According to 100 Questions and Answers About Mesothelioma, the best way to prevent mesothelioma is to decrease one’s exposure to asbestos in the workplace, at home, and in the environment. Regulating the necessary safety measures to deal with asbestos exposure is the responsibility of the government.
It is my opinion that the only way one can prevent contamination from asbestos is to completely ban the use of all toxic asbestos fibers and stop the influx of products made of asbestos from entering the United States.
If I had a magic wand, I would do that today. Unfortunately, I’ve read that asbestos will always be used in the defense and aerospace industries. As more and more of our daily products are being imported from other countries that do not ban the use of asbestos, who knows exactly what is contained in our products. Remember the recall of the CSI Fingerprint Examination Kit?
After scouring through 40 years of congressional legislation, I learned that there have been many attempts to regulate the use of asbestos. I applaud Senator Patty Murray of Washington state and marvel at her ability to make S.B. 742 happen. The bill was another step in the right direction, but I won’t be satisfied until all asbestos fibers are banned from use.
It is a difficult job to get the asbestos products off the shelves and an even greater one to educate the public. With all the home remodeling and do-it-yourself shows on television, more and more families are remodeling their homes. Scraping off the popcorn ceilings seems to be prevalent in most home remodels, most likely because it is such a hassle to clean. I never knew that textured ceilings contained asbestos, and I used to vacuum the ceiling all the time. Of course I then had to vacuum the floor because of all the dust I created.
After moving to California I heard a commercial about the dangers of second-hand smoke coming through the ventilation system in apartments, comparing it to the toxic poisoning of asbestos. I wonder just how many apartments, townhouses and homes still contain asbestos. And just how many of them are run-down enough to allow asbestos fibers to move through the ventilation system?
Yes, it’s going to be a long and hard process to eliminate asbestos from our lives. We must continue to fight the battle. Contact your legislators. Tell them to ban asbestos to prevent mesothelioma!
