Asbestos single-handedly allowed 66 countries to issue bans. According to medical surveys, an estimated 125 million people worldwide have been exposed to asbestos. Such asbestos exposure puts people’s lungs at great health risks. About 90,000 people suffer from asbestosis, lung cancer, mesothelioma and other diseases every year due to asbestos exposure. And it’s scarier than that.
Asbestos banned in 66 countries and classified as a class 1 carcinogen
< p data-track="3">In the beginning, asbestos was known as a high-quality and inexpensive building material because of its heat-insulating, insulating and anti-corrosion properties. In the early days, it was widely used in construction, chemical, automobile and other accessories, and almost every household could see the existence of asbestos or asbestos products, which can be described as “all the rage”.
But with the deepening of research, people gradually lifted its mask.
Very fine asbestos fibers appeared around the demolished houses and around the cracked asbestos products. Even wearing a mask, it may enter the human body with breathing. As inhaledasbestos fibers become more and more, it can also cause more serious damage to the lungs.
Many people say, don’t the lungs have the ability to clean themselves? Couldn’t it be possible to remove these asbestos fibers?
Not really. As mentioned earlierasbestos fibers are very small and difficult to distinguish with the naked eye. And compared with other dusts, asbestos fibers have stronger latent potential. After exposure to asbestos, inhaled asbestos fibers may lie dormant for more than 20 years, constantly contacting the lungs and inducing pulmonary fibrosis , damage the lungs. Not only that, continuous stimulation of the lungs, throat and other parts, the risk of inducing lung cancer is also very high.
Asbestos with an incubation period of more than 20 years may cause 4 major harms to the human body
According to epidemiological surveys, it has been found that long-term exposure to asbestos is associated with a higher risk of developing mesothelioma, with about 80% of casesMalignant mesotheliomaare all associated with asbestos. Asbestos lurks in the human body, continuously causing damage to human tissues and causing cancer.
Forlungs, asbestos tape The danger is relatively direct. Insomnia lurking in the human body for a long time will continuously and repeatedly stimulate the lung tissue, which may induce lung inflammation, and may also lead to pulmonary fibrosis over time, eventually leading to respiratory failure.
Asbestos fibers also pass through the body when entering the bodythroat, if people have problems such as smoking and drinking before, these carcinogenic factors will continue to superimpose, which will also lead to an increased risk of throat cancer. This is also a major harm to the human body after asbestos exposure.
Finally, for women, studies have found that asbestos fibers may also increase Risk of Ovarian Cancer. Although the mechanism of action between the two has not yet been found, long-term exposure to asbestos or asbestos products should pay more attention and prevent it in advance.
Why is my country showing mercy to asbestos?
After learning about the effects of asbestos on the human body. Many people are confused. Since it will have such a big adverse effect on health, why does our country not ban this kind of thing like other countries, but show mercy to it?
The problem is that there issmaller alternatives for asbestos . Compared with other minerals, asbestos has a low substitutability, a wide range of applications, and high quality and low price. From the perspective of my country’s current economy, if asbestos is banned across the board, it is likely to have a certain impact on economic development. Therefore, it can only ban the relatively harmful amphibole asbestos, and temporarily “show mercy” to other asbestos.
Based on this, it is relatively difficult to completely block the damage of asbestos to the human body in China. People can only stay away from asbestos and asbestos products as much as possible to protect their health.
Next, I will share several protection methods, which are recommended for collection.
First,avoid occupational and environmental exposures
People in the construction industry, auto parts processing and other industries are likely to be exposed to more asbestos and asbestos products. More asbestos fibers may also be inhaled in the process, resulting in occupational exposure. Do a good job in the protection work at work and wear high-level protective masks, which can reduce the inhalation of asbestos dust as much as possible and reduce the harm to the body.
Secondly, learn toremove asbestos residues
< p data-track="21">This is mainly the asbestos residues in the natural environment. It is recommended that people prepare work clothes and change them in time after exposure to asbestos, to avoid direct slapping and drying of work clothes, which may also cause asbestos fiber inhalation. Once inhaled into the body, it is difficult to excrete toxins.
Also,Keep away from asbestos exposure
For ordinary people, the risk of exposure to asbestos is relatively high when decorating houses, and there will be more asbestos fibers around demolition sites and garbage dumps. When going to or passing through these places, it is best to wear a mask, and before moving into a new house, be sure to clean up dust and stay away from asbestos fibers.
It can be seen that the prevention methods for asbestos fibers and asbestosis are more to stay away in advance than to remove asbestos in the body after exposure. Because it has a long incubation period and relatively hidden hazards, once inhaled, the health hazard is not small. If you are often exposed to asbestos because of your work or living environment, you should also be alert to this first-level carcinogen and protect your health in advance.
References:
1. Australian media: Ignore World Health Organization warnings ? Asbestos safety needs urgent attention·World Wide Web·2016-07-28
2. Is talcum powder “toxic”? Asbestos may cause various cancers·People’s Daily Online·2019-02-01
3. Huang Jianquan, Xin Jiling. Asbestos workers’ dust exposure and asbestosis disease Dose-response relationship[J]. Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Diseases, 1989, 15(6):335-338.