Asbestos Encapsulation

Finally, there is a new method to handle the dangerous asbestos you may uncover during remodeling, asbestos encapsulation.

Up until the late 1970's, asbestos was widely used in the construction industries as highly effective means of insulation, not so much in private homes, but more in offices, industrial and public buildings. It was more than likely the use of asbestos as an insulation material would have continued unabated, if it were not for the discovery of a very dangerous and unknown aspect of using asbestos in construction. It was only when the first buildings that were built using asbestos for insulation began to be reach the edge when they were liable to be renovated of demolished, did the very dangerous health effects of handling asbestos come to light. What building contractors and specifiers were unaware of was that when the asbestos was in its original state it was totally unharmful.

However, if asbestos sheeting breaks up during the renovation or demolition process, certain fibers that were used in the production of asbestos are released into the air, and are breathed in not only by the contractor's crew but also anyone in the vicinity. People who breathe in these fibers are susceptible to a variety of respiratory problems, among them mesothelioma, a form of cancer which is potentially fatal.

When the realization of the potential dangers of working with asbestos, in it was almost immediately taken of the market. However, there were still many millions of square meters of industrial area which were due for renovation or demolition that were lying dormant due to the inability of contractors from all across the US from NJ to Chicago to the west coast, including California. Despite many years of tests no one seemed able to come up with a piece of equipment that would pass the test for the safe abatement and handling of asbestos. For many years the only method of removing asbestos was to disassemble and transport it whole and dump the asbestos in landfills far away from population centers. This was far from being an ideal situation, expensive and still potentially dangerous.

In recent years, an efficient means of handling asbestos has become available and is in ever widening use. Known as encapsulation, it involves building a form of structure around the material so that it can be handled in safety. By no means inexpensive, it is certainly a lot safer than any other method of handling this sleeping monster developed up till now.