Asbestos exposure is the main cause of mesothelioma lung cancer. The report explains that 8 out of 10 workers who work with asbestos often suffered from this cancer. It happens when the workers inhale the asbestos fibers.
It takes many years to feel the effect of asbestos on the body. That’s why most patients are elderly and come to the hospital when they are in the advanced stages. Before it’s too late, you should know how to prevent mesothelioma lung cancer.
Replace or Renovate the Building
Even if you don’t handle asbestos, you still have a risk of suffering from this cancer. It can be because your house or building contains asbestos. Asbestos was a popular building material before the 1980s. Check when the house of building was built.
The building may contain asbestos if it was built before 1980. The best thing you can do to prevent mesothelioma cancer is by renovating the house or building. Replace the parts with asbestos with safer materials.
Attic insulation, roof shingles and tar, floor tiles, and insulation wrapping are several items that may contain asbestos. Then, go to the hospital for a medical check-up to ensure that you don’t inhale the asbestos particles. Even if the doctor detects asbestos particles, they can treat it right away.
Use Complete Safety Gear
People who work with asbestos-containing materials have a bigger risk of suffering from lung cancer. If you are one of them, ensure that you wear complete safety gear while working. Read and follow the Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations for the complete safety standard. Call the one responsible for the project if you don’t get safety gear based on the regulations.
Control and Record All Activities with Asbestos-Containing Materials
As the head of a certain project that involves asbestos-containing materials, you should control your employees. Ensure that you have prepared safety gear based on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations.
Indeed, you should also monitor the condition of your employees by performing air monitoring procedures and recording the result. The employees have the right to know the risks of working with asbestos-containing materials. That’s why you should announce it to them. It hopes by announcing the risks, employees will follow the regulations while working to prevent the risks.
Take Off the Working Clothes
Working with full safety gear is not the only way to absorb asbestos and suffer from mesothelioma lung cancer. As a worker, ensure that you always take off your working clothes at the workplace. Don’t bring them home. Even if you want to wash or clean the clothes, do it in the workplace. Professional companies will also have a procedure to clean up the working clothes for handling asbestos-containing materials. The asbestos particles may stick on the clothes and gear. It will be dangerous when you or your family members inhale the particles.
Handling Asbestos-Containing Materials Carefully
Asbestos produces microparticles when you cut, saw, drill, sand, and scrape it. The microparticles can fly and stick anywhere, including on the working clothes. The dangerous part is that you can inhale these particles without feeling anything.
You will also indirectly feel the effect. The particles may stay in your body for many years and trigger the growth of mesothelioma lung cancer. Because of that, you should carefully handle asbestos-containing materials.
Ensure that you are wearing protective gear before handling the materials. Do the process carefully so it doesn’t produce too many specks of dust or particles. Clean the area from the dust before removing the protective gear.
Take a Bath after Working with Asbestos-Containing Materials
Removing the asbestos dust manually is not enough to ensure that you are clean from it. Because of that, take a bath after removing the protective gears or clothes that are contaminated with asbestos. Use soap and shampoo to ensure that all parts of your body are clean. Instead of wearing contaminated clothes, wear new and clean clothes. The point is that you have to be free from asbestos when entering the house. It means that you have to take a bath at the workplace or other places except at home.
Dispose of Asbestos Materials Correctly
You are not allowed to dispose of asbestos materials in the public garbage bin. Professional companies have asbestos disposal regulations. Follow the regulations to treat the waste, contaminated clothes, and other things with asbestos. The point is that it needs a specific treatment so let the expert handle it.
Only Use Well Trained and Certified Workers
Check your workers before handling asbestos-containing materials. Ensure that all workers are well-trained and certified. If it is necessary, send your works to join asbestos certification training before handling the materials and projects. Well-trained and certified workers understand how to deal with asbestos. It means that they can limit the risk of inhaling dust or particles.
Ask Help from a Professional to Remove Asbestos
Don’t remove asbestos without help from a professional. Asbestos-containing materials need a specific treatment to prevent excess dust and small particles. Call an abatement specialist if you find an asbestos product at home or building. Leave the area until the specialist comes and checks it.
Follow the Regulations when Building Public Buildings and Schools
Government organizations, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set regulations for protecting people from asbestos exposure. For example, contractors or real estate agencies should follow the NESHAP regulations or the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants regulations.
It explains the regulations related to renovation and demolitions to prevent people from asbestos exposure. They also need to follow AHERA or the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act when building schools. The regulations ask contractors, real estate agencies, or school owners to inspect the use of asbestos-containing materials and apply the right asbestos management plan.
Go to the Doctor for Regular Medical Check-Up
People who are contaminated with asbestos should go for a regular medical check-up more often than people who don’t. It is crucial to ensure whether you are infected by asbestos or not. The most important thing is that you can’t directly feel the impact.
It needs 15 to 50 years before the asbestos affects your body to grow mesothelioma lung cancer cells. It is the reason why people who come to the hospital are in their advanced stage. The higher the cancer stage, the more difficult for the doctor to handle it. The earlier the doctor treats asbestos in your body, the higher the chance to free from mesothelioma cancer.
It also adds to your lifespan after being diagnosed with mesothelioma lung cancer. The doctor will suggest you do anything to prevent absorbing asbestos dust or mesothelioma cancer. On the other hand, go to the hospital immediately if you feel the symptoms of mesothelioma cancer. You often feel pain in your chest or abdomen. In a certain stage, the sufferer will suffer from breathing difficulty.
Take a Mesothelioma Blood Test
You can detect mesothelioma before the symptoms appear by taking a blood test. The blood test has to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. You can go to the doctor and request a mesothelioma lung cancer blood test. As a result, the doctor can treat you earlier if diagnosed with mesothelioma lung cancer disease.
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