Summary:

Since the year 1997, it is prohibited to produce, sell and use asbestos products
in Poland. Such products were used as good insulation material characterised
by bad thermal and electric conductivity. Thanks to their resistance to fire and
high temperatures, they were used for the production of fire-resistant fabrics and
paints. Asbestos was also used in the production of fibre cement. It was used to
strengthen building materials, such as roof coatings (flat and corrugated fibre cement
sheets), pipes etc. Asbestos dust is carcinogenic and inhalation of asbestos
fibres may result in asbestosis and malignant mesothelioma. The first records on
the harmfulness of asbestos are from the years 1900-1910. In the year 1910,
French research results confirmed the harmful influence of asbestos on human organism.
Removal of asbestos products from buildings requires special protection
of workers and disposal of the waste material. Dumping in dump-sites for dangerous
materials is one of the methods of disposal. Microwave Thermal Treatment
(MTT) becomes a frequently used modern technology of neutralising asbestos. Improvement
and protection of the condition of environment and protection of human
health through the removal of asbestos products on the example of four communes
close to Wroclaw: Miekinia, Kobierzyce, Żórawina and Kąty Wrocławskie, is presented
in the study. Asbestos is harmful to health and, because of danger it poses,
must be removed from all buildings in Poland until the end of the year 2032.