Panicking!!! Possible Asbestos exposure

[oogzy]

I find this sort of thing quite amusing really (not refering to the op particularly by the way) " oh my god i've been in contact with asbestos, its dangerous and might make me ill" and yet we manufacture sell and burn millions of "cancer sticks" !!!!
The health risks from something as described in the op's post must be very minimal.
As joe says the asbestos removal companies like to make a big issue of it, don't get me wrong it needs to be treated with respect, but life is full of risks (it would be very boring if we didn't have to take any risks, which seems to be the health and safety police's ultimate target)

Lets get one thing straight - i am not 'hamming it up' and stand to make no profit from the advice. I own one of only 3 types of business which requires a government enforced licence, and as such have a duty of care to the public to inform and warn if necessary. This was such a case.
Everyone swallows asbestos fibres EVERY DAY, its in the air and on the roads and in the schools. I would hazard a guess that 50% of your children are sitting not far from some as i type, but as long as it is well managed there is no risk.
Anyone who has stood on that London Underground platform feeling that rush of air that lets you know the train is coming - you have sucked in copious amounts of BLUE (chrysidolite) asbestos - the worst kind.... so no, i'm not going to 'ham it up' over a broken piece of Amosite.
And no it is not Supalux/Masterboard or any other asbestos alternative. As they say, too little knowlege can be a dangerous thing, and some replies on this thread just enforced that.
Also, i think you will find if the council tip does have an asbestos facility,they will inly accept cement bonded asbestos, i.e white asbestos. Amosite is in a different league and they will not take it (so long as they can see what it is).
Amanda i hope i have been of help.
Regards, Dean

 

[Shytalkz]

As a serious point then Oogsy, if - and I have no reason to doubt you - standing on the underground will inevitably result in the breathing-in of blue asbestos fibres by the lungful, then:

a) with H&S as it is, how is it that LU is allowed to continue to operate and
b) why aren't there many, many more deaths resulting from asbestosis?

Which would be potentially more dangerous to personal health while standing on an underground platform: passive smoking (albeit not an issue now), or asbestos inhalation?

 

[stuart45]

To be sure it contains asbestos it would need to be tested.

 

[oogzy]

As a serious point then Oogsy, if - and I have no reason to doubt you - standing on the underground will inevitably result in the breathing-in of blue asbestos fibres by the lungful, then:

a) with H&S as it is, how is it that LU is allowed to continue to operate and
b) why aren't there many, many more deaths resulting from asbestosis?

Which would be potentially more dangerous to personal health while standing on an underground platform: passive smoking (albeit not an issue now), or asbestos inhalation?

Hi

a) You say H&S how it is, i'm saying how it was. The tunnels have, i think all but been cleared now, but only finished in the last few years. The tunnel ceilings used to be coated with a sprayed on asbestos coating AKA 'flock' which was a thick layer of raw chrysidolite/amosite as a fire proofer. It by nature breaks down over time and is not helped by the rushing air and strong vibrations. I'm not going to start getting quoted - lets just say platform air test analysis results are safely tucked away somewhere in Westminster, in a drawer labelled 'official secrets act' and will never see the light of day again.

b)Deaths from asbestos exposure are expected to peak around 2020 - that much you can quote me on. And Asbestosis is the kitten... Mesothelioma is the mother of all tigers. It can take anything upto 50 years to show. So basically, Johnny commuter will never know where he contracted it - or rather be able to prove it.

 

[Shytalkz]

Ah, ok. Interesting; extremely worrying too, he says, thinking back to the asbestos-chucking days of yore....

 

[Symptoms]

oogzy - you wrote: "And no it is not Supalux/Masterboard or any other asbestos alternative. As they say, too little knowlege can be a dangerous thing, and some replies on this thread just enforced that."

Now, as I said we are looking at the same photos, and using my practical experience and knowledge (extensive) based on the evidence presented I still say: "It's probably NOT asbestos ...", as per my original post. Now unless you've got some form of XRay eyesight that can look down the phones lines and examine Amanda's debris in person the most you can say is that in your opinion it looks like asbestos, no more no less. What you cannot (or should not) say is that I've got "too little knowledge." I could, of course, have written something similar to your posting after a bit of cut & paste off the web ... easily done if you know what I mean

Of course, much of what is contained in your text is correct, especially about the stuff in schools, although most (if not all) schools built since the rush in the 50's are riddled with the stuff. So, unless Amanda went to school before WW2 she'll have breathed in more as a school girl than, what we all agree now, is a very minor brush with her Masterboard/Superlux/Asbestos material.

