Asbestos

Bluepenguin

Please help me with this. My husband is an electrician, and he was working on a service upgrade today.

It's a 1940's house in Calgary, and he suspects that there was asbestos in the drywall. They stopped all work and ordered an inspection. But the damage was done.

How often do you come across asbestos? I plead complete ignorance, and find it hard to believe it may be so incredibly common (Google..) In fact I read electricians are in the highest risk area!

What about attics? How often did I hear "I was crawling in this attic today.." What precautions do you take? (ie... respirator..I'm almost afraid to ask him if he uses one)

I'd appreciate any responses... I don't feel good at all.

Boycer88

Its part of the buisness when you do any sort of remoleding, the best advise is to be aware and educated. it sounds liek he did the right thing and spoke up, thats all you can do. almost every older house has some sort of asbestos and you always should treat it as asbestos until it is tested

buildstrong009

Asbestos is nothing but strong aluminium sheets used for roofing purposes. There is no damage from these sheets as long as they are not corrugated.

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neolitic

Geeze, talk about the blind leading
the ignorant!

Don't worry too much ma'am.
You don't know if there was risk,
and prolonged and or massive
exposure wasn't involved here.
This stuff was in very common use
for a long time, and it didn't kill
every man in the trades, nor every miner.

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Jordy3738

I've always wondered when they stopped using the stuff in walls. I recently did a major remodel on a house that was built in the early 60's. All plaster walls...Inhaled some dust even though we were using dust masks.

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neolitic

Guys, the vast majority of
older houses have no asbstos
save what might be in mastic
or some vinyl sheet goods
(not linoleum.)

Go worry about the comet
that's coming to take you out.

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MALCO.New.York

Mesothelioma and/or Asbestosis, the Asbestos Exposure related DEADLY Diseases, require years of concentrated exposure to become a point of concern.

Go to bed tonight, rest assured that yer Hubby will be just fine!


.And watch out for that Comet!!!!.

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A W Smith

about 20 years ago i stripped a small house of asbestos cement siding, loaded it up in my truck. In three trips took it to a 4 yard front load dumpster i had at my storage/shop (which was a deal @ 4 weekly pickups a month @ $65) and reaching into my cap raked it out of my truck using a masons hoe in a cloud of dust. Wearing not even a paper dust mask. So RELAX already. And MIDCO didn't even give a ****.

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Celtic

This thread has got to be the most convoluted rumor mill I have ever read.

Asbestos is not metal.


How about we see some likes that show:
- what products are SUSPECT of containing asbestos?
- exactly how much exposure is safe exposure to asbestos?
- what type mask offer protection from asbestos?
- etc

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A W Smith

why of course it is!
http://www.ventingpipe.com/index.cfm...ld_vp_redirect

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Celtic

That's "Metalbestos".

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naptown CR

There are really two types of Asbestos one is called friable and one is non friable. The friable is the one to be careful of. Ols Asbestos shingles tended to be of the non friable type and pose little danger. The friable type is the type that releases small needle type particles and are linked to a particular type of cancer called mesothelioma. The real concern is when your husband started in the construction industry. Was it after 1978? This seems to be the cut off for mesothelioma cancer damages in the US. Not to be flip or anything but have the material checked out and see if it was a friable type. DOCUMENT DOCUMENT DOCUMENT the exposure if any. This type of cancer takes many years to manifest itself and if there is a case you will need to have as much back up as possible. If what he encountered was an insulation in the walls that was a brownis color and itched like a mother then it was probably rock wool which is not asbestos. However a white fiber tpe stuff might be asbestos. An industrial hygenist will be able to tell the differance. If it is asbestos then you will have to protect your rights. There are many law firms that specialize in this type of case. In the US the big one is Peter Angelos in Baltimore. I hope it was not asbestos. Sorry I to writing and forgot the part about the drywall. This is a material that DID contain asbestos when it was manufactured back then. Not all manufacturers used it however and a test is the only way to be certain. On a down side this tended to be the friable type if my memory is correct.

Celtic

You'd think that with access to the internet and the wealth of information readily available, all the rumors would be squashed by now.

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kubie

i was told by a WI asbestos trainer that the fibers are like little hooks, well hook shaped and they will lock into your soft tissue of your lungs and stay there.

davitk

...actually worse than that, once the fibers go in they can keep moving, I've heard of the fibers going through the lung and on into other organs. No wives tale, this was actually in the literature of an asbestos training class.

And for you "tough guys" out there, my father was a remodeler all his life, poo pooed asbestos and lead, washed his hands with gasoline because it got the job done. Came home from work every day, contaminated by God only knows what, took a shower once a week when he was really dirty. Healthy up to six months before he died from leukemia.

MALCO.New.York

White Blood Cell/Marrow Cancer is NOT a result of Asbestos!!! Although the Leukemia may have gotten him BEFORE the chance for the Asbestos to get him. Who knows!!!!

Sorry he had to go in such a manner!

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A W Smith

Mesothelioma is an asbestos related diesease of the lining of the chest cavity, not the lungs.

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Al Smith
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MALCO.New.York

Mesothelioma is a result of the Fibral Migration THROUGH the lungs in to the pleural cavity.

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neolitic

I'm still worried about the comet.

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chris n

was built in the early 60's. All plaster walls...Inhaled some dust even though we were using dust masks.


You're for sure gonna die.



If not from old age then the damn comet it going to get you.