Firefighters Exposed to Asbestos in their own Fire House

Dec. 29, 2011 - PRLog -- Firefighters knowingly risk everything to protect their neighbors and communities, and working inside the fire house would seem to be the least dangerous part of their jobs. Unfortunately, the firefighters inLackawanna,NY’s Fire House #3 discovered that staying inside their building may actually be more harmful than battling a fire.

Earlier this month tests results indicated thatLackawanna’s bravest were exposed to high levels of asbestos in their own fire house, reports news station WIVB. The firefighters themselves ordered the tests when they noticed a large amount of dust accumulating in the building. Now the fire house is undergoing asbestos abatement to remove the deadly material.

Asbestos is a mineral fiber that was frequently used in a wide range of manufactured goods, including building construction materials, until the 1990s. Asbestos poses a health risk when it is disturbed, damaged, or worn down in some way, because its microscopic fibers may be released into the air and inhaled into the lungs. Exposure to these fibers can lead to lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis—all of which can take years to show symptoms.

“Asbestos exposure is very serious, and it is a tragedy that those who sacrifice so much already have yet another burden to bear,” states Ed Cahill, EMSL’s National Director of Asbestos at EMSL Analytical, Inc. “Our company helps clients monitor the asbestos abatement process by offering the most advanced analysis of their samples, including those from the air, settled dust, building materials, vermiculite, water, soil, and rock.”

For more information on EMSL’s testing services, please contact EMSL at (800) 220-3675, visit www.EMSL.com, or email info@EMSL.com.

About EMSL Analytical, Inc.

EMSL Analytical, Inc. is a full service testing company providing quality lab services under the same private ownership since 1981. Including the corporate lab facility in Cinnaminson, NJ, EMSL Analytical operates over thirty laboratories nationwide in the US and Canada. We provide analytical services for environmental, indoor air quality (IAQ), industrial hygiene, forensics and materials science, consumer products, food safety, PCR, pharmaceutical, asbestos, lead, and radiological samples. The company has an extensive list of accreditations from leading organizations, as well as state and federal regulating bodies. Please see our website for a complete listing of accreditations.

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EMSL Analytical Inc. is a nationally recognized accredited testing laboratory and locally focused provider of consumer product, environmental, microbiology, industrial hygiene, food and materials testing services to professionals and the general public.