Could Loose Fill Asbestos Insulation be Dangerous for You?
If you think asbestos may have been used as an insulation material in your Australian home, you should not only find out if that is true, but also find out if loose fill asbestos insulation was the type that was used. After all, while asbestos on its own is dangerous enough, loose fill asbestos insulation is one of the most dangerous kinds you could have in your home.
A good way to do this is to have your home tested, and then deal with the results.
Why is loose fill asbestos insulation so dangerous? -- Unlike the normal asbestos use, where large sheets of it were put inside walls, attics and in crawl spaces, loose fill asbestos insulation is very small pieces of the substance.
Due to the pieces being so small, it is much easier for tiny fragments of asbestos to break off and then to escape into the air. These tiny pieces can easily be breathed in, and can then attach themselves to the walls of your lungs. This is what can then cause you to have breathing problems or, in some cases, even cause lung cancer to develop over time.
How to find out if you have loose fill asbestos insulation -- You can either order a test kit and test your own home for loose fill asbestos insulation, or you can call a service to do it for you.
If you decide to do it yourself, all you have to do is collect a few air samples and material samples, then send them to a lab for testing.
What happens if you do have loose fill asbestos insulation -- If loose fill asbestos insulation is discovered in the samples you took, the lab will call you and tell you what your options are.
It is then up to you to decide how to deal with it correctly and legally.
See loose-fill asbestos taskforce for more information.
