Green Construction-Watch for Asbestos when Remodeling

Today’s guest post comes from the folks at the Mesothelioma Cancer Center.

Many homeowners that wish to make their home environmentally friendly know what they want, but typically don’t really know how to make it happen. This is a common problem for consumers, especially when it comes to figuring out what exactly “green” means.

Contacting Today’s Green Construction is a great first step to take when deciding to go green. Of course, the U.S. Green Building Council can also provide the steps and guidelines to contractors and homeowners on environmental construction better than anyone. Their rating system, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), has been the industry standard for determining whether a green building is actually earth-friendly.

Even for smaller residential projects, such as remodeling or renovation, LEED for Homes is a great place to start.

However, one important aspect to any construction project should be asbestos awareness, which notably missing from this “authority” website. Homeowners should always be extra cautious when tearing down a room or building a new one. Many older homes, primarily those constructed before or during the 1980s, were built with materials containing the toxic mineral asbestos. If these materials become damaged or disturbed, asbestos fibers can release into the air where they can be inhaled.

The inhalation of asbestos fibers has been known to cause several forms of serious disease, including mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer. Typically though, signs of these illnesses do not appear for several decades, which often results in a late diagnosis and causes major complications for mesothelioma treatments.

Homeowners that make the switch to environmentally friendly products need to be watchful for asbestos-containing materials. If asbestos is present, mishandling such materials is dangerous and a professional asbestos abatement contractor should be hired. Although the abatement process may be expensive, it is well worth performing. Replacing asbestos products with green products not only saves money in the long run, but is also great for the environment.