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It’s hard to believe that the dangers of asbestos and lead weren’t known until fairly recently. 

Over 3 000 products contained asbestos, including ceiling tiles, air conditioning ducts, floors and brickwork, as well as being used as a spray insulator to help sound proof and fireproof buildings.   And up until the 70s, lead-based paint was used in many buildings.  People who are renovating their older homes are at greater risk because they can unwittingly expose themselves to asbestos or lead-dust which is a very real health hazard.  

There are very real health risks associated with exposure to lead dust and asbestos.   Not everyone who is exposed to asbestos will go on to develop an asbestos-related disease, but once it is in your body, it stays there.   The risk of developing related diseases is cumulative ie. the more times you are exposed, the greater the risk – so if you think you may be at risk, have your property inspected by professionals and take the proper precautions when cleaning up lead or asbestos dust.

Governments around the world have put in place measures to control the amount of lead or asbestos going into the environment.  The guidelines may vary between countries and states, so it is best to consult professionals who know the local recommendations. 

With regards to lead dust, it is generally only a problem when lead-based paint is damaged, chipped, burnt etc.  When people renovate these older buildings or even just do small home repairs or routine maintenance, they are at real risk of exposure to potentially lethal lead dust.  Even tiny amounts of lead dust are dangerous.   Under no circumstances should lead-based paint be scraped, burnt, dry sanded or handled with a power tools – the tiny particles of dust can get everywhere and be extremely difficult to remove.

Removal of lead dust or asbestos dust should be done by specialists using specialized equipment for hazardous dust removal.  An ordinary domestic vacuum cleaner is not suitable.

An ordinary household machine will simply put very fine dust back into the atmosphere.  They tend to pick up larger particles of matter, whilst the fine hazardous dust particles are simply blown back out of the machine’s exhaust where they resettle and become a danger.

The right equipment is a HEPA machine.  HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Arrestor and is able to suck up even the tiniest dust particles.  These vacuums are more pricey than ordinary vacuums for a reason.  They can trap particles that cannot be seen by the naked eye – that are almost invisible.  A HEPA vacuum has a filter than can remove over 99.9% of particulates that are 0.3 microns or bigger – whereas a regular vacuum can only removes particulates bigger than around 35 microns.  To make it easier to understand sizes, consider that a human hair is around 70/80 microns and asbestos fibre is between 3 – 20 microns.. 

So if you think you may be at risk, before starting any renovations or repairs, ask the specialists.   After all, your health is paramount.  For both domestic and industrial use, hazardous dust machines for lead or asbestos removal should ideally be operated by qualified personnel who have been trained in the area of hazardous dust extraction. 

When choosing an organic lawn care service, it is important to ask some specific questions to make sure that they use organic lawn care products. Although most companies are legitimate, it is important to make sure that they follow the same standards that the individual desires for his yard. One of the first questions about organic lawn care products to ask a lawn care company is what type of fertilizing products it uses and how often fertilization is done. The best types of organic lawn care fertilizing products are non-synthetic, meaning they are all natural, and also slow releasing so that they release over time. The lawn care company should perform a test of the soil in the spring and early fall to determine what type of fertilizer is needed in order to replace the nutrients lacking in the soil.

Another organic lawn care product is a mulching lawn mower. Most organic lawn care companies use these types of mowers so that the grass clippings are circulated through the mower to finely chop them into small pieces before allowing them to be scattered over the lawn. These small clippings work as mulch to the lawn, helping to replace nutrients as they decompose, thus saving the individual money on buying organic lawn care mulching products.

Other organic lawn care products are insects and worms that can be bought through gardening supply stores, especially stores that focus on organic lawn care products. These stores supply ladybugs and green lacewings that help to eat harmful insects. There are also nemotodes that are microscopic worms that eat grub larvae so that they will not damage the roots of the grass. One of the tricks to organic lawn care products is to use what nature has already provided. Planting more shrubs and trees around the lawn can help to attract birds that also can eat harmful insects.

Another organic lawn care product is an aeration machine which most organic lawn care companies use to aerate the lawn in the spring and fall. This machine takes out small plugs of grass in order to let air in and decrease the compacted nature of the ground. The plugs are usually left on the grass so that they can decompose and act as mulch for the grass. In addition, weeds are pulled by hand or have a water and vinegar solution added to them so that they can be pulled out by the roots. That way, grass seed can be added to the bare patches and the weeds eliminated for good. The information was given by a dealer of landscape supplies, lawn care products and Wellington flowers who’s now expanded his business to health supplements.