Asbestos in Construction: Hazard Alert

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Center to Protect Workers' Rights
• Description:
  Asbestos can hurt your lungs and many uses for it have been banned. But this mineral is still used in construction, mainly in roof panels and packing gaskets. And construction workers still are exposed to asbestos during remodeling and demolition: Asbestos is often in old fireproofing, roofing, vinyl flooring, pipe and boiler insulation, and some roads and cement pipe and cement sheet products. Thousands of construction workers have died from diseases caused by work with - or near - asbestos without protection. And 10,000 people are expected to die each year for the next 10 years because of past exposures to asbestos. Asbestos diseases can sometimes take 20 years or more to show up after you are exposed. All kinds of asbestos are dangerous. The construction trades most at risk from asbestos have been insulators, plumbers and pipefitters, electricians, and sheet metal workers. But any construction worker may be in danger during maintenance, remodeling, or demolition of an old building or road. Sometimes workers' families are at risk, too, from asbestos taken home on workers' clothes or shoes. Some asbestos fibers are so small you cannot see them. They are the most dangerous because they can get in your lungs. Asbestos can cause asbestosis, which scars your lungs and makes it hard to breathe. You can also get lung cancer or mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the chest or stomach. All kinds of asbestos can give you these diseases, including chrysotile asbestos. The more you are exposed to asbestos, the more chance you will get sick later on. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asbestos Construction Industry Construction Materials Dust Electricity Hazardous Substances Inorganic Chemicals Lung Lung Diseases Maintenance Minerals Neoplasms Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Safety Management Workplace

  More +
• Keywords:
  Asbestos-cement Asbestos-dust Asbestos-fibers Asbestos-products Asbestos-removal Asbestos-workers Asbestosis Cancer Construction Construction-equipment Construction-industry Construction-materials Construction-workers Demolition-industry Disease-prevention Diseases Electrical-workers Hazardous-materials Insulation-materials Insulation-workers Lung-cancer Lung-disease Maintenance-workers Mesothelial-cells Mineral-deposits Plumbers Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-system-disorders Road-construction Road-surfacing Roofers Roofing-and-sheet-metal-work Roofing-industry Safety-education Safety-measures Safety-practices Toxic-materials Toxins Work-environment Work-practices Worker-health

  More +
• Series:
  CPWR - Center for Construction Research and Training Publications
• Publisher:
  The Center to Protect Workers' Rights
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  2 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20039431
• Citation:
  Silver Spring, MD: The Center to Protect Workers' Rights, 2004 Oct; :1-2
• Contact Point Address:
  Building and Construction Trades Dept., AFL-CIO: CPWR, Suite 1000, 8484 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910
• CAS Registry Number:
  Asbestos (CAS RN 1332-21-4) ; Chrysotile (CAS RN 12001-29-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2005
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction
• Performing Organization:
  The Center to Protect Workers' Rights
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  19990930
• Source Full Name:
  Asbestos in construction: hazard alert
• End Date:
  20050630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9cae5480d1f1d6f1cea077825acef877b0d61b9409b3abf00eb39996ada1eb7cd91806c468dfe33c8a5ebd496f563f5d0325aeb9b775143c8fb780747a437616
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/213063/cdc_213063_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 34.85 KB ]