If you're considering how long you can be exposed to asbestos before it starts to harm you, the fact is that there is no such thing as "safe" asbestos exposure. When asbestos fibers are breathed or swallowed, they can cause cancer and chronic respiratory illnesses. Generally, these disorders develop slowly after exposure, with symptoms emerging between 10 and 80 years later. Let’s delve deeper to learn more about asbestos!

What is Asbestos?

It’s the term given to six minerals composed of natural fibers found in the ground. For multiple reasons, these minerals have been employed in building and industry. Since asbestos fibers are flexible and resistant to heat, fire, chemicals, and electricity, they've been utilized in building materials for homes and businesses, automobile parts, and even textiles. When asbestos fibers are touched or disturbed, they quickly split into little fragments. They're too little to notice and simple to breathe in. Moreover, they can accumulate in your lungs and create health issues, necessitating calling professionals for asbestos removal in Sacramento.

Although the United States government has prohibited all new applications of asbestos for these reasons, those created before 1989 remain permitted.

Symptoms of Asbestos Exposure

You may not notice any symptoms for years after being exposed to asbestos. In general, it may cause symptoms including:

  • Feeling as if you can't get enough air

  • Coughing up blood

  • Pain or tightness in your chest

  • Appetite loss

  • Weight loss

  • Tiredness

  • Anemia

  • Swelling in your neck or face

  • Hoarseness or wheezing

While these can also be symptoms of other illnesses, consider consulting a doctor to figure out what's wrong with you. Consult your doctor if you feel you have been exposed to asbestos, whether or not you have symptoms.

Asbestos Exposure Can Happen Anywhere!

Most individuals have been exposed to relatively low quantities of asbestos fibers at some point in their lives, usually resulting from asbestos contamination in the outside atmospheric air and the indoor background air we breathe. Furthermore, those exposed to comparatively greater levels of asbestos fibers from their employment, construction projects, hobbies, or coming in touch with someone who has been heavily exposed to asbestos are vulnerable to getting an asbestos-related disease. Therefore, for safety purposes, you should have a complete inspection of your house from asbestos abatement Stockton professionals.

Each exposure to asbestos from any source, in whatever amount, contributes to your total lifetime dosage, increasing your chance of getting an asbestos-related illness such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and other malignancies.

If Exposed to Asbestos, What Should You Do?

Although asbestos exposure raises your chances of having an asbestos-related disease, it doesn't ensure you will. All asbestos exposures, however, should be considered potentially hazardous. If you were exposed to asbestos, you must notify your doctor if you feel symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing, or chest discomfort. Individuals diagnosed with mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases should immediately contact an expert attorney to submit a claim.