Asbestos levels lower than expected at Australian site
p>In Baryulgil, New South Wales, Australia, local officials are breathing easier after receiving the results of some recent asbestos tests. Asbestos-contaminated roads in the area were thought to have released dangerously high levels of asbestos into the air.
These airborne asbestos fibers can cause serious health problems if inhaled, such as lung cancer, lung damage, and mesothelioma, a rare cancer. This aggressive cancer can kill within weeks in some cases, but strangely can lie dormant in the body for decades prior to the onset of symptoms. During this long latency period, the cancer is asymptomatic.
According to recent test results revealed by a local council spokesman, “The air samples have revealed the problems are not significant. Of the five sampling points, established to record the presence of asbestos fibers, only one site, in Bulldog Road, produced a significant result and the fiber count there was below 0.1 fibers per milliliter, regarded as the health criteria for asbestos.”
Mayor Richie Williamson said, “While we are relieved to receive these sampling results, we continue to work with the relevant authorities to ensure the residents, council staff and visitors are not unnecessarily exposed to health risks.”
It is important to remember that while acceptable levels of asbestos have been set by most governments throughout the industrialized world, even a small amount of asbestos can be lethal if accidentally inhaled. According to OSHA and the US EPA, there is no safe level of asbestos exposure.
