Occupational Risk - Research Paper Example

One such substance that has received a lot of attention due to its significantly negative effect on human health; this substance is asbestos. Creating applicable risk assessments to make the necessary determinations to prevent the health risk involved with the presence of asbestos in our lives is a worthwhile one; primarily because the side effects of extreme exposure is rather harsh. Asbestos is a fibrous material that is naturally occurring on the planet. There are a few different colors, white and brown, and each asbestos fiber can be 700 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair (Princeton University, 2012).

It became very popular as a form of strong insolation, as well as, being fire and chemical resistant, it was added to traditional construction of many buildings, facilities, and homes. There is likely asbestos used in fire-proofing spray, ceiling and floor tiles, siding shingles, ceiling textures, plasters, and most puttys, caulks, and cements. Buildings that were built after 1981 will likely contain less of this material as the health dangers were slowly becoming more and more verifiable. However, buildings constructed before 1981 likely has installed asbestos or products used that contained asbestos (Princeton University, 2012).

Human beings can face extreme health dangers when exposed too often or for too long to asbestos fibers. The fibers enter the body through inhalation and lodge themselves in the pleura, the lining of the lungs, and may rest there for decades before contributing to serious health conditions, which include asbestosis, a restrictive lung disease, lung cancer, and mesothelioma, a very aggressive form of cancer that forms in the lining of lungs and chest (Princeton University, 2012). Most people who develop conditions due to asbestos exposure usually do not experience symptoms for, sometimes, decades after exposure occurred.

Plants are, in most cases, unaffected by the naturally occurring asbestos existing in the environment. However, certain types of roofing shingles, containing an asbestos and tar mixture, when they are shed can cause growth and developmental issues in plants that are exposed. Animals can, in fact, be affected negatively by exposure to asbestos, as well. In the wild the ratio for different wildlife may not be immediately calculable, but domestic animals are definitely at risk. Dogs, in particular, are sensitive to the cancer causing effects of asbestos exposure.

However, their response is far more immediate than humans. Most dogs will show the cancerous outcome of their exposure statistically by the time they are 8-years-old, if not younger (Mesothelioma & Asbestos Awareness Center, 2010). The exposure ratios that have been determined for homes, of course, are determined by the content of asbestos that exists in your home and how often you are exposed to it. Older homes should be tested and repaired of any damage and the asbestos replaced with safer alternatives.

Updating and renovating older homes, is, also, a fantastic way to eliminate at home issues with asbestos (Morgan, 2007). Because asbestos is a naturally occurring material human beings can have limited and non-harmful interaction with the material. It is when the fibers begin to break away and become airborne. Once they