Asbestos is supposed to be a thing of the past yet contractors and consumers must protect themselves by being aware of its presence.
There is a lot of misunderstanding around asbestos abatement. The most prevalent use of asbestos has been in commercials promoting lawyers who represent those who have are suffering with terrible illnesses such as mesothelioma or asbestosis. For the majority of our populace, we believe it was in those odd 9 inch by 9 inch tiles in the schools of our youth and suspect it’s in the ugly popcorn ceilings that we see in older homes, but we don’t always view it as a current issue. Unfortunately, there is still plenty of asbestos in existing structures as well as instances of it potentially being used in on-going production such as recent cases with Claire’s makeup as well as Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder. While our individual exposure is not always at and increased level, asbestos is still being imported into the United States and there are several materials which contain varying amounts of asbestos in them.