Asbestos Contamination: Public Health Report Conclusions

Workers' home contamination may pose a serious public health problem. Health effects and deaths from contaminants such as asbestos brought home from the workplace have been reported in 28 countries and 36 States.

The extent to which these health effects occur is not known because there are no information systems to track them, and physicians do not always recognize the occupational contribution to various common diseases.

About half of the reports of health effects from home contamination are less than 10 years old. The literature on the health effects involved approximately 30 different substances or agents. The potential exists for many of the thousands of other chemicals used in commerce to be transported to workers' homes or to be used in home-centered businesses.

Health effects and deaths from contaminants brought home from the workplace are preventable using known effective measures. Educational programs are needed to promote their use.

Normal house cleaning and laundry practices are often inadequate for decontaminating workers' homes and clothing and can increase the hazard to the person performing the tasks and others in the household.

Only two Federal laws have elements that directly address workers' home contamination. However, other laws provide agencies with certain mechanisms for responding to, or preventing workers' home contamination. Operating under existing laws OSHA, MSHA, DOE, ATSDR, EPA, and CDC, including NIOSH and the National Center for Environmental Health have responded to incidents of workers' home contamination, made recommendations to prevent such incidents, and conducted relevant research.

Courtesy of The Center for Disease Control.

Exposure to asbestos is known to cause serious diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer and asbestosis.

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