The danger of asbestos in the construction industry continues to pose a serious threat to health. This is shown by figures provided by Dipl.-Ing. Martin Kessel, an expert from the VDI Society "Construction and Building Technology". According to official figures, around 1,600 people die every year in Germany as a result of exposure to asbestos. However, the expert assumes that there are even around 15,000 people in this country every year. The damage caused by asbestos, which was used in a large number of building products, has been considered an occupational disease since 1937. However, its use was only banned in 1993, 30 years ago.
Despite the ban, asbestos is still present in many buildings, posing a persistently high health risk. Asbestosis, a disease caused by asbestos, leads to a significant reduction in lung function and increases the risk of various types of cancer. Dipl.-Ing. Martin Kessel emphasizes that the number of asbestos victims has not decreased despite the ban, but rather increased. The reason for this is that a large proportion of construction work takes place in existing buildings that are potentially contaminated with asbestos.
For the construction industry, this means that comprehensive information, awareness-raising and the professional handling of asbestos are essential. The identification of asbestos contamination is often only possible through qualified sampling and analysis. Care must always be taken to avoid the release of fibers. Dipl.-Ing. Martin Kessel believes it is important to take the issue of asbestos seriously and to handle it responsibly in order to protect the health of people in the construction industry.
Source: vdi.de
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