Green Living is Healthier Living

Housing and working conditions are important factors influencing health. Eco awareness through building design and building practices can create healthier home and work environments through better indoor air quality and healthier building materials.

As a personal consultant creating personal sustainability plans, many of our clients initially explore eco awareness in their life with the intention of living healthier. Living in a world where environmental sustainability is a vital concern, it is important to take note of the consequences of improper building materials.

Asbestos is one of those key areas of concern. Asbestos is a highly-fibrous mineral with long, thin, separable fibers. The thin fibers can be spun and woven together, and possess valuable heat-resistant properties that make asbestos suitable for insulation. The inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause serious diseases of the lungs and other organs that may not appear until years after the exposure has occurred.

Asbestos exposure was common among industrial workers. Among the more common job sites were those in the shipbuilding industry, and other job sites including power plants, chemical manufacturing, or the metal works industry. In addition, asbestos could be present in different forms in buildings and homes built before 1980.

In our sustainability consulting, we encourage clients to explore all the attributes of their environment. Benchmarking current levels and making improvements makes for healthier living. Common environmental focus areas include:

Regarding asbestos as an environmental concern, The Mesothelioma and Asbestos Awareness Center (www.maacenter.org) has long been recognized as the web's leading organization for relevant and authoritative information regarding asbestos and health complications associated with asbestos exposure. The organization is dedicated to increasing awareness of the health consequences of asbestos exposure through the distribution of the best informational materials and public outreach efforts.