Asbestos Found in Lay-in Panels

Acoustic Lay-In Panels (ALPs) are used in the ceiling of a room to help reduce noise and reverberation and increase the acoustical performance of any room. The panels provide maximum ceiling sound absorption, and at the same time, they are convenient, attractive, and economical. It did not occur to those using this method of enhancing a room’s functional properties that they were unknowingly endangering the lives of those who did the job and those who would use the room in the years to come. The reason was that such fitments were made of asbestos containing material before the ban was put in place.

Asbestos Exposure from Lay-in Panels

Up until the 1980s, the fact that asbestos caused deadly diseases like asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma was not common knowledge. Those in the know, such as the management and decision makers of the numerous industries engaged in manufacturing asbestos-related products, did not do anything to stop the use of asbestos. 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.

Lay-in Panels Containing Asbestos Fibers

Today, scientists and researchers have proved beyond doubt that asbestos exposure results in deadly diseases. According to one estimate, more than 10,000 Americans die each year as the result of asbestos exposure. Many are diagnosed with mesothelioma and lung cancer as a result of the professional hazard of working in the construction industry. A wide range of materials were used in buildings and all workers and users of such premises were endangered. 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.

Use of asbestos in new construction material is heavily regulated. However, those engaged in renovation work remain in danger of being infected. EPA prescribes strict regulations that keep the worker safe if followed precisely.