Asbestos Found in Fire Doors

Fire doors are used to contain or restrict fire to a specific area if one should erupt and prevent fire from spreading uncontrollably in the surrounding areas. Predictably, asbestos was used to make fire doors in the last century, as this naturally occurring material is fire retardant and cost effective too. Today, the practice of using asbestos for this purpose has been stopped, and alternative materials are used to make fire doors, as the public is fully aware of the ill effects of asbestos on human health.

Asbestos Exposure from Fire Doors

Today, scientists and researchers have proved beyond doubt that asbestos exposure results in deadly diseases. Many are diagnosed with mesothelioma and lung cancer as a result of the professional hazard of working in an industry that includes use of asbestos. Symptoms of mesothelioma surface some 20 to 50 years after the initial exposure. This is a particularly deadly form of cancer for several reasons, the most important being that there is currently no cure for the disease. In addition, the symptoms of mesothelioma cancer are non-specific in the early stages, and can resemble symptoms of much less serious viral infections. For this reason, it is generally diagnosed in the last stages and only palliative care can be offered. The tragic part of this fatal disease is that it was entirely avoidable.

Fire Doors Containing Asbestos Fibers

The EPA banned the use of the product in the general public interest almost a 100 years after it had been prolifically used; much damage had been done and the sad part was that a lot of the suffering that ensued owing to asbestos exposure could have been avoided had people only overlooked personal benefit in the early years. While nothing can erase what has already happened, those engaged in renovation work remain in danger of being infected. Care must be taken when handling the material during renovations. Precautions such as wearing the right gear at the job, such as respirators and disposable overalls for the men at work and disposal of debris according to EPA guidelines are an absolute necessity to avoid being infected.

According to a new Environmental Working Group (EWG) study, every day 30 persons die due to asbestos exposure in the U.S. which amounts to almost 10,000 deaths in a year. What is worse, the figures continue to be upwardly mobile, and this is expected to be the scenario well into 2030.