The question often asked these days is whether asbestos is still a hazard to people. As many ads as we see on TV talking about Mesothelioma, one would think that asbestos is still a real threat to our home air quality. Research seems to indicate it is not.

Asbestos was used in many building materials in the 19th century because is was found to have some great properties. It actually is a naturally occurring silicate mineral. It has long fibrous crystals and can withstand very high heat.. It is the long fibrous crystals that cause the problems in our lungs. Asbestos was used in buildings in the US through the 1970s. It was used to fireproof roofing and flooring, for heat insulation, and for a host of other purposes.

Asbestos actually becomes a health concern when high concentrations of the fibers are inhaled over a long period of time. This can occur when the fibers are broken loose as they are very light and remain airborne easily. It is hard to imagine, but there are many particles of dust and other matter floating in the air you are breathing right now. When he inhale asbestos fibers they can get trapped in our lungs and eventually cause very small irritation sites that lead to breathing problems and other health issues. It is believed that short high exposures to asbestos is not harmful and even long term, very low level exposures is not that harmful. It is the long term, high exposures that cause the problems.

So what can be done? Since most respirable asbestos fibers are totally invisible to the human eye because their size, the only thing you can do is make sure there is none in your home or you can filter these particles with a good air purifier. It is always best to remove the source of any contaminate than to filter it, but home air filters, such a Blueair filter system can remove these particles if they exist. You must make sure you get a HEPA filter system as the size of these particles is about 3.0-20.0 microns long and can be as thin as 0.01 micron. Human hair ranges in size from 17 to 181 microns in width, so you can understand how very small the asbestos fiber is.

The bottom line in all this is that asbestos is really not much of a threat to our home air quality for most of the population. Older homes may need to be inspected if asbestos is suspected, and a good home air purifier can significantly reduce this hazard.