Can working with Tarmac cause health problems Does inhaltion of fumes from tar cause breathing problems or any othe health issues?

Answer 1

In short, the answer is: "Yes"!

Tarmac is another word for asphalt, which comes from:

British English, the word 'asphalt' refers to a mixture of mineral aggregate and bitumen (or tarmac in common parlance). The word 'tar' refers to the black viscous material obtained from the destructive distillation of coal and is chemically distinct from bitumen.

In American English, bitumen is referred to as 'asphalt' or 'asphalt cement' in engineering jargon. In Australian English, bitumen is sometimes used as the generic term for road surfaces.

Most bitumens contain sulphur and several heavy metals such as nickel, vanadium, lead, chromium, Mercury and also arsenic, selenium, and other toxic elements. Bitumens can provide good preservation of plants and animal fossils.

All of these are toxic to some degree, even though some, like selenium, are necessary elements for functioning of the body. Just because an element or even a vitamin is "good", does not mean one should consume vast quantities of it! A good example if Vitamin A, which is quite toxic when one takes too much.

Other substances, such as mercury and arsenic, are just toxic by themselves.

Any time a person is exposed to higher amounts of a potentially toxic material, such as by working near it, the risk of health problems is increased greatly. For instance, additives to fabric, such as tannin (in leather) are not that toxic to those who wear the finished product. But those working in leather processing plants can breathe in and absorb (through the skin) toxic amounts of tannic acid. This is even more true of other substances, such as polyphenols, commonly used in treating fabrics to be flame-retardant or stain-resistant.

Since tarmac is a byproduct of bitumen (a type of coal), the health hazards for those working with it (touching it, breathing in fumes) are much the same as those for coal-miners.

Anyone working in this industry should check to see how well and how often government regulators monitor the work sites and whether or not the company is in compliance.

They should also visit a doctor regularly, to monitor any possible problems, most likely with the lungs, from working with this material. Like nuclear plant workers, no reputable organization has yet to establish a "safe" level of bitumen or asphalt gas that one can inhale! In short, such jobs are dangerous and usually lead to illnesses over time.

It has long been known that the smoke and tar badly affect the health, and even more so if they are constantly interacting on the organism is very bad. I advise you to turn to good specialists, health check. By the way, I found a good on-line pharmacy rxhealthdrugs.com, that I like is a good quick service and quality, hopefully it will help you.

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