May
The damage inflicted by a natural disaster like a tornado is, for the most part, simple to see: buildings, trees and automobiles are ripped apart and pose very obvious threats to us.
However, there’s another serious environmental threat that accompanies tornadoes: asbestos exposure. Kudos to government agencies in the currently tornado-torn Southern says such as Alabama for recognizing the dangers and recently speaking out about them.
Older buildings that have not undergone proper asbestos removal are always health hazards; they can affect our breathing and exposure to asbestos fibres that can lead to serious long-term illnesses, including lung cancer.
According to the World Health Organization, asbestos - no matter what the type - causes about 90,000 deaths worldwide each year. Even more worrisome, the health effects of asbestos are not diagnosed until decades later.
But natural disasters such as tornados make the threat infinitely scarier. If you dilly-dally about getting an asbestos inspection and removal company to your building before tornado strikes, the consequences can be grave.
As Craig Tucker of the Jefferson County Department of Public Health recently explained, the destruction caused by tornadoes kicks debris all over the place and often crushes various components of a building’s foundation.
“When the material becomes crushed, more of a powdered say, that’s when you’ve got the potential for the asbestos fibres to become airborne and then cause the greatest damage to the public’s health,” Tucker said.
Health officials in the South have also smartly insisted that traditional dust masks aren’t enough to keep any disaster relief crews safe. Half-face masks with double HEPA filters are suggested.
While Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area aren’t part of Tornado Alley by any means, the disaster in the American South is an important lesson about the threat when a force of nature combines with asbestos, mould and other hazardous agents. It could be a tornado (of which southern Ontario receives several each and every summer) but it could also be an earthquake or a major storm.
The lesson is to make sure you keep up with your asbestos inspections so your risks are minimized in the event of a disaster.