Where is the Asbestos in Your Austin Home?

Are you buying an unhealthy home? This article from Joe Lederman, the Awareness Coordinator at the Mesothelioma Cancer Center talks about the challenges to consider when buying a home built before 1980 – around one in three houses for sale in Austin today.

“Making sure whether or not asbestos-materials are present is ideally the first step to a safe and healthy home. Unfortunately, asbestos cannot be seen with the naked eye. The home is not only a financial asset, but a place to live and raise your family. Due to involvement in the petroleum industry, Texas has had many asbestos problems. Austin has a history of asbestos exposure hazards in oil plants that used asbestos due to its heat-resistant qualities.

Although not all asbestos is harmful, wear and tear will cause asbestos to become damaged and release its fibers into the air. On top of job site hazards, many homes and buildings built before 1980 can still contain asbestos materials. Austin potential home buyers or those seeking to remodel an older home should be aware that asbestos exposure can cause many health concerns. There are now many green healthy options that make the use of asbestos obsolete.

Consistent and frequent exposure to asbestos can lead to the development of serious health ailments such as asbestosis and mesothelioma, forms of asbestos lung cancer. Mesothelioma metastasis can occur when the illness spreads through the lymph nodes or the blood stream. This can occur in the disease later stages as it can take anywhere from 20 to 50 years for mesothelioma to develop, making it extremely difficult for physicians to discover an accurate mesothelioma diagnosis.

Striving to prevent asbestos exposure, Texas Department of Health Services help promote and protect the physical and environmental health of all citizens in Texas from asbestos. They provide public education to gain understanding and compliance of state and federal laws. A good plan is to identify materials which could harvest asbestos, mark the condition and establish a plan that addresses any negative condition in the building. Asbestos removal in homes, public facilities and buildings must be performed by licensed abatement contractors.

There are now many Eco-friendly green alternatives to asbestos that exist. These include the use of cotton fiber, cellulose and lcynene. Not only will these options provide a safe replacement to asbestos, they can even lower energy costs annually. These options should be considered upon removal of asbestos.”