As a nurse, I took care of patients who suffered from lung cancer. It was a very hard thing to watch the pain that it causes. And while it is difficult as a nurse to see the suffering of someone who has lung cancer, it is the patient and the family who suffer the most. Unfortunately, I had a close family member who died of lung cancer. He had worked around boats and ships for most of his life. I didn’t know until many years later that asbestos was used in shipbuilding and that it is not uncommon for people who worked around boats to develop lung cancer and mesothelioma from asbestos exposure. In fact, asbestos was used in over 3,000 products from ship building, to insulation, to fire proofing, to brake pads. So should come as no surprise that it was used in home construction. And, it wasn’t until the 1970’s that the U. S. government began to limit exposure to asbestos.
Because it was used in roofing and insulation, many older homes contain asbestos. When an old home is repaired or demolished, asbestos fibers can be released into the air, creating a health hazard for the workers, the neighbors and even the city. As the material is trucked through the neighborhood to the dumping site, asbestos can be released all along the route. Unless the asbestos is contained during the removal process and then properly disposed of, many people can be exposed to asbestos—putting them at risk of developing lung cancer and mesothelioma. So, any old homes that are being demolished, should be tested for the presence of asbestos. If asbestos is found, the contractor and/or owner should be required to properly remove and properly dispose it. There is no question in my mind, that the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality should ensure that the citizens of this state should be protected from exposure to asbestos.
Even with our sophisticated scientific knowledge today, we don’t always know what causes some of the diseases that afflict us. But we do know that certain types of asbestos cause lung cancer and mesothelioma. Let’s make sure our state government officials know that we expect them to protect all of us from this menace.