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Jump to full article: The Washington Post, 2009-03-16
Author: James V. Grimaldi Washington Post Staff Writer
Intro:
Saint Charles, Ill.: You haven't even nicked into the tip of the iceberg. Asbestos is present in joint compound in homes, apartments, commercial buildings, you name it. And not just a small percentage -- I don't have any statistics, but in the 20 years I've been doing environmental work, I'll bet that 75% of joint compound samples come up as ACM. So this guy thinks he has a unique situation? Every maintenance worker at an apartment complex in the country has run into the same thing. Anyone who has scraped the textured walls in their home in order to put up wallpaper has run into it. You want a story? Go research that -- this guy's situation is just like every other Tom, Dick, and Mary maintenance or tradesman, not to mention homeowner, who worked on the sheetrock in their home. It's low level stuff that isn't that toxic. Ask him if he smokes. Makes it worse, by a factor of 10. Also, get his x-rays and have it verified. There are many quacks out there paid by lawyers to diagnose asbestos disease.
. . .
He has seen three lung doctors. One is Dr. Michael Harbut, who co-authored the American Thoracic Society's criteria for diagnosing asbestosis versus other causes of lung disease. Dr. Harbut says that smoking indeed increases your risk of getting asbestosis by up to 90-fold.
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