It’s hard to believe that the dangers of asbestos and lead weren’t known until fairly recently.
Asbestos was used in over 3 000 products including roof tiles, air conditioning duct, panels for fencing and of course, as spray insulation for help make buildings fireproof and soundproof. And prior to 1970, paints containing high levels of lead were used extensively. People who are renovating their older homes are at greater risk because they can unwittingly expose themselves to asbestos or lead-dust which is a very real health hazard.
Exposure to both lead dust and asbestos dust is extremely dangerous. Once it’s in your body, it stays there. The risk of developing related diseases is cumulative ie. the more times you are exposed, the greater the risk – so if you think you may be at risk, have your property inspected by professionals and take the proper precautions when cleaning up lead or asbestos dust.
All over the world, there are strict rules in place that legislate how to deal with and dispose of lead and asbestos. The guidelines may vary between countries and states, so it is best to consult professionals who know the local recommendations.
With regards to lead dust, it is generally only a problem when lead-based paint is damaged, chipped, burnt etc. However, the risk comes when people renovate older buildings or even undertake minor home maintenance. Even tiny amounts of lead dust are dangerous. Scraping, burning, dry sanding and using power tools on lead paint can be a serious danger because the dust particles can get caught in carpets, curtains, upholstery etc which makes complete removal extremely difficult.
To remove lead or asbestos dust, specialized equipment ie a hazardous dust vacuum is necessary. Ordinary household vacuum cleaners are not suitable for a number of reasons.
Ordinary domestic vacuum equipment tend to put dust back into circulation. They tend to pick up larger particles of matter, whilst the fine hazardous dust particles are simply blown back out of the machine’s exhaust where they resettle and become a danger.
The right equipment is a HEPA machine. HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Arrestor and is able to suck up even the tiniest dust particles. These vacuums are more pricey than ordinary vacuums for a reason. They can suck up ‘invisible’ particles. For example, the HEPA vacuum filter could remove particles down to around 0.3 microns in size and an ordinary machine can only manage particles of around 35 microns. Now to put that in perspective, human hair is between 70 to 80 microns, pollen is between 10 and 40 microns and asbestos fibres between 3 and 20 microns..
So if you think you may be at risk, before starting any renovations or repairs, ask the specialists. After all, your health is paramount. For both domestic and industrial use, hazardous dust machines for lead or asbestos removal should ideally be operated by qualified personnel who have been trained in the area of hazardous dust extraction.
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