause serious and dire illnesses such malignant lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis (a type of pneumoconiosis) and other unwanted diseases. For some getting sick from Asbestos may be unavoidable however the chances of being one may be reduced through careful guidelines. With that in mind it is very important that people follow the health and safety regulations that has been set for workers who will likely have long exposure with Asbestos.

Health And Safety 2012 No. 632, The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 indicates that the employers must ensure that the employees who work for them the exposure to asbestos of employees that it must be clear from the risk assessment that the exposure to asbestos of any employee will not exceed the control limit.

The regulations also state that it is important even for non-licensed  workers who will be exposed to Asbestos must have documents and records for work. They must also be under a health surveillance of a Doctor.

The regulations implied that if a certain workforce want to do any building or maintenance work in premises, or on plant or equipment that might contain asbestos, they need to identify where it is and its type and condition; assess the risks, and manage and control these risks.

Employers and employees alike have their own responsibilities to make sure that despite the  health risks that the Asbestos exposure gives employers should have minimized risk through following the set health regulation . It is not only a legal obligation everybody has to follow but also a morale one. It is very important that employers give the their employees the best  environment, equipment and training necessary to minimize risks of harm and death. Employees as well are responsible for themselves to ensure to follow the following guidelines for their own safety.

Types of Asbestos

There are six type of widely known Asbestos. And each type belonged to one of the two category which are :

Serpentine

Out of the all the asbestos, there is only one that goes under the group of Serpentine, more known as the “White Asbestos”. This category of asbestos has a structured and curly fibers.

Despite being only a only one Asbestos in the group Chrysolite’s are the most used Asbestos in the world.

  • Chrysolite is commonly utilized for Gaskets, Cement , Insulation, Brake Pads, Brake Linings, Joint Compound and Roofing Materials.

Amphibole

All the other 5 types of Asbestos belong to the Amphibole group. This group of asbestoshas a long chain-like structure of fibers that are sharp and straight and easy to inhale.

  • Amosite Asbestos known as the “brown” asbestos, not used nowadays but was once second mostly commonly used Asbestos.
  • Crocidolite Asbestos known as the “blue” asbestos has a much harder and more brittle than other types of the mineral and can break easily.
  • Anthophyllite Asbestos is one of the rarest types of asbestos and does not have a long history of commercial use. Traces of anthophyllite may be present in talc and related products such as talcum powder.
  • Tremolite Asbestos are strong, flexible, heat-resistant, and can be spun and woven into cloth in which makes it useful for commercial uses.
  • Actinolite Asbestos is an asbestos who’s mostly dark coloured. Typically used with the similar mineral vermiculite, which expands when heated. Can be found to be used as construction materials, for gardening, insulation, fireproofing etc.

Despite having different types of existing Asbestos. It is undeniable that all of them present a health risk. Each from the other may present different risks and may require different levels of exposure for the worker to be in harm but it not possible to avoid the risks as long as a worker is exposed to any type of Asbestos at a workplace.