Is Asbestos Really That Bad?

The world is a dangerous place and you can never tell what you are going to encounter. The key to creating a positive place in the world is education. The dangers of things that we do not understand are many, but if you look back on the days of the industrial revolution, the dangers were much more pronounced. Through the years, it has been noticed that the more education that is available, the safer a workplace can become. At NOW Environmental Services we believe that education is the ideal way to keep yourself, and your employees, safe. We offer a training course menu that runs the entire spectrum, from simple mold and lead awareness to 40 hour supervisor training. We train at your site or at our facility in order to provide the best value to our clients. We offer rotating refresher courses monthly, so no matter when your certification expires, you can avoid a lapse. Our courses are designed for everyone from the professional asbestos removal supervisors, to awareness training for property maintenance technicians and janitorial staff. Our years of experience coupled with the industry expertise of our instructors provide an unrivaled training experience.        

The Old Days

It is a point of pride for some of the old timers in the construction industry to reminisce about “The way we used to do it”, and that generally involves the lack of safety. As the years go by however, the old days and the old ways are largely becoming nothing more than legend, as more is learned about the dangers of substances we used to take for granted. We now know about the dangers of asbestos, lead and mold, and are able to take precautions to prevent serious health hazards. That was not always the case however, and the dangers have only been known about for a little more than 100 years.

Asbestos

Asbestos has been used for thousands of years and the mineral is actually quite incredible. There are not many substances that can be woven into a cloth and remain fireproof. The uses for asbestos over time have been documented and extend back to the ancient Greeks and even further in Scandinavia. A particularly ingenious way that asbestos was used in ancient times was by weaving a cloth and throwing it in the fire to clean the cloth. In today’s world, the prospect of a cloth made out of asbestos would throw most people into a panic.

Asbestos Uses

The industrial revolution brought about a particularly energetic period of asbestos usage, and with it a vague idea that asbestos might be bad for you. Asbestos production really began to gain steam around the turn of the 20th century and was used in hundreds of different products. The asbestos we might be the most familiar with was used in building materials; acoustic ceiling tiles, asbestos floor tiles and insulation. The uses for asbestos seemed to be endless as a fireproofing material, and for the most part asbestos proved to be effective.

The Big Cover Up

After being used in so many different products and mixed with materials that were used in many buildings, the asbestos industry began a massive cover up. The big asbestos corporate scandal in the US was a huge cover up, of X-Files like proportions. The large asbestos companies were well aware of the danger and chose to keep the information from the public in order to continue to rake in profits. In the legal realm, asbestos is legendary, thousands of lawsuits have been filed and the big cover up is still affecting people all over the country. Asbestos was eventually banned completely in the U.S. but, there are still buildings all over the country that contain asbestos. Next time we will talk about the health problems associated with asbestos.  

Training is the key to keeping yourself and your employees safe around asbestos. NOW Environmental Services is Seattle’s number one provider of asbestos training and we are committed to providing the most comprehensive training in the region. Please take a moment to browse our scheduled classes for 2017, if you don’t see what you are looking for, please do not hesitate to give us a call for training options. Our training courses fill up fast, so in order to reserve the time that is best for you, make the call today!  

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