Ask a doctor on the topic of Internal medicine

Excessive worry?

June 16, 2013 | 15,00 EUR | answered by Dr. med. Kathrin Hamann

Hello!

I am currently experiencing a moderate panic attack - let me try to explain why:
After I went to the office early on Friday, a demolition crew started tearing down the old bathrooms of the vacant apartments in our building. An unannounced rush action. I doubt that the workers took the time to search for possible sources of asbestos in the bathrooms (time is money, and asbestos removal, if necessary, is expensive for the landlord). I don't have a specific suspicion of asbestos, but I also didn't know the interior of the vacant apartments.
Now I am deeply worried that if there were asbestos-containing materials present, the whole building could have been contaminated by the dust and debris during the demolition and transportation. The problem is: the debris containers were quickly taken away, so an inspection was no longer possible. The house was built in 1938, so they probably didn't use asbestos in the apartments back then. It is located in the eastern part of Berlin, and according to the Professional Association of the Construction Industry, at least no asbestos-containing floor coverings were used on a large scale (although they have been used elsewhere). But it cannot be ruled out that someone privately retrofitted their bathroom with asbestos-containing flooring or vinyl asbestos tiles.
What is particularly worrying for me is that on Friday evening, I unknowingly walked into the house and straight into the dust cloud that my cleaning-obsessed neighbor had stirred up while sweeping the staircase (the workers had left dirt on the stairs). If there were asbestos fibers in that dust cloud, one could argue that it was only a brief exposure, but for some asbestos-related diseases, even small amounts can be enough.
What can be done now - do I have to live with the fear of potentially fatal illness in the future because of this stupid story? The development of asbestos-related diseases like lung or mesothelioma cancer is said to take a relatively long time (possibly only in one to three decades), but it is still a destructive thought in the long run.
How should one deal with this now? Or is the panic exaggerated?

Dr. med. Kathrin Hamann

Good evening,

I am happy to help you further.

First of all, I would like to reassure you. It is extremely unlikely that there was asbestos in the house. The possible subsequent installation of asbestos parts in the apartments is very unlikely, especially since there was no possibility in the private sector to use such materials (neither in the floor - mostly PVC nor in any other form).

In this dust cloud that you were exposed to, there should therefore not have been any asbestos present. I can reassure you on that.
Assuming the unlikely case that asbestos fibers were present in it, it poses a risk for all those affected.

I would like to reassure you and for safety reasons, I recommend scheduling an appointment with your family doctor. Starting from the age of 55, it is advisable to have a pleural sonogram done every 1-2 years, as well as a chest X-ray control every 3-5 years.

Do you have any questions about this? I am happy to help you further.

Best regards,

Dr. K. Hamann