Homeowners may Not be Able to Identify Asbestos in Their Homes

A survey by British Lung Foundation has found that over two-thirds of people who own homes may not be confident of identifying asbestos in their homes; putting them at high risk for adverse effects.

The survey of 2,000 homeowners revealed that over 45% were not aware that asbestos is used in many building materials. Asbestos is linked to the cancer mesothelioma and other lung diseases like asbestosis.

The survey by the BLF indicates that 65% of the people are not aware of these issues, while 77% did not know how to identify and manage asbestos-containing materials. Asbestos is no longer used in buildings although it was a massively used material in 20th century construction plans.

"Our survey has highlighted that nearly half of all homeowners do not know that asbestos was actually used as a building material and could be in their homes today," said Dame Helena Shovelton, chief executive of the BLF. "In light of this there's definitely more work that needs to be done to make sure people are asbestos aware."

The advice from the BLF is to contact local authorities if you want to tear down a building so that safety measures can be put in place.




Source: Medindia