In addition, Amanda could be living in one of those places I converted all those years ago and where Masterboard/Superlux was the only thing used.

Finally, when Shytalkz mentions "asbestos-chucking days of yore" it reminds me of all the asbestos we used to throw on bonfires when we were kids - the explosions were great ... ah, happy days.

 

[oogzy]

oogzy - you wrote: "And no it is not Supalux/Masterboard or any other asbestos alternative. As they say, too little knowlege can be a dangerous thing, and some replies on this thread just enforced that."

Now, as I said we are looking at the same photos, and using my practical experience and knowledge (extensive) based on the evidence presented I still say: "It's probably NOT asbestos ...", as per my original post. Now unless you've got some form of XRay eyesight that can look down the phones lines and examine Amanda's debris in person the most you can say is that in your opinion it looks like asbestos, no more no less. What you cannot (or should not) say is that I've got "too little knowledge." I could, of course, have written something similar to your posting after a bit of cut & paste off the web ... easily done if you know what I mean

Of course, much of what is contained in your text is correct, especially about the stuff in schools, although most (if not all) schools built since the rush in the 50's are riddled with the stuff. So, unless Amanda went to school before WW2 she'll have breathed in more as a school girl than, what we all agree now, is a very minor brush with her Masterboard/Superlux/Asbestos material.

In addition, Amanda could be living in one of those places I converted all those years ago and where Masterboard/Superlux was the only thing used.

Finally, when Shytalkz mentions "asbestos-chucking days of yore" it reminds me of all the asbestos we used to throw on bonfires when we were kids - the explosions were great ... ah, happy days.

Amanda actually took a very good photo - including a close up.
I can CATEGORICALLY state that i know this material is Asbestos - and not just that , the type of asbestos. As sure as you can look at grass and know it is grass.
I have experience with literally THOUSANDS of asbestos instances - are you getting my drift?
Ok - a lesson.
Go and take a long look at that close up photo.
You dont have to be a brain surgeon to see fibres poking out. They are a mixture of amosite and chrysotile fibres. I could tell you this was asbestos from 50 feet away. From the pattern on the back - from the particular way it cracks - from the way the edges splinter to name the obvious. I walk around buildings with council officials and tell them what is asbestos when its PAINTED just by the way the paint lays on the surface grain, and even merely from the sound it reverberates with when it is knocked on... But that is what comes with long experience. That is WHAT I DO. And you do what you do, and i hope you are very adept at that too
You sound like you know your stuff....but not well enough.
Do you know what the base material is of Superlux/Masterboard?
It is a man made silicon based board - no mineral fibres. Go back and study the photo again.
I would lay my every last penny if i had on a bet that i am 100% correct
I cant make myself any clearer than that.
Sheesh.

 

[^woody^]

Despite the "is it or isn't it" debate, the issue is what danger has the OP potentially been exposed to by breaking and moving this particular board from one room to the garden?

More or less danger than the last time she used some acetone to clean her nails .... for instance?

It's all about context

 

[joe-90]

He's just hamming it up. He thinks he's talking to local council environment muppets. Give it a rest - it's boring.

 

[Symptoms]

oogzy - you wrote: "I could tell you this was asbestos from 50 feet away" ... blimey, super-dooper XRay eyes. I say 100s, you say 1000s ... a bit like a kiddies pis*ing contest really. It's all about opinion dear boy and the viewer (OP) makes a choice.

Grass? What's that about ... green or sun-baked brown, marin or fescue, rye or ....., Moroccan or Lebanese (I know these are resin but some may think ... grass)

 

[oogzy]

I didn't land here for a big willy contest.
Someone asked a question and i knew i could answer it. Any tradesman here are an authority in their own field, and i know mine very well.
When you can see people taking guesses, and you can give a definitive answer, you do so.
I wouldn't ask a gas fitter a question and then question his integrity, i would like to think i could accept he knew his stuff because that's what he's trained years for.
And strangely enough i dont even pretend i know about the mirriad of grass varieties - i leave that to the professional, and skip the pretence.

I hope i can be of help to other members in the future.

 

[joe-90]

I hope i can be of help to other members in the future.

Yes. You weren't much help in this one.

 

[^woody^]

Who the hell let Joe into the building forum?

Security, SECURITY

 

[Shytalkz]

It's been a while Joe, but I feel the old one we know so well is gradually surfacing.

Take no notice Ogz, abuse from Gusieppe is a rite of passage in the forum

 

[Lupa Monkey]

The OP has probably breathed in more asbestos fibres naturally present in the air when she last went out shopping, than she would have done in this situation

I am strangely reassured by this