Though it has been decades since asbestos got banned as a building material, many buildings still stand that underwent construction while asbestos was still an okay product to use.
On top of that, many things outside of buildings contain asbestos that you may not even know about. What are the most common sources of asbestos which can lead to asbestos exposure and related illnesses?
Items with asbestos
Asbestos.com looks into the most common sources of asbestos exposure today. Asbestos materials still exist in many buildings constructed before the banning of asbestos in the 1980s, and it is in more than just the building’s insulation. Other areas that include asbestos are:
- Roof shingles
- Cement
- Tiles for the floor or ceiling
- Textured paint
- Spray-on insulation
- Steam pipes
Due to its heat-resistant properties, it found a lot of use all throughout many buildings, including plenty of office buildings, workspaces and homes that still exist.
On top of that, even though use of asbestos got phased out of residential areas, asbestos still has over a dozen legal applications in the country for other reasons.
How does exposure happen?
Exposure can happen in numerous ways, with many of them seeming quite innocuous. Examples include cutting pipe insulation, removing popcorn ceilings, drilling into drywall with asbestos, or inhaling brake dust from older cars.
Various forms of renovation can also easily disturb asbestos inside of building materials, especially when it comes to places with a lot of insulation like attics, or with a lot of vinyl tiling.
