The major problem of manufacturing products that contain asbestos is that employees directly contact with this toxic mineral. It has been proved that there are a lot of dangerous, often deathful, diseases caused by asbestos. The major risk group is employees who work directly with asbestos or the products containing it. These are shipyards, electrical and construction industries, pipe fitting services and a lot of other areas.
The range of diseases include lung cancer (including pleural mesothelioma), pericardial, testicular and peritoneal mesothelioma. Asbestos causes a few types of lung cancer, ovarian, laryngeal and other cancers. Non-cancerous conditions include benign lung abnormality, asbestosis, pleural effusions, pleural plaque, pleuritis, diffuse pleural thickening and others.
Not only the employees who directly deal with asbestos are exposed to the risk of such diseases. Such people expose to risk their relatives and other people by carrying asbestos dust on their clothes. It is collected in the cars, houses and other places where workers use to stay for a long time after work. Such secondary contact with asbestos (through the people who transport asbestos dust to the environment) forms the second risk group for asbestos-related diseases. That is why the most important protection measure is providing safe working conditions for the employees in asbestos-related industries.
Generally an employer must inform his employees about the dangerous contact with asbestos on the factory floor and apply a set of protecting measures to minimize that danger. The Department of Labor in the USA has a special department responsible for controlling the accomplishment of these measures. This is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The range of this organization’s responsibilities is much bigger, covering the safety control for manufacturing, maritime, construction and service workplaces. OSHA has adopted regulations that describe the order of asbestos usage in specific industries, and you can get familiar with the rules that must be followed on your own workplace.
Another organization that controls the usage of asbestos in mining industry is the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). It is also the DOL department specialized in mining industry control. It defines a range of safety procedures that employees must follow and employers must provide the ability to follow them. One of such measures is wearing special respirators that prevent people from inhaling asbestos dust.
If you notice that your working conditions do not correspond to the legal requirements or you are concerned about the risk of diseases caused by asbestos at work, discuss this with your colleagues, ask about their health and try to find the ones who share your interest. Collecting comments from people you work with will help to define whether your concerns have ground. OSHA can consult you for this issue and perform the inspection on your workplace. You can find the contact information for the local department on blue pages (check ‘Department of Labor’) or you can go to the OSHA website. There you will also find a lot of information about using asbestos in different industries, and the standards this organization provides.
Health is the most important resource of any individual, and nothing can be more valuable than this. That is why all concerns about professional asbestos-related problems have to be resolved as soon as they appear in your mind. Today’s situation is on the side of asbestos victims and those who try to protect the rights for safety and health protection. Do not hesitate to use opportunities you have by the law.